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Anyone who has sat through the popular Disney animation film “The Jungle Book” or browsed through the book of the same name by Rudyard Kipling will concur the setting is idyllic. It is often said that Kipling had Kanha at the back of his mind while immortalising the jungle life in his story. Need anything more be said? Isn’t it the ultimate praise that can be showered on a jungle? Set in the eastern fringes of the country’s heartland – Madhya Pradesh – this 940 square kilometre of wilderness is beauty personified.
We arrived at the MTDC resort at Mukki (the park has 2 gates – Kisli and Mukki), close to the main entrance of the park one morning, the weekend just before Christmas. Immediately after lunch we set out for our first Park ride. Almost as soon as we entered we were greeted by a herd of Cheetals (spotted deer) grazing languidly some distance away. As we moved ahead, the road, lined by Sal trees on both sides, suddenly opened up into a vast meadow reminiscent of the East African savannas. The yellowish hue of dried grass contrasted splendidly with the deep green bush land on its periphery, capped perfectly by the royal blue canvas above. On and off one can spot a Sambhar reaching out to pluck leaves from the scattered trees or a flock of Cheetals making their way to the nearest water-hole. And then the gypsy would enter a dark, cold, thickly wooded part of the forest, entirely impregnable to the soothing winter sun; and then again we would come out through a serpentine path in the middle of a swamp, with flocks of mallards and other wading birds, not to mention the egrets, herons and the kingfishers hovering above, waiting for the opportune moment to plunge at an unsuspecting prey. It is this contrast - of terrain, of flora, of colour, of scent, of light and shades – that makes Kanha exhilarating.
“Pitter-patter, pitter-patter” - little drops of water hitting the glass and dripping off onto the window sill woke us early the next day. We rushed to the door anxiously. We were touring in an open gypsy – ideal for safari. Rain would ensure that we had the hood on and that would spoil the ride entirely. Thankfully, it turned out to be dew dripping from the leaves above!
We entered the park at day break and headed straight for a ticket counter to enrol ourselves for the ‘Tiger Show’ in case the mahouts who leave at around the same time to comb the forest in search of the big cat do return with news. As and when the mahouts report a ‘sighting’, the word is spread and the forest officials reach the spot with a few of their tame elephants. All vehicles are stopped at a distance from the spot so as not to be a source of disturbance for Sher Khan. (To what extent they are successful, however, can be a matter of extensive debate.) The visitors are then led through the dense foliage by haathi to catch a quick pricey glimpse of the elusive monarch (it costs Rs.200/- per head over and above the cost of the park ride).We enrolled and went about our usual park ride. We sighted a Barasingha couple (Swamp deer), found only in Kanha, grazing nearby. In fact there is a special protected area for the Barasingha whose population had dropped to less than 60 a few years back. Careful preservation however has raised the number to over thousand now. And then came the news! Only a rumour from the driver of a passing gypsy to begin with, we received confirmation soon after. Sher Khan has been spotted! We drove at almost break neck speed for the next half an hour or so to collect our token at the enrolment centre and head towards the spot, with the terrain changing gradually from level plain to a hilly one.
The first impression was that of disappointment. When one visits the wild or makes a conscious decision to tour a less frequented place, the last thing he wants is the companionship of a horde of fellow humans – and that’s exactly what lay in store for us here. The whole place thronged with gypsies. The officials had a tough time in keeping order. Their repeated pleas to ensure that we don’t step out and await our turn in silence, however, helped create an atmosphere of suppressed excitement. We were fifth in line. Each elephant could carry only 3 people. We anxiously anticipated our turn as one by one the elephants left for the rendezvous with the King, urging the Almighty to use all His powers to keep it rooted there a little more. Finally our turn arrived. Climbing up the ladder with cautious steps, for the huge brute was insistent on rummaging through a pile of dead grass and sneezing continuously, we took positions on its back. Positions, we thought, would be strategic in providing us with the best view. With our cameras ready and the mahout “pulling the trigger” with his whiplash, we were off!
I have often wondered the reason why there aren’t too many television programs on Indian wildlife. All those lovely shows that we see in National Geographic on African safari! Aside from a program or two, there’s very little on India. The answer hit me from all sides while seated on the elephant. As soon as you step inside the bushes from the jungle path, the first thing you realise is that the visibility drops to less than a few yards ahead. On top of that moving around becomes next to impossible. No African forest comes as close in terms of the dense foliage and undergrowth to the tropical forests. It is simply not viable for a crew with all its equipments to move amidst this maze of branches, fallen trees and cluster of bamboos. The elephant is the only useful mode of transport. Neither is a zoom lens of much use where your view is blocked by an impenetrable mesh of leaves and branches for most of the time. For haathi, it’s a cinch though. He surged ahead, dextrously using his snout to remove the twigs and shoots that attempted to stall his progress, before long we were there. And there lay the regal Khan, resting, possibly after a sumptuous meal, under the shades of the forest canopy. The crackle of dry leaves had informed him of our arrival. He looked up at us for a moment with that royal air. Just long enough for us to press the shutter. Royal ‘sighting’, being high in demand, no sooner had we had the chance to overcome the initial awe and get down to clicking a few snaps, the mahout had already used his whiplash and we were off once again.
“Off season mein aiye babu….pura ghuma sakte hain....season mein bahoo
t mushkil” cries out the guide assigned to us. Evidence of what he says is all around. Christmas and New Years being pretty much vacation time for most, there are almost 170 gypsys at a given time in the forest making viewing animals pretty much difficult. The noise and whirl of dusts drive most of the animals into the thicker woods. Hence, what the officials do is allot specific routes for every vehicle entering the Park. Thus one remains restricted to a small portion of the jungle. Even then almost at every turn one can expect to stumble over other vehicles. During off seasons since the guide can take one through the entire forest, and with vehicle population being far lower, chances of ‘sightings’ are much higher. Summers are anyways the best season to sight game. With sources of water shrinking, animals are forced to gather in the few remaining water-holes, thus, making it easier to track and view.
So, pack your bags this summer, beat the heat, and head for the wild! This breathtaking beauty lies only a few hours journey by car from Jabalpur. Unless one is a ‘wild’ fanatic, the ideal thing to do would be to club it along with places like Jabalpur, Panchmari, Amar Kantak or north to Khajuraho, Orchha, and Gwalior etc., or even west to Sanchi and Bhimbetka. It’s worth every penny!
