Stupendously Sublime

Most of the folks who know me, usually, would also know that I love wildlife. I'm proud to tell you, dear reader, that i have taken this to the next level. In light of my impending nuptials and as is customary of friends to do. I celebrated my bachelor party at Ranthambore. Doing what I love doing - Watching Tigers. Lets be honest, COVID has destroyed much of the fun that one is supposed to have before getting married, like going to Thailand for your bachelors. So Lala called me up and said park is opening from 1st October, lets have your bachelors there. This was exactly the kind of opportunity i waiting to hear and I jumped at that opportunity. 7 months since the lockdown began, in the middle of marriage preparations, I stepped out of Delhi for the first time with dire warnings of becoming infected and falling ill ringing in my ears. Thankfully, some of my friends were there so that it seemed like a bachelors - plus Lala had planned 4 safaris for us. Co - Travelers - Ashutosh, Sw...

My love for wildlife (and it is wildlife, not just tigers) has taken me to some fruitful and other fruitless places. The sum total of my experiences has brought me more joy than anguish and it is certain that this particular passion is not a passing fad. My latest sojourn (and I have many of those) took me to the literal center of India, Nagpur (they have something called center point or zero point, don’t remember which). Diverging from the topic for a minute, my job is absolutely awesome (though a raise won’t hurt) it pays me to roam around India talking to different people and all I have to do is to convince, cajole, prod them to join my organization. It is too good to be true. So, I was in Nagpur and through a gentleman that I had met at a leadership summit I’d heard about this awesome Tiger Reserve/National Park/forest range called Tadoba. He spoke with such passion that I was sold and it remained in the back of my mind. Now, Tadoba is about 160 km from Nagpur and a tough place...