I was seated in a jungle safari open-air jeep, rambling through rich teak wood forest. We were on the look-out for any kind of animal in the wilderness. Our guide, Mr. Ravi helped us spot   several animals like the Spotted deer (Chital), Langurs ( a type of monkey),wild boar, bison (the Indian Gaur), and the Sambhar deer, the largest kind of deer found in the country. While it was all very exciting in the twilight hours, we had yet to see any carnivore. The Forest Ranger maintained a chart of animals seen by visitors on previous trips, and several (lucky) groups before us had seen leopards, tigers, wolves, wild dogs, the Sloth Bear, and porcupines. Naturally, our hopes were raised in eager anticipation; and we never gave up this hope even when it was time to head back to our forest lodges.

                                             ***********************

 This weekend I found myself in another exotic location near home. The venue this time was Nagarhole National Park, where we planned to spend our short holiday. This Park is a National Wildlife Sanctuary, located in Karnataka, very near the Kerala border.

         By a sheer stroke of good luck, we had managed to book the last two available cottages . The other types of accommodations available here are tents and rooms. The small and select group of tourists, numbering around 50, comprised of a medley of people: young couples, back-packers, families, and foreigners. When we arrived at the Park it was close to dusk. Unsure of what to expect, we found, to our delight, lovely brick-finish cottages, dimly lit, with comfortable and modern interiors. After depositing our luggage here, we were instructed to meet at the "Gol Ghar"( Round House), an open-air dining space, built as a hunting lodge. Here, after a short introductory talk, our guides divided us into groups of six to seven, and led us into a jungle safari jeep, for a drive around the natural  forest, and also to try our luck at spotting some animals in the wild.

            By late evening, we had returned from our forest jaunt, and, although we had seen some pretty unusual creatures, we hadn't seen any of the Big Five. We had by now assembled in a small auditorium, where we watched a very well made, thoroughly researched and thought provoking documentary on the Park, and the problems that beset it. In sum, it showed how human civilization was pushing our planets beautiful, wild creatures to the brink of extinction. Everyone in the group, I'm sure was in some way affected after seeing this short movie entitled, "Nagarhole: Tales from an Indian Jungle".

             At the Forest Dining Room, which resembled an open air hunting lodge, we gathered for a buffet dinner. The courteous and well trained staff had something for everyone.There is that certain something about holidays which revives one's appetite. Maybe it is the fresh air, the charged atmosphere of being alone in a forest, being with your family, friends and like-minded company, and the excitement of the outing. Needless to say, we slept like babies till our wake-up call at 6:00 a.m in the morning. We we ready to go on yet another early morning jaunt through the forest in groups of six, in our special jungle jeeps.

               The real thrill of our adventure trip turned out not to be looking for any wild animal that might creep out of any bush, but the absolutely exhilarating motor boat ride which we went on, down the back-waters of the River Kabini, home to several land and avian creatures. The bamboo thickets and damp soil had provided us with sights like not-so-old tiger pug marks, and tiger droppings.(Someone joked, that at least we saw the droppings!!) The speed of the boat and the sighting of an entire elephant family, greedily ripping out the thick bamboo from the soil was a sight straight from the National Geographic Channel. Above us, something leapt among the branches. Our boatman stopped the engine just in time for us to spot the Giant Red Malabar Squirrel. The furry animal was peeping at us naughtily from behind leaves, and was watching us from the safety of the high branches. The mildly cloudy weather, clear waters, and the sheer serenity of the place was a treat for tired, city-life-worn souls. It was not long after that we had to bid adieu to this chapter of our holiday. We had another destination to cover before heading home: the Vrindavan Gardens, Mysore.not-so-old tiger pug marks,ers of the River Kabini, home to several land and av