The Jungle Book

Tigers prowl the high shrubs here, leopards rest on trees. Wild elephants come visiting at night and birds awaken you in the mornings. Wildlife central Bandipur is lush and beautiful.

- Satarupa Paul

Shhh! Quiet!” the driver hissed, bringing the car to a soft halt and pointing ahead. My eyes followed his pointed finger and rested upon what looked like a dark grey mound, slowly sauntering forward from behind the high bushes. I sat inside the car in absolute silence, aware of my heart thudding with excitement. The mound emerged slow and gracious from the bushes on the right and took the shape of a wild elephant. It took its time crossing the road and disappeared into the bushes on the left, stopping for a handful of seconds in the middle of the road, turning its big, beautiful head in our direction, and, as it seemed to me then, looking straight into my eyes!

I had slept through my 5 am flight to Bengaluru and I had slept through the city’s maddening traffic as we made our way to the Mysore highway that’d take us onwards to Bandipur. It was only several hours later as we neared the entrance of the National Park that I finally woke and peered drowsily out of the window. The road, smooth and pitch-black, wound lazily; at times, the forest closed in on it, the canopy on either side reaching out across, casting dark, soothing shadows on the way ahead. The foliage was all shades of green; freshly rain-washed, it dazzled in the midmorning sun. All of this contrasted with an overcast sky that broke into an occasional drizzle. The interplay of nature’s various elements soon had me sighing and smiling with a sense of peace. That is, until our giant wild guest showed up and jolted me right out of my dream-like state. I spent the remainder of the drive keeping a lookout for more wildlife and being enthralled by the general beauty of Bandipur.