Al-Abdul Al-Kabir (Dubai)
Visited: March, 19th, 02.
This
time my purpose of visiting India was not my business but to explore the
great legacy of India. After visiting Agra-the city of Taj my next sojourn
was Rajasthan- the city of raja's and maharajas. From there, I planned my
visit for the great wilds of Sariska, and Ranthambore- the main wild life
reserves of Rajasthan.
My first destination was Sariska. I took a tourist coach from Jaipur, it
took almost 4-hours to reach the destination. The entire terrain of the town
was breathtaking, amidst the sharp cliffs of hills and narrow valleys of the
Aravallis nestles this small town. My overnight accommodation was booked
with the forest lodge- quite a comfortable one. Morning, I opted for an
elephant safari, for what I had a long carving desire as back home there is
not much wild besides camel. Sitting on this colossal beast was itself a
kind of adventure- I learnt from my guide that elephant seat was the much
desired royal seat for travelling of the erstwhile emperors of India, for
some time I also got immersed in the fantasy.
At Sariska I sighted many carnivores like leopard, wild dog, jungle cat and
hyena. The guide penetrated further in to the wooded jungle, with lack of
greenery as the wild enjoys the most dry and deciduous forest. Watching a
langur was really thrilling along with monkeys as they were in ample
quantity, the baby monkeys got familiar with me-one by one coming and
demanding bananas. I also enjoyed the vast kingdom of bird population near
the water bodies. It was my bad luck that even after efforts I could not
trace the tiger-never mind better luck next time.
Ranthambore National Park was my next adventure with great Indian wild
life. Sawai-Madhopur a small town is a gateway to the park. Through
brochures I learnt, the park was included under the project tiger due to
hunting and poaching of tigers- highly endangered species. Rathambore is
best known for its tiger reserves and enjoys the population of 25 tigers and
40 leopards.
Here also I enjoyed my elephant safari but sighting
the tiger was my main mission, after some time my weary eyes become restless
in search of the elusive mammal. After riding whole day, ultimately in the
afternoon I had a magnificent view of this majestic beast- I was left
awe-struck and could not utter any thing except "(habibi)" we say
beautiful in Arabic. I have never seen an animal so majestic and captivating
in my whole life- king of jungle luxuriating near the lake as if thinking
deep about the planning of his kingdom. I could not stop my-self taking the
video-shoot of this gigantic creature.
Beside tiger I also encountered the great Indian gazelle, Sambar, Nilgai
(blue-bull), Chital, each one enjoying its integral autocracy under the open
sky in their natural habitat.
Evening, I returned to my jungle resort after a day of full adventure and
contentment. Morning before leaving for Delhi the guide took me to the
famous Ranthambore Fort and Jogi Mahal dating back to the 10th century. It
was a beautiful fort built in red sandstone, from the ruined walls and
periphery I could easily guess the age of the fort. My guide told me that
Jogi Mahal is now been converted into Forest Rest House. Another attraction
of the fort was the second largest Banyan tree in India- a huge tree, the
trunk and the roots hanging from its branches were depicting its stage of
life.
My tour to Rajasthan wild life was full of new adventures and melodrama and
tracing a tiger amidst the rich flora and fauna was really challenging.
