Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve

In a Jungle, an Indian Jungle

Take a break from routine and city life, get on the highway out of Bombay and reach Tadoba within hours. Spend a weekend to spot wildlife, eat the local cuisine and stay too in the forest-themed Limban resorts, a perfect getaway!

Text: Monika Patel

Red soil dusted our clothes as we drove along the road. Here a chital, there a croc and up above a Mottled Wood Owl. Suddenly something orange and black flashed before our eyes and to our immense delight, the king of the jungle nonchalantly strolled on to the path. It was Matkasur, the dominant male of the territory around Tadoba Lake. Our weekend escape from the frenzy and chaos of the concrete jungle gave us an adrenalin surge of another kind. The city keeps us gripped in its claws and while work life makes it more difficult to take long breaks, a weekend at Tadoba is a great way to rejuvenate. Within hours of leaving Bombay, you are bumping along the roads from Nagpur to Chandrapur, the district where Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve is located.

We chose to stay at the newly opened Limban resorts, named after the abundance of neem trees on the property. Nimban is a venture undertaken by Poona-based architects, Amala Sheth and Anand Bhagat. Itís an eco-friendly and sustainable enterprise but more amazing is the warmth and hospitality of the entire staff, ably led by Ronak Shah, Akash Singh and Amalaís gracious mother. It feels less like a hotel and more like your weekend holiday home. Though a luxury resort, it is understated and aesthetic with the architecture mirroring the local area instead of sticking out like a sore thumb.

India's national parks need you to reserve entrance tickets 120 days in advance but if you have not done that, the resort helps by getting entrance tickets on tatkal, three days in advance. The only disadvantage is you cannot choose the gate for entry. There are six gates at Tadoba reserve, for the core and buffer zone. The buffer zone is difficult to enter and requires luck and planning. Ditto for the Agarzhari Gate where the lush jungle is said to take your breath away. We got tickets to the Moharli and Khutvanda gates. I have been on innumerable African safaris, so my bar of expectation is generally high. I knew India would be different but Moharliís controlled chaos stunned me. Gypsies, guides and tourists converge and itís a race to be the first ones into the park. Only 20% of Tadoba is open to tourists and of this, possibly half the roads are only for forest officials. This provides a limited area for vehicles to traverse. As a result, everyone wants to be the first to spot the tiger, leopard or bear before other vehicles block the vision and compromise the sighting.

We were lucky because on two of our three drives, we saw tigers. Amazingly, with Matkasur we spent a good thirty minutes with only one other vehicle. We were later joined by three others for an additional thirty minutes before Matka bid farewell and disappeared into the jungle.

However, Chotti Tara, a female with three cubs was another story. Two cubs were spotted crossing the road so all the Gypsys as well as the government-run bus, the cantor, congregated, in anticipation. Gypsys revved their engines and zoomed up and down the tar road, in a bid to spot the mum and the third cub. When she finally emerged, drivers expertly reversed along the road trying to navigate their vehicles into the best position. We were boxed in and managed to get a great view but despite the tiger's proximity, no vehicle would move. The tiger is a ferocious and wild creature and there's no telling how it will behave. Chotti Tara brushed right by our jeep, terrifying us but luckily after a piercing glance, she veered off into the jungle. Eventually she was reunited with her cub, who cantered across the street as soon as she heard her mother. They licked and rubbed each other but given the crush of vehicles, the tigers could not proceed and turned back to be swallowed in the protective arms of the trees and bushes. As much as I am an avid safari lover, the cacophony and disturbance of almost twenty odd vehicles is perturbing. I'd rather not see a tiger than be subjected to such mayhem. There needs to be a better method to control sightings. This is unfair to the felines. Some of them have become used to vehicles and are jokingly referred to as pantheradomesticus but it is no laughing matter. These are wild creatures need to be respected.

In a sense, the Indian government is more interested in preserving the ecology and rehabilitating the tiger. They are less concerned with tourism. Maybe it's a good policy but Africa does it differently and have won this battle. There is a lesson to be learnt. However, India is more tricky with her teeming population and urban areas pushing into wild territory. There is no easy answer but it is hoped, somehow they get it right. Tadoba has reached capacity for tigers. The existing tigers already have reduced territories for their size and it's a fight between them to try and retain their small areas. It is paramount to increase forest cover and ground water so water bodies are naturally formed allowing the prey and preyed to eke an existence.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the number of female rangers at Moharli Gate. My guide, Shahnaz, grew up around tigers since she was a babe in her mum's belly. I developed immense respect for her knowledge, her sense of humour, her fierce protection of the animals and her obvious pride and love for what she does. In a bid to preserve the park, the government is involving nearby villagers, from the almost 100 odd villages surrounding the reserve. Itís only fair to provide them with employment given they were displaced from their homes. Jobs include rangers, Gypsy owners, working with the forest departmentor at resorts around the area. Limban hires mainly locals and trains them for a career in hospitality. One of the naturalists currently interning with them is none other than Shahnaz's son, who was born and raised around tigers, just like his mother.

After a dusty drive, returning to Limban is a panacea. Cold wet napkins greet each returning guest though the sparkling white fabric is a crumpled brownish red when replaced in the trays. Straw like hair requires revival with a thorough shampoo. The one thing missing is a refreshing gin and tonic or chilled white wine. The entire area has been declared liquor free. This is possibly an initiative taken by the government to control rampant alcoholism in the villages, due to the abundant Mahua trees. But the cuisine more than makes up for the lack of alcoholic refreshments. Limban takes pride in its chefs. They have extensive training sessions and have even sent their cooks to Poona for training under chefs like Ravish Arora. Head Chef, Manjit Singh, interacts with guests after meals to ensure they enjoyed their food. It's obvious much thought goes into planning the menu. Meals are served homestyle with hot bhakris and rotis brought straight from the pan to the plate. Favourite recipes have been shared with chefs who then add their expert touch. We had bhel served on rice, crispy chikki and pav bhaji and kheema served in canapés. The Pizza Bhakris stole the show and are healthier to boot. Watermelon Kulfi is another innovative recipe where the entire fruit is dipped in kulfi and frozen. I am not a kulfi fan but this was refreshingly delicious and I was glad I succumbed to one. There is always a chicken or mutton-based curry, cooked according to local flavours and my curry-crazy son relished it over his heap of rice. On the early morning game drive I had a delicious, buttery, masala omelette sandwich along with masala chai. The poha had gone cold but we canít expect everything to be perfect.

Each evening Limban entertains guests by either screening a documentary on wildlife or inviting guest lecturers to present a talk and engage guests in lively debates on environment, sustainability and the state of India's forests. One such talk yielded the information about the appalling state of India's depleted forests from 22% in 1947 to a mere 9%. It's heartening to know many forest department officials are passionate about reviving the jungle and the animals. A documentary called Blood Tigress talked about four sisters at Tadoba who eventually had to hunt together because it was so difficult to hunt and feed themselves. This is unusual for the solitary creatures. But desperate times lead to desperate methods. Since that documentary however, they have reverted to their natural order and separated once again. Hot soup is always served during these evening sessions. The chill in the air ensures we slurp all the liquid. The carrot and orange concoction had me craving for more. Another time we savoured a delicious rasam topped with a piece of chicken tikka (or paneer for the vegetarians). I wanted to lick up the container with my fingers.

My final drive was a birder's delight. Matkasur did emerge and lay basking in the sun but he was at a distance and I was not interested in the Gypsy juggle to get viewing rights. Instead we drove around and saw a variety of birds like the Serpent Eagle, Flameback Woodpecker, Hoopoe and even the elusive Racket-Tailed-Drongo. We saw an abundance of Green Bee-eaters, White Throated Kingfishers, Bulbuls and Rufous Treepies or the 'tiger's dentist'. They have that nickname because not only do they share the unusual colouring of the tiger, but are also known to clean the teeth of the tiger, when the striped creatures open their mouths!!  Roaming around the jungle are many other animals such as the lovely spotted deer or chital, the sambar and we even sighted the great bhalu, Sloth Bear on a couple of occasions. The leopard consistently evaded us though one of the other Gypsy spotted one. In fact, a few weeks before our trip some visitors saw a black leopard.

Unfortunately our trip was truncated because Jet bumped us off our flight and we had to make a mad dash to catch a morning flight. We missed our final morning safari. The entrance fee is also forfeited but that goes into a common forest fund to help guides, children of the area and for general forest conservation. Maybe we would have seen the leopard but that's the beauty of safari. Each drive is different and you never know what you encounter. It is also a natural way of reviving a mind numbed by city life. And that's why it's so important, as humans, to do our part to maintain our habitats for their natural inhabitants. Our early departure meant we missed the final lunch. Apart from the tigers, the cuisine will also draw us back to Limban.

Limban Resort
Survey No. 306, Village Mudholi Taluka Bhadravati, Chandrapur
Ph: 0 95525 85845