We awake at a rude hour. We need to be at the gate of the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve before 5.00 a.m. As I step out to a fast-lightening sky, I’m struck by the freshness of the air, that early morning crispness, which is lacking even at the popular hill stations. The scents of the morning compete with the sounds of the previous evening for a sensory overdose.
The Fortuner glistens in the early morning sunlight, bejewelled with dew. We’re not the first to line up and we’re simply amazed by the number of tourists, many of whom have travelled from as far as Japan, Europe and America to see the magnificent beast. Tigers may be intrinsic to India, but tiger lore is all pervasive. Like humble subjects petitioning an audience with the king, we line up in an orderly queue.
At half-past-five, we drive into the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. Within minutes, our guide points to the canal, which runs along the path. Right there, wonderfully camouflaged among the foliage is a young tigress with the most beautiful liquid eyes I have ever seen. Her demeanour is so much at odds with the devil-may-care bravado of the tiger we spotted yesterday. And soon we see why. Two young cubs, less than 10 months old, are resting nearby. 
A few minutes spent admiring her and we move on. Later that same day, we spot another young tigress, this time with three cubs, near a watering hole. This time we stay longer, taking many more pictures.
We stay at Bandhavgarh for three days, even encountering the infamous Bokha, so named because he lost a canine in a brawl with another tiger, B2, since deceased. We spend most of the second day tracking Kalua (named because of his distinctive black markings), the enfant terrible who’s slowly asserting his position as the dominant male in Bandhavgarh. But Kalua has other plans. Forest guards report a sambhar kill, and the remains indicate a tiger that has eaten well. Sure enough, Kalua is asleep in his cave in a rocky gorge, cooled by the shade. I can see his paws, though, and by all indications, this is one large tiger. Kalua’s paws are all we get to see as the young tiger seems to like his 40 winks.
Of course, the realities of our time mean we must bid adieu to Bandhavgarh and its feline legends, and it is with some reluctance that we leave. It’s been a magnificent holiday, by all accounts, but now we must head back to what we call ‘civilisation’, leaving Kalua, Bokha and others of their ilk to sun themselves on a rock, snooze in the scrub, frolic in the streams, mate by moonlight and feast on deer as is their wont. Truly, a royal life!
Story: Harmaan R A J Madon
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
Rajvardhan Sharma
Occupation: Hotelier Age: 44
Raj has always been a nature-lover. He, along with Navneet Agarwal and Deepak Talan, initiated a conservation programme in the Bandhavgarh tiger reserve and eventually formed TigerGuards of India. Excerpts:
