I was back in Bandhavgarh after so many years. It was a great feeling as I met so many tigers here. The jungle to me is my peace of mind. My good friend Manoj was not able to accompany me this time for our adventure. It was my first drive in the early morning.I was with Papu as he is named and his nephew was joining us. He was about 12 years old. We had our fist sighting of a female tigress in the Bhitri area. It is said that she is the daughter of the Banbehi female tigress. We spotted her in the lovely meadow almost invisible to our eyes. We situated ourselves in the path of where she was headed. As she wanted to cross the track to go in the other part of the forest we had to move back a little ways. I got a good few shots and before you know it she disappeared into her jungle. I don’t blame her I would stay away from pesky humans also. It was a great start to my adventure. You never know what the jungle will present to you.

Our evening drive was not so successful. The other tourists that were present in an area had paid in advance to get on elephant back and follow Spotty tigress with some cubs, I believe the cubs were around 6 months old then. They were relaxing in a nullah by a waterbody away from the track. We rode around for the rest of our drive and we were able to see some deer and many langurs relaxing during the afternoon coolness. Bandhavgarh is a lovely place to visit.

This was my morning drive into a different zone, and it was exciting from the very beginning. It was barely 5 minutes form our entrance and we had seen some jeeps that were ahead of us had stopped. They were all looking to the left as one female tigress and her two cubs were leaving the scene. She was known as Mahamans daughter. The older Mahaman was from the litter of Chakradhara female. We barely was them leaving into the bamboo thickets, as tigers have always been very shy cats. We fled the scene but we came to find out there was a third cub which had not caught up to mother yet. We also missed this opportunity. I also don’t like rushing off somewhere. Sometimes it is good to wait things out. Especially in the forests of India.

So to my surprise it started raining when we were half way done with our safari, and we had to take out the tarp to keep us from getting soaked. We had to be careful with our equipment as to not damage or fog up our cameras.

I was able to take pictures of two jackals on the road, lots of peacocks, Malabar Pied hornbills, Pita birds, and black hooded orioles. As we were waiting by the Sukkhi Patiya waterhole, someone had said there was a tiger in the water. I think we were not in a good spot because I didn’t see any tiger , and soon after that she had moved on into the bush for safety. She outsmarted the people and went to her safety place. For about 15 -20 minutes we tried following her but she was just too clever.There was a guy among us in another jeep who showed us his picture of the Sukki female. He had a very clear shot of her face as she was laying in the water. What a beauty she is. The camera lens he had was 4 times my lens size..I was only able to get a good glimpse of her golden wet coat as she got further and further away. No picture at all of this legendary female. But I had seen her with my own eyes, thus I have an amazing memory.

There is also an enclosure in the Magdhi area. There are 3 cubs being kept there two males and one female. The mother was Kankatti Jr. daughter of Rajbehra , and their father is Bameras son Mr X. they refer to him as MrX due to a strip pattern on his left cheek. He is a very huge and handsome male .These three cubs were put here after the mother was allegedly poached in 2017 in August.

So when we drove by the enclosure we spent some time with the cubs and watched them interact with eachother. One of the males was heading to the water which they call Tadoba pool as it resembles TATR water source. He was very curious as I was standing on my seat watching him from about 20 feet away. He gave me such beautiful eye contact…This was a sad departure as I hate seeing any animal cooped up in a small enclosure . I again had a lovely productive day in Bandhavgarh reserve.

Returned back to the lodge for overnight.

The morning drive was very quiet, and peaceful. There were no big cat sightings this morning. I was only able to see huge pugmarks from a male tiger which I believe to be Bameras son. This was his area the guides said. I do commend the forest guard personnel of doing a marvelous job to protect and keep an eye on these beautiful cats. I have always dreamed of becoming a forest guard.

So our morning drive was not successful in sighting a cat Ihad hope of seeing one in Tala which was our evening drive.

It was also a very quiet ride, almost too quiet. As we drove past the caves where Solo (Rajbehras daughter) usually hangs out, we were all looking very hard but there was no sign of her. Maybe she was napping or about in another part of her area. We do not always get to see a tiger when we want . It is really up to them. And I kind of felt different that my good friend and tiger expert Manoj was not with me. He always had such an impact on every trip we shared together. Such amazing times people can share when they share a similar passion.

So as we rode along we entered Mirchani area and there is supposed to be a new female there called Spotty, her mother is the Sukki Patiya female. Her father was blue eyes male. She has some cubs but we were not fortunate to see any movement of tigers.

so we had seen some jackals, the gaur were around in the area. I feel like so much has changed since I first started coming in 2010. Back in the good days you were guaranteed to see a tiger in TALA zone. It also could have been that I was only here for 3 days. But this place has blessed me so much. I remember in November 2013 when I was the only person that saw tigers who visited for a few days. We were the talk of the dinner table.

We are heading to Kanha National Reserve at 7:30am. I had a lovely breakfast. My favorite omelette. The resort I will stay at is called Celebration Van Villas. Manoj is always so sweet to find the comfortable and cozy jungle villas. I have always had an enjoyable time at the resorts. Just so peaceful for me. So after we arrived at the resort I had a little nap and was able to go on the evening drive into Kisli zone. Little did I know I was about to meet a beautiful young charming calm male tiger.

My driver name is Davis and guide is Membda . So as usual there were quite a few jeeps ahead of ours lined up at the gate , maybe like 30 but that is fine. I am in no hurry to be first. I was enjoying the surroundings and checking out the place.

One thing I do love about Kanha is that all drivers are not allowed to go any faster than 20kms per hour.. This is most important so one can truly enjoy seeing everything and all animals and the landscape.

Maybe about an hour into the drive we get to a certain area where there is a huge meadow on our right. As we came down a little slope of the hill I looked to my left and then my right and caught a glimpse of something which looked orange/yellow even though it was far away. I always tell people I have eagle eyes. This animal was laying down in a sphynx pose and the more I stared at it I knew it was a tiger. It was a miracle I had spotted my own tiger. Then I told Davis and Membda “guys” I think there is a tiger over there laying down. I said to them we are staying here I don’t want to leave this tiger at all. He was my dream come true.

We stayed in this spot for 20 minutes just watching this young tiger enjoying the afternoon in his jungle. I took many pictures as I rested the camera on the bar of the jeep. All of a sudden there was a spotted deer on his left and it had not noticed the tiger at all. It was grazing and slowly heading towards him.

The male took the position of being very close to the ground as possible and making himself blend in with the grasses.

I took some amazing pictures. As I zoomed in you can clearly see the expression on his face. He is approximately 2-3 years old . I have seen pictures of him . He is the son of Link 7 female tigress. So as the deer came pretty close I assume it smelled the danger and ran the opposite way. There was no hunt. And the tiger yawned a couple more times and decided to get up and move somewhere else. But we stayed put. He was walking parallel to us but towards the end of the meadow. I was just in lala land. My own male tiger to enjoy all to myself in peace.

I also heard him growling lightly, or maybe still calling out to mom. Im not sure. He was such a beautiful tiger, very handsome. The stripes on his face were very unique and I will recognize him when I see him again.

He had started coming closer to us again and he made plenty of eye contact with me. I could only be very quiet as I was in love with him. As he scratched a tree he only put one paw up very high. I was watching his every move. I felt really special. At one point he laid down in an area where he caught a scent of something. This smell, whatever it was made him start licking the dirt for a while, and made some cute grimaces. This was nice to see, a different behavior of cats.

A few minutes later he got up and started moving again , I think he wanted to rest again. As tigers do love to rest most of the day conserving energy. He got to another spot of the forest where he was able to lay down again, but this time with his back towards us. But this male kept his eye on me and looked back in my eyes several times. So sweet he was behaving. Her few minutes went by and he was up again. This was not the spot he wanted to choose.

He wanted to cross the road and get to the other side, so our driver pulled forward and gave him plenty of space. I was juggling my phone taking live videos and the camera. I just enjoyed spending so much quality time with him. He was so calm and quiet, but watchful of me. I really felt a connection with him. As he crossed the track his grace and smooth soft stares toward me were mesmerizing. My heart was melting. He has put an eternal spell on me. A gorgeous male tiger was only 7 feet away from me and I was not scared but felt honored that he trusted me.By this time another jeep had joined us in observing the male tiger. After he crossed the track there was another open meadow to our left and this is where he decided to sit down for a while and rest yet again. I knew he just wanted to relax on this beautiful summer afternoon in the jungle. I have had the most exciting time in my life, and we decided to leave him in peace. This experience was priceless. So many moods of a tigers life I have experienced today. I will never for get him.Returned back to the lodge for overnight.

Being in kanha was a true blessing. I cant describe how much it means to my soul and wellbeing. Just being inside an Indian jungle means so much to me, and I hope others will also have a chance to experience this feeling. The feel of the wind blowing and the chirping and calls of the many species of birds is extraordinary. As you are driving through the winding paths you inhale the sweet intoxicating smell of the forests. And the most exciting part about it is all of a sudden you notice some movement and a beautiful tiger could be staring right at you with that piercing look. Or a handsome deer, a mother with her fawn looking for food and safety. You must be fully aware of all your surroundings and be as quiet as possible.

Kanha also has a museum with many informative history about the history of the park. There is also a beautiful arch made out of the horns of deer that have died and been collected.

On our last drive we had some rain. It started raining so hard that we had to exit the park as many of the roads became a little flooded. But I was able to see the remains of a huge gaur where a tiger was having a feast. The white bones was the only part we saw laying on the meadow. Not even a vulture was in sight. The bones had been cleaned very well. When we reached another area of the reserve there was a huge pond and there must have been 100s of frogs because this is the only noise that we heard. Also that morning we had come across a crested serpent eagle sitting in a tree with a kill. To our surprise two crows were disturbing him for his food.

At the resort Celebration Villas, I also enjoyed my stay. Many of the resorts in India are very comfortable and have a very natural setting, which make you feel as if you are in the jungle already. Most people I know like to relax while on vacation and these places are the best i feel.

So I am looking forward to visiting Kanha again very soon to enjoy the best India has to offer.