IN THE EYE OF THE TIGER

Seasoned adventurers embark on a safari through Ranthambore National Park, a prestigious UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here, ancient 400-year-old banyan trees and the grand Ranthambore Fort serve as a picturesque backdrop for encounters with the park's iconic inhabitant: The Majestic Tiger.

- Gustasp and Jeroo Irani

The cool embrace of dawn caressed us as we drove into the depths of Ranthambore National Park in south-eastern Rajasthan. Slowly, the forest uncurled itself in the warmth of the rising sun; we felt its pulse and heard its song.

Our jeep bounced its way through the park's entrance, where 400-year-old banyan trees bowed in greeting and towering palms stretched skyward like ancient totem poles honouring forgotten gods. Soon, the sandstone contours of the thousand-year-old Ranthambore Fort, perched on a dry rocky outcrop in the forest, rose against a cloudless blue sky. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, its massive sandstone walls run for 7 km. (Incidentally, located in the fort is a Lord Ganesh temple, one of the most sacred Ganesh temples in India, whose presiding deity receives wedding invitations from all over the country.)

Soon, we were heading into the green nave of the park, the former hunting ground of the maharajas where the tiger reigns supreme as the ultimate celebrity. We stopped at limpid waterholes, squinted through borrowed binoculars, and watched the Chital sunbathe and langurs leaping from one tree branch to another with the elegance of ballerinas. A sudden rustle in a clump of reeds caused a flurry of conjecture, only to reveal a wildfowl which clucked away with a disapproving tone.