Tigers going extinct, is and ought to be our major national concern. And a visit to Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan restores one’s realization that conserving nature and preserving our nature needs to be the highest priority.
Once you have spotted a tiger in the wild, everything else is a bonus. Ranthambore has lots of Cheetals, Sambhars, Chinkaras, Wild Boars and a host of other animals including Leopard but seeing a Tiger is still the ultimate thrill.
The Jaisal and Anjali Singh, owned ‘Sher Bagh’ with it’s luxurious tented accommodation and some of the most experienced forest drivers is clearly the best place to be when you visit. Ranthambore is the only national park worldwide that allows you to combine pure nature along with ancient history. It has a beautiful jewel of a pre Mughal fort that is massive and awesome in itself and as a result the park is dotted with ancient monuments through which the wildlife now roam freely and fiercely.
Today the latest estimates are that Ranthambore now has close to 40 Tigers. An energetic and efficient DFO like the one in charge currently clearly makes a difference to park morale and animal mortality. The crowds who go fairly deep into the park arrive in hordes and place an unfair burden on the Forest Department. They are neither regulated nor even policed in any real sense. Sadly the authorities have not been able to control the boorish behaviour of many tourists either who defile the park with behaviour that is uncaring for nature and the location they are in. They very often attempt to disturb animals, pay little attention to park etiquette and generally ruin the experience to those unfortunate enough to be stuck in the Park’s diesel-fume spewing Canters.
In a fast paced world, where conservation and nature are the new buzz words, the appeal to both domestic and foreign tourists is only likely to increase with years ahead. Simple tents that have superb comfort levels are only one part of Sher Bagh’s appeal. An eco-friendly approach permeates everything they do-a model for those who need to study luxury tourism micro-cosms that work well. Given a more forward looking and quality conscious tourism policy, Sher Bagh could be the model that makes an Incredible India that goes beyond the more obvious tourist trails as a magnet for global travelers in the future. Of course, this require concentrated efforts to make sure that the battle is between development, politics, man and nature is more often ,decided in favour of nature – which sadly, like Tigers, suffer simply because they do not have a vote.
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Chhotu cold not believe his luck when the Orissa CM, Naveen Patnaik called him home.
Chhotu, who used to shine shoes on a footpath close to the Chief Minister’s residence, is now the CM’s blue-eyed boy. It was about two years ago that Chhotu first met Patnaik. He had tagged along with his father, a daily wage worker, and did not go unnoticed. The CM greeted him with some chocolates.
As fate would have it, Chhotu soon lost both his parents. With their parents dead, Chhotu and his 16 year old brother started working as shoeshine boys.
But last month Patnaik was passing by the footpath when he noticed the boy again and stopped his car and asked him to come home. Chhotu was received at Patnaiks’s residence and the CM made arrangements for Chhotu to be admitted to a government school. He also gets financial assistance from the CM to meet his educational expenses.
In return, Patnaik has one thing to ask of Chhotu; under no circumstance should he bunk classes or go back to work as a shoeshine boy. No wonder this is Patnaik’s third term as CM. There are numerous stories about his sensitive and human nature.
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