Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright

The elusive tiger

Its hard not to think of William Blake’s poem “The Tyger” when you are about to see (hopefully) tigers in the wild.  We were in the Ranthambhore Tiger Sanctuary ready to explore and even though there are few tigers remaining in the wild in India, this was our chance to catch a glimpse of these magnificent cats.

It seems ironic that the maharanahs and maharajahs took such delight in hunting tigers as sport, all to have their beautiful bodies preserved as dusty relics in what in many cases today are palmed off palaces serving as heritage hotels.

We did wonder what awaited us.  Our luck was in.  At 7:00 a.m. we spotted the beautiful yellow, gold, black and white markings of a tiger lying down behind a tree.  He was big and while it wasn’t much of a look it was enough to be wowed and rendered immobile with one's camera

Inquisitive Golden Tree Pye

The sanctuary has a plentiful supply of other wildlife too - beautiful birds, including fluffy owls, cooing peacocks, chatty golden tree pyes, showy kingfishers and soaring eagles.  

Spotted Deer keeps an eye out

Deer and antelope come down to the water’s edge to drink, their bodies reflecting in the shallow pools while sly crocodiles glide menacingly close.  Scurrying mongoose, inquisitive civet, playful monkeys and muddy wild boar are plentiful but nothing compared to a tiger sighting.

Delicious Garlic Naan

Meanwhile back at our hotel the star of the show was not a tiger but Mr. Anil Kumar who made it his life’s work to run from the outdoor tandoor oven into the restaurant to give everyone red hot naan to accompany their meals.  All with an enormous smile on his face - he positively lit up the dining room.

Two minutes to perfection!

At the tandoor oven, the cook expertly shaped the whole wheat dough to paper thin consistency, positioning each one expertly on the inside walls of the tandoor,white hot from the blazing hot charcoal below.  

Finishing touches added before
the dash to the dining room

Invited to "help out" we tried our hand at making naan, concluding that we needed a lot more practice.  The cook told us that he makes thousands every day for lunch and dinner.  Clearly we were not up to the job.

While the tiger sightings may not have lived up to their billing, our stay in the area was memorable, in part due to the kind hotel staff and the enthusiastic Mr. Kumar.