| The big fan turned languidly beneath the high ceiling as I reluctantly pulled myself out of the charpoy bed in the old 'Raj' bungalow. Five in the morning was a time I'd once only read about, never wanted frequent, but the prospect of dawn in the jungle always overcame the lethargy of years. Fumbling for clothes, unwilling to pour chilled water from a bucket over a body that still slumbered, I stumbled outdoors. A cup of steaming 'chai' was thrust into my hand. People moved quietly, unwilling to acknowledge that the day had begun, filling the jeep with provisions and survival equipment - water, rope, spare parts, torch, whisky. Leaving the grand old bungalow behind, the stupor half-waking was shaken involuntarily from our bodies as the jeep porpoised over the broken rock surfaces of the jungle trail. Our bodies' initial resistance, desire for calm, was smothered by our other senses, anxious to absorb the beauty around us. This was the world as it was in the beginning - far from Man, far from 'civilisation' that is inexorably obliterating the last foothold of life as God must have intended. A shaft of golden light lanced above the horizon, suffusing the sky with a kaleidoscope of colour that announced dawn in the Satpuras, the central highlands of India.
Gathering light revealed Sambar deer and Chital, grazing and browsing whilst Langur monkeys stood sentry duty high above in the treetops. Tiger and leopard still roam here, ever intent on their next meal - a natural process of survival that might have prevailed forever if not for the human touch. The jeep stopped and we saw the clearly defined 'pugs', footprints of a large tiger that could have heard our jeep and veer off into the undergrowth. I explained the differences between male and female, young and old tigers and their puts, before we moved deeper into the jungle. Soaring peaks of sandstone, deep-cut ravines and gorges, vast scenic panoramas and intimate campfires are our life. Doing whatever we can to slow the decline of the tiger in India is our vision. Sharing our hopes, life and pleasures keeps us alive financially and spiritually and hopefully bestows unforgettable experiences upon the guests that go the extra mile to find us. Five years on the plateau of Pachmarhi, surrounded by jungle, has instilled a lover for India, an enthusiasm for our work and a desire to share it with people who want to make a difference with their hard-earned holiday money. Our charity, LifeForce, supports the Indian Forest Department and local tribal people around the protected areas - we survive on income from guests, not touching charity funds so that every pound goes to the jungle, where the donors intended. As the 'mugger', crocodile, whiplashed into the water from sunbathing on the riverbank and huge Gaur )(Indian Bison) turned away into the bamboo, we headed for home; after an overnight halt in a remote resthouse, dinner under the stars and breakfast to follow a morning patrol. No tiger on this trip, but then that's why we're here. We know they're there, just. |
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