Blog 10. Bears, tigers and a bird with two names on the set of Lord of The Rings.
Day 8 – Thursday 21st November 2019 – Panna
I have decided I must read Raghu’s book – The Rise and Fall of the Emerald Tigers – 10 years of research in Panna National Park. Sadly Raghu advised that they were out of copies at the Sarai. It would have been good to get Raghu and Joanna’s autographs in a copy. They advise that I should be able to find a copy in Delhi and I resolve to do this before leaving India.
Up again at 05:00 for another Devan and Jaipul road trip. There were less vehicles in the queue this morning. We picked up Vijay, whom I must say raised his game massively this morning. First up, spotting a sloth bear. These nocturnal mountains of muscle and fur are usually fast asleep in the deep bushes before the first glimpse of a lightning sky. This one, 400 metres from the park entrance, though in deep bush, was clearly breaking his curfew big style! Managed to get some very shoddy pictures , but hopefully one will be redeemable. Our three companions all sat back beaming with satisfaction at a very rare sighting indeed.
After the bear we were on our own. It was slightly chilly and there was a very soft mist in the air which diffused the early morning light as we drove through densely wooded areas of teak trees. The ever lovely recorded in her notes that “I remarked that it was like something out of Lord of the Rings – expecting a dark rider to emerge out of the shadows”. I didn’t know what to expect with a teak forest but I knew that Panna was the most northerly extent of teak growth in India.
We went on to record 36 new bird sightings. Including a Black Eagle, again a rarity as was the Eastern Imperial Eagle and a Crested or Changeable Hawk Eagle; surely it can’t be both but looking in the trusty Helm guide, it is.
We parked for breakfast on the side of the cliff this time just above where the peregrine falcon was sitting yesterday. In its place a red headed vulture. Which kindly sat for a portrait and then flapped off the branch to glide around for some aerial shots…thank you sir.
There were hundreds of dragonflies everywhere. II asked Jaipul what these were? They are “Journeymen” and breed in the Himalayas then migrate all the way down to the tip of India each and every year.
We saw our first snake (well apart from the rotting six foot carcass of a dead water snake in the river at Varanasi) this time, a three foot long Trinket Snake. Quite cute.
Back in the car and into Tiger 41 territory. Quite incidentally Devan flicked out his arm and muttered something in Hindi to Jaipul. Jaipul glanced and then turned to us and said gently “Tiger”. Magically, Tiger 41 graced us with a walk past for several hundred yards before disappearing back into the deep grass. We hadn’t expected to see any tigers in Panna, though stocks have recovered to 14 they were totally wiped out in the early 2000s. The ever lovely and I were beaming. It is difficult to understand how a large creature so vividly coloured and patterned can be invisible in plain bland middle tone grass; but believe me this beauty was only 15 feet from us and we had simply no idea of it’s presence until it broke into more open ground. Just as simply, when she had had enough of show time she just disappeared – as easily as that.
After a fantastic morning we drove back to the Sarai for a relax before lunch. The ever lovely lay on the hanging bed by the river, literally a bed suspended in the air by four ropes. It was like a cross between a swing and hammock. I wandered down to the river bank again and then around the grounds returning to a strange noise. The ever lovely had fallen fast asleep….need I say more?!
The ever lovely was hoping that we would not be having spicy food again for lunch. At best she tolerates mild spicy but prefers non spicy. I probably lean the other way..when in Rome and all that…. Anyway back in the garden she was delighted to find that lunch had a definitive Italian accent. The gnocchi were splendid as was the Vanilla Panna cotta with Campari jelly. Such is the diversity of the lovely food at the Sarai. I didn’t feel cheated, it was very enjoyable and refreshing. Joanna advised that Raghu devises all the menus and dishes from his family favourites. He no longer does the bulk of the cooking this is now done by one of his former research assistants from the Panna tiger study and pudding by a pastry chef from Bihar state,
After lunch we return to the gypsy for another drive. As we hit the road from the Sarai Jaipul spotted a black winged kite at the side of the road, in a bush, no more than six feet away. As I lined up my lens some fool decided to beep his moped horn…no hope of a shot now as the kite fled in the opposite direction to us. Instead I lined up on a butterfly as we waited at the gate for entry.
Vijay had abandoned us and now we had Mindoo. Mindoo obviously learned much from Vijay. He too was glued to his phone. Jaipul sat in the back with him and they had a good banter going on. They were in the same class at school. Which was the naughty one? I enquired. Mindoo volunteered and Jaipul agreed. They were both born and still live in the village of Madla, the nearest to our entrance to the reserve. Jaipul told us that he started working at age 13/14 at Kenn River Lodge and after three years became a trainee Naturalist there. Raghu met Jaipul at Kenn River lodge and asked him to join him at the Sarai 10 years ago.. So Jaipul has been at Sarai from the start. The ever lovely and I laughed, a 19 year career at age 32 when Ed her son had only just started working (following university and med school) at age 28!
Highlights of the afternoon drive were Jungle Quail, a whole family mom, dad and a caste of seemingly thousands of chicks. Indian rollers in flight, oh, how glorious they are. Devan drove us into and through a river on a totally imperceptible path we were waiting to ground at any moment, but didn’t.
Back at the Sarai we were warned that our much appreciated solitude was about to come to an end. There was a tour group coming in. Although their plane had been delayed they would be here in time for dinner. How sad, we were enjoying our private use of this wonderful place. Joanna said that the group had asked to see the “Tigers of the Emerald Forest” s programme featuring Raghu and Joanna and which the BBC shot with Gordon Buchanan. Would we like to join them for a pre dinner showing?
When Susan and I travel we tend to do so as a couple or when our best friend Sue joins us a threesome. We have better command of how we fill our days and how we gather our experiences of the places we visit. We shun communication with others and the thought of making “holiday friends” is completely alien to us. All of our interactions are, where possible, with the locals, getting to know the culture, the history and for me the cuisine.
As we approached the reception area for pre-dinner entertainment and drinks we could hear our fellow dinner guests recounting their holiday adventures. Following which they proceeded to interview Raghu and Joanna. We looked on, but did not join in. Please don’t let us be put on a mixed table with them we thought. No panic, we had a quiet table close to the entrance to the garden quite away from the group.
The thing that amazed me was that the English guide for the tour group either did not know the history of the Panna reserve/had not researched Raghu and Joanna’s work after the period covered in the film. In my view he should at least have understood and positioned the group to ask more relevant questions but then, that is often the English tour guide method abroad, take the money and add little value. My choice would be a local guide every time – they are so much more in touch with their environment and empathetic to their surroundings and the people within it.
Joanna looked after us attentively during our delicious dinner which was back to the Chundawat family classics, Chicken with black cardamoms and ginger, Dahl with nuts and coconut, gobi bhaji, beans masala, white rice and chapattis. Pudding was a very nice lemon thing – as anyone who knows her can attest, the ever lovely must always end her meals with a desert.
I smiled when I read the ever lovely’s account in her journal. She is never unkind, but her notes summed up the experience accurately “One asked if there was a drinks menu! Another refused the filtered water ice! They were a pompous lot, superficially friendly but self-focused – they knew nothing about anything and everything about nothing!” Over dinner we heard through their bragging chit-chat that they had decided not to go to the Khajuraho temples as they knew all about them and in any case had seen the roofs from the plane window!“
After dinner Raghu came and chatted with us, he is a really nice guy. Joanna spent much time with us over coffee enlightening us on their plans and activities for the area, to better support the local population and wildlife.
We expanded our understanding of the schooling system in India. Anil in Amritsar had told us that there are public schools but not very good quality. If you want children to advance you have to pay and, though expensive, many do. by contrast, Joanna said that in the villages often the teachers don’t turn up, the kids get used to this so they don’t turn up, so when teachers do eventually appear there are no kids. So the teacher goes home again. Joanna and Raghu have managed to get funding from Indore where the Chundawat family originate from. Schools there send pupils to help build/paint village amenities and schools. In addition to the school work Joanna and Raghu have run two eye camps where an optician and opthalmist have dispensed over 800 pairs of spectacles, mainly to adults. Joanna and Raghu have been exploring the possibility of opening a tiger reserve near these villages in virgin forest that is suitable for tigers. Locals are very keen as it will bring tourism and infrastructure. I found this latter project hard to bear as it indicated to me that there is no realistic prospect of them getting back into Panna to carry on with their good and valuable work.
Joana said we had a long drive the next day, the roads are terrible so she has arranged for our car to pick us up at 09:00. She then added 07:00 breakfast on the patio; you won’t be bothered as the group will be in the reserve on a drive arriving back well after we have gone. Both Joanna and Raghu insisted they would be up to see us at breakfast.
Join me next week as I watch the ever lovely perform an impossible feat, and encounter the largest cattle jam on the road…
