17/04/2016
A dream in Ramganga
We all dream about certain situations. Dreams are the drivers that keep us moving. You do not know when they will come true. I always dreamt of getting to see both the giants of Corbett – the tiger and the Asiatic Wild Elephants together. It was a different thing that sighting of tiger is a rarity in Corbett, and most of the sightings in Dhikala are mere road crossings. So mine was a real wild dream. Only couple of photographers have been lucky to witness such spectacle. If someone had seen it, why not me. That kept me bringing back to Corbett. On this fateful evening of 14th April, 2016, we had reached the Sambhar road where we found couple of gypsy waiting. It was informed that from the watch tower someone had seen a male tiger going into river during noon hours. As it was not seen going up the hill, and given the soaring temperature alongwith scarcity of water in that area, there was very high probability that tiger will come down again for water in the afternoon. Therefore the wait in hope and we joined the party. After about an hour’s wait, a male tiger majestically walked into the Ramganga. He slowly sat down, fortunately facing us, drank and cooled off in water for few minutes. Time was around 5:45 pm. It was a magical scene with golden afternoon light. The tiger literally glowed in that brilliant light. It was also time for the elephants to come down, cross the river and reach the grassland where they would spend the night. And there came my dream true. A tiger cooling off in Ramganga while a herd of elephants crossing the river in background. Both the giants of Corbett got captured in one frame of my camera and my mind forever. God has been kind to grant me one more wish. Typical to Corbett tigers, this male tiger was also finicky. It barely sat in water for 5 minutes. Most of the time it kept looking at gypsys above which were by no means near to it. By the time couple of rushing gypsys arrive, it got up and vanished into bushes.