Visit to Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashra, was a well planned trip as I would have started the preparation at least three months back. May be only in Tadoba it is a sure bet to spot our National Animal and in summers the chances are more. I had booked the flight tickets long time back and eagerly counting the days. It was very special for me, because this was the second time I got a chance to work with Sudhir Shivaram, my mentor, whom I admire most in the field of Wildlife Photography and also it was my first visit to Tadoba. It was five day programme and had taken the leave for 3 days.
Surprisingly I met Sudhir Sir in Bangalore Airport itself. Last year we had a great time in Hampi and I was expecting the same wonders in Tadoba also. Our flight was on 6.00 AM. We were chatting for long & exited to see his new shots in his mobile.
We have reached Nagpur and we met other 3 participants. The transportation was already arranged; we reached the MTDC resort after 3.5 hours of journey from Airport. I was eagerly waiting to go for the Safari. In South India, we have less chance to see a tiger and Tadoba was very famous for that. Before coming here I got to know from my friend that we will come to see at least 2 to 3 tigers per safari. My expectations were very high…
The first Safari – Myself Sudhir Sir and other two guys were in the same gipsy. The safari was really dry; we couldn’t see a tiger. But the other batch could spot a tiger and got some nice snaps also. I wasn’t really particular about tiger; I was expecting some birds and other mammals. It was disappointing because I didn’t get anything that day. I was thinking there are 7 safaris pending…
The next days, my expectations came down to minimum. I couldn’t spot a tiger for the first 3 days. In fact I didn’t get a good shot of any mammal/bird. I came to know that the main area got closed because of the Supreme Court order and the artificial waters sources have been banned this time by the forest department. So sighting a tiger was very difficult. The entire group was bit disappointed; at least few of them got a chance to see a tiger. I know we cannot expect anything in wildlife; but the place which is very famous for tigers turned to very dry after 3 days of safaris.
The fourth day I have tried another zone but the same result. I could able to spot a leopard previous day but it was at least 200 meters far and could get a good shot. At the end of 4th day, only 3 of us didn’t spot a tiger, but the others could (even though it was a glance) and some of them could able to take some nice shots also.
The last safari – Again the same team as the first safari; Myself, Sudhir Sir and the same guys who were with me in the first Safari. Only we three couldn’t spot a tiger after the 7 Safaries. We started by 6.00; I was in extreme frustration and I would have been really happy if I could spot one. We went to Telia lake by 7 and couldn’t find anything. There were only 2 other gipsys with us. We noticed that the first one was going so fast to take a round near the lake. Sudhir sir asked the driver to follow it. We just took one round and came and Surprise there was sitting a tigress – Maya. I was so happy; at last I could able to spot one.
The first gipsy was hiding her so I jumped to the top of the gipsy and tried to take the shot. I took lot of shots; most of them went out of focus without the support. I was really happy that only 3 vehicles were there including ours. Maya- she was really pretty with golden colour of summer and the lighting was excellent. She sat there for couple of minutes and moved right side of us; I got a clear view of her without any distractions. All the time we were clicking without taking eye from the view finder.
The next action happened there was unforgettable in my entire life…