And in the jungle, the mighty jungle, you want to see the tiger.
I remember my trip to Corbett National Park a couple of years ago. All I wanted to do there was catch a glimpse of the tiger – the royal, majestic king of the jungle, the gentleman with stripes, the lead protagonist of many stories and the beauty of our emblem. I even carried the book "The tiger is a gentleman" and educated all my friends around how they were such wonderful creatures. Every moment spent, every second passed without the tiger was like a withered wasted moment. We did elephant safari at daybreak, foot safari in the afternoon and jeep safari in the evening. But no tiger rose to the occasion. Towards the end of the trip, I even settled for the glimpse of a wild elephant. I wanted to see at least something that was "wild". What would I tell others about my Corbett trip? What did I see in Corbett National Park?
So did I get to see an elephant (I mean other than the one on the elephant safari)? Well long story short, elephant grass I did see; also with due respect, some wild hens, roosters and a few deer. In due course of time, our perspectives totally changed from worshiping the tiger as the one and only to utter reverence for the ordinary. In the process of seeking retribution for the utter rudeness on part of the tiger our eyes opened up to everything. Now the beauty of small run of the mill things started coming to our notice. We began to love all- from the unkempt elephant grass, the familiar grasshoppers, the narrow streams of water, the pine trees, the friendly sparrows, the black-eyed grunting toads to the unsophisticated crickets, the not so picture perfect swans and the un-feathered peacocks. And the safari elephant with its cute trunk and mushy sweet gentle non-complaining self became my personal favorite. It was interesting to watch its calm gigantic self bowing respectfully to the mahaavat, jumping around with dried tree branches, playing the scare-you-away game with flies and cats and catching a doze of peaceful sleep in between its elephant safari duties.
Once back home, we made up some stories.
I remember my trip to Corbett National Park a couple of years ago. All I wanted to do there was catch a glimpse of the tiger – the royal, majestic king of the jungle, the gentleman with stripes, the lead protagonist of many stories and the beauty of our emblem. I even carried the book "The tiger is a gentleman" and educated all my friends around how they were such wonderful creatures. Every moment spent, every second passed without the tiger was like a withered wasted moment. We did elephant safari at daybreak, foot safari in the afternoon and jeep safari in the evening. But no tiger rose to the occasion. Towards the end of the trip, I even settled for the glimpse of a wild elephant. I wanted to see at least something that was "wild". What would I tell others about my Corbett trip? What did I see in Corbett National Park?
So did I get to see an elephant (I mean other than the one on the elephant safari)? Well long story short, elephant grass I did see; also with due respect, some wild hens, roosters and a few deer. In due course of time, our perspectives totally changed from worshiping the tiger as the one and only to utter reverence for the ordinary. In the process of seeking retribution for the utter rudeness on part of the tiger our eyes opened up to everything. Now the beauty of small run of the mill things started coming to our notice. We began to love all- from the unkempt elephant grass, the familiar grasshoppers, the narrow streams of water, the pine trees, the friendly sparrows, the black-eyed grunting toads to the unsophisticated crickets, the not so picture perfect swans and the un-feathered peacocks. And the safari elephant with its cute trunk and mushy sweet gentle non-complaining self became my personal favorite. It was interesting to watch its calm gigantic self bowing respectfully to the mahaavat, jumping around with dried tree branches, playing the scare-you-away game with flies and cats and catching a doze of peaceful sleep in between its elephant safari duties.
Once back home, we made up some stories.
