Common perception in the realm of luxury includes personal luxury goods, luxury cars, private yachts, hospitality, tourism, wine and spirits. If luxury is about history, heritage, beauty, rarity, royalty and power then why should we not consider some of the most endangered or protected animal species in its domain?
Be it the Javan rhinos of South East Asia, the Amur leopard in Russia and China, the Giant Panda in China, the African forest elephant or the Indian Bengal tiger. Here we discuss the most royal of them all, the Royal Bengal Tiger.
The history of the Royal Bengal Tiger traces back to the Tarantian Age of the geologic time scale 12,000 years before in the Indian sub-continent. A symbol of beauty, power, authority and salutation, the biggest wild cat is rightfully addressed as the Royal Bengal Tiger with royalty and regale inherited. Stories weaving around the history and heritage are aplenty. Is there anywhere in the world a real example of a wild tiger being domesticated without sedation?
On a cold morning in 1974, a group of people encountered a tigress with her three cubs on the banks of River Khairi near Simlipal Tiger Reserve in Eastern India. They scared the tigress who escaped with her two cubs leaving behind the third one which was destined to be a part of Indian wildlife folklore. The, then, founder director of Project Tiger, Mr Saroj Raj Chaudhary, a seasoned forest officer of Odisha and his wife decided to adopt the cub and he even imitated a tiger’s roar to create an emotional connection with the little one. Named after the river, this tiger cub was lovingly called Khairi and stayed with the Chaudhury’s for years thereafter till her demise. The story is that a fully grown Khairi used to roam around the house and even sleep along with the Chaudhary couple in their bed. This is a tale of a tiger domestication without any sedation which is unheard of.
Legend holds that hunting tigers was a favourite pastime of the erstwhile Indian Maharajas. Maharaja of Surguja alone hunted 1,710 tigers in his period. Even the British during their reign in India killed 1,726 tigers and were equally responsible for the wild cat’s depletion. Another story which revolved around the tiger was that of the Maharaja of Kotah, Umed Singh II who got a Rolls Royce customised for hunting tigers and elephants. This 1925 Phantom 1 came fitted with an elephant rifle and a hand-cranked machine gun suitable for the hunting of tigers.
The first white tiger male cub in India was found in 1951 by Maharaja Martand Singh in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh who named him Mohan. Though the white tiger’s origin in India goes well back between 1556 to 1605 AD, they are not a separate species but are born to both parents who carry the recessive genes for a white colour. The population of Bengal tigers was 50,000 during the pre-independence era, but today it’s an endangered species with India probably being the only place wherein one can see the royal predatory cat roaming free in the wild, thanks to our initiative of Project Tiger launched in 1973 with strict wildlife laws and protection policies. Globally the population of tigers is a measly 5575 in 2023 with the Indian count being 3682 which is 75% of the world’s population. The number had dipped significantly to 1411 in 2006 but thereafter India’s “Save the Tiger” and conservation programmes helped in consistently increasing the numbers of the big wild feline. With Project Tiger in place, India has the world’s maximum tiger reserves now. Jim Corbett, Bandipur Reserve, Kanha National Park, Kaziranga National Park, and Ranthambore Tiger Reserve are some of the top ones.
If this is not “Luxury” then what is? The Indian Royal Bengal Tiger is a symbol of India’s hidden luxury landscape and its time needs an escape velocity. We invite the world to come for a tour of the Indian wilderness, visit one of the top Tiger Reserves, take a safari ride and if lucky they may spot the royal Bengal tiger roaming freely in the wild spanning hundreds of square kilometres.
This Indian wild treasure has always fascinated me and I remember fondly the book I read in my childhood “Man-eaters of Kumaon” by hunter–naturalist Jim Corbett in whose honour the Corbett Tiger National Park is named after. I was always saddened when this royal wild cat was hunted by Corbett though more out of necessity than hunting pleasure as a man eater is dangerous to human habitation.
My inner calling and my family wanted to visit a Tiger Reserve for a short vacation. I was reminded of an old colleague of mine who was a wildlife enthusiast and now made a profession out of his passion for wildlife. It’s been a decade since I had spoken to Varun and I am sure he must have been pleasantly surprised to receive my call while he was in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve with a client from the UK. Being a wildlife professional he quickly helped frame my travel itinerary. Lo and behold I and family were all set to travel to Ranthambore in Rajasthan, the best period for Tiger Safari here is between October and February. A road trip from Delhi NCR to Ranthambore takes almost 8 hours and for someone who loves driving there is nothing better than cruising the highways, halting for some tea, snacks or a lunch along the roadside motel or what’s locally called a dhaba. But this time we decided to take a train. We preferred a train journey as we could see the vast green landscape on the way and it was a short journey of 4 hours 50 minutes ride in the AC chair car of Jan Shatabdi. With a little chill in the air and tons of excitement, we got up early in the morning. Bags were backed last evening though we prefer travelling light. We had to leave our loving pet Labrador at the pet boarding. At 9 am I and my wife drove Amara to her boarding. We felt bad as this was the first time we were leaving her in pet care for four continuous days. But Amara was excited to be with her other friends in the pet care for a few night outs.
We boarded the train and all along the journey I was wondering if we could be ever lucky to spot a Royal Bengal Tiger or not. I have heard of contrasting versions of people claiming success and many disappointments as well. Finally, at 5.45 pm the train screeched to a halt in the small and sleepy Sawai Madhopur railway station. The local agent had organised a car pick up to the Ranthambore Heritage Haveli, a small but lovely boutique property built in surreal natural surroundings. They have lovely Deluxe Special rooms nicely decked up with paintings of wild animals and birds.
We had access to an early sumptuous buffet dinner. Tired and with wild anticipation we retired into the comfort of the soft cushions and fell into a deep slumber.
As per the itinerary, our first Safari was post lunch but the morning was dedicated to the Ranthambore Fort and Handicrafts visit. But I must admit my innermost desire was to spot the Big Cat and India’s endangered luxury animal with yellow black and white stripes. However, I was happy to see some cute sights of the Grey Himalayan langurs (the Indian monkeys) glimpses of which I could capture with my camera as shown below.
Ranthambore Tiger Reserve spans 1,764 sq. kilometres. Currently, the tiger count is 81. The forest department has only allowed 20% of the landmass for public safari visits. This is divided into 10 zones each measuring 35 sq. km. They say that tiger sighting is good in between zones 1 to 5 but even 6 & 10 have delivered spotting success. Instead of a Private jeep Safari, I preferred a canter safari with 20 seats. For reasons of enjoying a social spotting camaraderie. To make the 3 hours terrain traverse more interesting, a canter I guess is better. Post lunch we boarded our Canter along with others each having a separate seat. And there we went where many have gone before with contradictory success rates. A fellow gentleman said “If we are lucky we spot a Tiger, if not it’s ok. My instant response was But Sir “I do care”.
Royal Bengal Tigers are really sparse and endangered. Luxury is not about sighting them in a zoo but spotting them freely roaming in the wild is a rare sight. We were on our way into Zone 1 and quickly saw many spotted deer, grey langurs, handsome peacocks and wild boars. We also saw sambar or the Antilla who are the favourite fodder for the tiger. Each Sambar weighs between 100 to 150 kgs on average and the tiger usually hunts one a week. Each day it eats 25 kilos of sambar meat and walks nearly 40 kilometres a day to digest and keep themselves fit. The grey Himalayan langur can see an approaching tiger from a distance of 2 to 3 kilometres and sends out an alarm call. This helps the spotted deer and other animals to flee on time. But a sambar is not a fast runner and so at times one of them gets hunted by the tiger. It’s sad but that’s the old jungle food chain tale.
We also saw the tiger dens which were small caves-like holes wherein they take shelter in heavy rain or while the tigress is giving birth and rearing the cubs. The swinging langurs on the tree branches were a blissful sight to watch. By now we were in a deep jungle and heard a few false calls of an approaching tiger but in vain. Finally, when all hope seemed lost, the big royal cat with all its glory and glamour appeared from the left marshy bushes and slowly walked across the canter in front of us. We were in the second canter but could view the Royal animal just 20 meters in front of us crossing the lean dusty road. It crossed and then walked slowly adjacent to our canters 30 meters away. What a Royal ramp walk on a stony terrain! Least bothered about her eager spectators and with majestic confidence the Royal Bengal
tigress “Noori” as she is fondly called in Ranthambore Reserve walked for at least 100 meters in full view of a stunned crowd transfixed in their respective canters. She then found a small marshy dug out and lay down for an afternoon siesta with her white belly and huge paws facing the sky. Just like our Labrador pet Amara who sleeps when she is in complete bliss. I could manage pictures as few as I could because I wanted to witness and enjoy this rare luxury sight of the endangered Royal Bengal Tiger roaming freely in the wild. Tiger is a solitary animal and the ramp walk was also in solitude, with grace, beauty and royalty writ large.
While returning to the Ranthambore Heritage Haveli where we were staying, I was wondering and asking myself “If the sight of a Royal Bengal Tiger in the forest reserve is not luxury then what is? Sighting one of the most endangered species, the Indian Tiger traversing in freedom in the wild fulfils the rarity element of luxury. The joy and thrill of sighting a tiger is experiential even when you know she solely belongs to the wilderness. But you return owning the surreal experience. That’s luxury. It is nature’s creative genius of offering to the world of fauna, an animal so royal marked by beauty, grace, perfection and a salutation to power. Today we saw “Noori”, a beautiful gift of nature with India as her Country of origin. With only 3682 tigers in India which accounts for 75% of the endangered global species,
I would take the liberty of addressing The Royal Bengal Tiger and the experiential luxury of sighting it roaming freely in the Wild “as India’s contribution to the domain of world luxury. Incredible India invites you to visit, enjoy this rare sight and own the luxurious surreal experience forever.
All Images: Courtesy Jyoti S Das.
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