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Usha Bande comes back awestruck from a tiger reserve which was the setting of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book
IF the tiger is happy, the land will be fertile." I heard this Gond belief at a time when Sariska was in the news for wrong reasons. We were at Karmaziri, better known as Pench Tiger Reserve and our local Gond guide was regaling us with tiger tales. We could feel the awe in his tone when he spoke of the tiger while giving a commentary on the wildlife in Pench. Pench is the setting for Kipling’s Jungle Book. A short drive across the main entrance is "Kipling Court" where the writer resided. Pench Tiger Reserve is in Madhya Pradesh but it spills over Maharashtra and is the only sanctuary sprawling in two states. It is 90 km from Nagpur and 195 km from Jabalpur on the National Highway No 7. Surrounded by the Seoni Hills of the Satpura ranges, the Reserve stretches over 757.89 sq km and is home to a large number of wild animals and birds, an incredible variety of trees and herbs and a surprising abundance of flowers and grasses. The Pench Interpretation Center at the entrance provides valuable information about the Reserve and its natural wealth but you keep it for the evening return journey because you wish to be on time before the denizens of the jungle choose to retire for a siesta. Interestingly, jungle life starts earlier than we imagine. At the crack of dawn, activities start — a melodious call here, a flutter there, a movement in the undergrowth or a chatter up on the trees. On our first day, we were a little late judging from the jungle standards and missed much. Despite that, driving in the open jeep, with all our senses alive, we realised it was a multi-sensory experience — the trees were freshly drenched in the night’s dew drops, a crisp breeze sent shivers down the spine and the pleasant fragrance of wild flowers and grass elevated the spirit. We were glorifying the soothing effect of the jungle ambiance when suddenly the guide whispered, look cheetal. Disturbed by our approach, a herd of spotted deer dashed out of sight and we regretted our inability to have a photograph. But soon the jungle regaled us with its bounty. We saw a variety of animals — sambar, cheetal, neel gai, jackal, black buck, wild boar and langur monkeys — in their natural habitat. It is a sight to be cherished. Some of them stared in our direction as if questioning our intrusion into their realm; others were just indifferent; some shy and; some romantically inclined to pose for a photograph. At one spot, a pair of spotted deer locked horns right in the middle of the road as if trying to amuse us by their frolics; a jackal chose to play hide and seek with us; a huge Sambar stag came out of a thicket and stood defiantly as we admired his ateliers. It was a wonderful two-hour drive but the tiger and the gaur (Indian bison) seemed not in a mood to come out. We retired to our lodging at Rukhad, some 30 km from Karmazari/ Pench towards Jabalpur. Rukhad is a part of the Pench Tiger Reserve on the other side of the Highway. The MP Tourism jungle huts have a reasonable tariff and if accommodation at Pench is not available, Rukhad is not a bad choice. The jungle behind the cottages is not dormant. If at night you hear a leopard or a tiger or the alarm call of the monkey, you know what it is. A small water hole nearby is their regular haunt. We spent the early part of the night huddled together around the campfire narrating frightening jungle stories. Some of us dared near the water hole with a torch and returned to announce pugmarks on the wet bank. Pench Tiger Reserve has 45 tigers and a large number of bisons. The bison is a shy animal and usually remains aloof, on the other side of valley. That morning as we headed towards the elephant camp at Alikatta, we saw more of the jungle vistas. The Pench River, misty blue in the morning, kept us company. Water birds seemed active at that hour and kingfishers, herons and a few cormorants fluttered past us. A solitary serpent eagle sat serenely atop a dry tree. The guide suddenly seemed alert as he showed us scratches on the glossy white bark of a big tree called "Kullu." "The tiger is nearby", he announced. His guess was correct. Our elephant trudged across the thick part of the jungle; the mahout urged us to be quiet and alert. We were simmering with fear and excitement when we spotted him—sitting elegantly in the mellow morning sun. Our mahout took care not to venture too close as one of our elephants was a baby. He truly looked gorgeous, fierce in his indifference to your presence and yet innocent in a primal way. Then suddenly he got up and chose to stride away. That Pench should be celebrated in literature speaks of its appeal. Rudyard Kipling’s Mowgli wandered in its precincts and befriended its denizens fearlessly. The original setting for Kipling’s Jungle Book is, however, submerged in the Totladoh reservoir, a 54-sq-km lake formed by a dam on the Pench river. Though extolled by guidebooks as the tear-filled eyes of Kalidas’s Shakuntala, the lake has devoured a large tract of forestland. The Pench Interpretation
Center at the entrance, its 44 species of mammals, 300 species of
birds, 50 species of butterflies and 50 fish species, and its
deciduous forests, Pench becomes a cherished experience. You carry
with you its pristine beauty and you would instinctively say a little
prayer to let this haven remain protected from the ravages of man.
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