Sounds of Time

The 'Record Prince' store

Seventy year old Richard Phillips from Boston has his eyes lit as he looks at the priceless and diverse collection of record players lying in the shelf of the small shop in front of him.  Santana’s eponymous debut album from 1969, a bunch of albums by the Southern Rock legends Allman Brothers Band, records from the 70s by British progressive rock pioneers King Crimson; among others occupy the shelves of this small record store in Kolkata. Also lying near these are jazz must-haves like Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, live albums by the Bill Evans Trio and Weather Report classics. 

“These are absolute gems; I have been looking for many of these in my country for quite some time. Imagine finding them here in this small nook!!  My wife is a big fan of the Allman Brothers. She would be absolutely delighted.” says Richard with the excitement of a 12 year old.

Located in the nostalgic neighbourhood of Free School Street in central Kolkata, Record Prince , popularly known here as ‘Chacha’s shop’, has been in existence since 1965 and is one of the very few shops still housing some of the most valued and precious record players there can be. This shop, as some claim here, is the Mecca of vinyl records in town and not to mention a few well-maintained gramophone players, some of which are even up for sale.

Anyone who might have possessed a record player once would know what a good quality one is, and shops like Record Prince do keep theirs well oiled. The owner of the shop, 67 year old Anis Ashraf, is a jolly man who hardly visits the store these days himself and lets his two sons handle it. He got most of these records from their previous owner Bakhtiar Jaan who used to run a nameless record store in these very lanes in the early 1950s. Ashraf who used to work as an employee in Bakhtiar’s store learnt all the nitty- gritty and other technical details of record players with perfection. For instance he can tell you in details as to how a 78rpm(revolutions per minute)- the standard speed of a record player-  is supposed to run smooth. He can also inform you about genres and artistes that lure people to these records; things which were poles apart from his upbringing.

“What’s special about these vinyl records is that even after years of endless and repeated use they never seem to lose their rich quality of sound. This can never be the case of cassettes or even these new age CDs.  Although I have lost a handful of my old records as they got broken, but I have got quite a few which are more than sixty years old.” says Anis assuredly while showing the worn-out diaries he still maintains that detail track names and artistes on a particular LP (Long Play, or long-playing microgroove record), year of publication and total length of the recording. These are details he says that customers absolutely relish. “It gives me immense pleasure when I provide the customers with the things they are looking for. There is no greater feeling when people from different parts of the globe say that they have heard about my shop from their friends," he adds with pride.

Some of the famous classics on the shelves of the store

Record Prince however is not just renowned for housing English classics; it caters to local tastes too by having some of the most treasured collectibles of Hindi songs of the yore. Records of everyone from Pandit Ravi Shankar to Rabindrasangeet renditions by Hemanta Mukhopadhyay decorate the shelves of the shop. 

Danish Ashraf at the store

However the real gems or his ‘special collections’ as ‘Chacha’ likes to call them are kept in a moldy hole in the wall, behind the shop. Arranged systematically in racks, the records are alphabetically arranged according to the artistes’ names. After a record-to-tape, or now record-to-CD, capture each one the records goes back to its original place of safety.  While Chacha claims he has sold off most of his collections, there still are close to around 5000 records at his store.

Of his two sons, 30 year old Danish Ashraf is the one who is mostly seen managing the store and learning the tricks of the trade from his father like a loyal son.  “I have no intentions of going anywhere else. I wish to continue doing this as long as I can and maybe expand it even further in the future. It is our family’s bread and butter and I can never let it go.”  says Danish confidently.

In the age of MP3 players, IPods and digital music, Record Prince has survived and lived to tell its tale.  “I guess I have in a way ensured this shop’s place as an important part of Kolkata’s nostalgia; howsoever small it might be.”  smiles Anis Ashraf before going off to greet a couple of eager customers. Though Anis today may have taken his self-imposed voluntary retirement from his shop, it seems that the magic of vinyl refuses to leave him.  

The Ranthambhore Adventure (Part-2)

(Second and final part of my adventures in Ranthambhore. Here I try and detail the account of the trips I made in the park and some other anecdotes from the city. It was an arduous task to compile the events in just one post, but I have given it my best shot. Hope you enjoy the journey.)

The early morning chill seemed to hit me like cold knives as we ventured towards our destination sitting in the auto. The sun was yet to come out as it was still around 4.15 am and we drove towards the Ranthambhore National Park gates covered in heavy jackets and caps. The streets of Sawai Madhopur were expectedly deathly silent and not a soul could be seen at that hour. The driver drove at full speed causing the chilly wind to invade the auto and make our teeth chatter like crazy. That was the thing about Rajasthan; it could be extremely hot in the summers and deadly cold in the winters. My friend Haokip meanwhile was busy trying to take a short nap in the auto; quite oblivious to the tension that I was feeling then.

The canter we were to board

We reached the park gates at around 4.45 am and thankfully got the tickets for the canter (an open bus) ride. It was a 20-seater vehicle; not ideal given that we would have another 18 people chattering like bees around us, but it had to do. The jeep ride was way too expensive and I was just happy at the chance to be getting inside the park.

The first trip was to begin at 6 am and end after three hours at 9. After a break, we were then to return for the second trip at 2 in the afternoon. For now though, I was only focused on this trip. Every arrangement had now been done. Now all we could do was wait.  I checked my watch; it was still 5 am. There was an entire hour to go before we could board our vehicle. I looked around for Haokip; he was busy sipping tea from a local tea –shop, looking around aimlessly at the skies. I smiled to myself knowing well that this was going to be one long hour indeed.

Trip 1

“The canter will leave in five minutes. Get ready all of you,” hollered the burly driver of the canter to all of us. It was precisely 5.55 am and the sun was slowly making its way from the clouds above to shine down on everything in the vicinity. Now I could clearly see the words ‘Ranthambhore National Park’ etched on a large semi-circular plate at the entry gates. Beyond it, I could see the dense forest and the amazingly beautiful mountains inviting me to explore their

captivating beauty. It was a glorious moment; standing outside the park I had seen only on television and having dreamt about visiting it many a times all these years. It all seemed so surreal. I hence wanted to drink in every moment of this. Everything seemed to be moving in slow-motion as I looked around; people were scuttling to take their seats in the respective vehicles, drivers and other officials were barking instructions to people around them and hawkers were still trying to sell hats and jackets to the visitors. I was jolted out of my reverie as Haokip pulled me by my sleeve and yelled, “Get in the canter ass****, we are getting late.”

                         

                                                         

                                                                                              **

The icy cold wind of the forest smothered my face and I breathed in the fresh morning air of the verdant greenery around me as the canter sped ahead on the rocky road of the jungle. There are few better feelings in life than the one I was feeling right then. It seemed I was in some other world enveloped by magnificent trees and mountains. The air was so invigorating and pure that I felt I had rinsed myself of all the sins in my life right then just by inhaling it. I closed my eyes for a minute and let the feeling sanitize me, wanting to make the most of the moment whilst I could. I knew I would get to relive this particular moment again the very next day when we would be back for another round at the park, but I somehow related this moment to the feeling of first love- you might experience love many times in your life and enjoy it too; but the first one will always be the most special one because you will never get another first love in your life!

                                                                                               **

We were an hour into our journey now and I had been closely observing every minute detail of the surroundings around me. Haokip like me was relishing the forest adventure. His handycam tightly gripped in his hand, he kept on capturing the picturesque locales that went by us. However the people in the canter were getting impatient as we hadn’t seen a tiger yet. The conversations centered only on getting a peek of the tiger and they ignored the fact that there was much more to savour from the forest than just the elusive big cat.  

As another half an hour went by and all we saw were a couple of alligators resting by a small pond and few gorgeous looking birds atop the trees; the people started getting restless. “When will we see the tiger?” asked a curious kid to his mother. A group of young boys started cracking loud jokes, completely ignoring the laws of the jungle to remain silent. It is imperative that whilst we are in the jungle, we should abide by its rules and not disturb the natural surroundings. We are in their territory and not the other way round. Very few people however abide by this. Unfortunately, neither the guide nor the driver asked them to maintain silence either.

One of the antelopes we had spotted

Meanwhile as the canter zoomed ahead, we noticed a couple of antelopes squatting at a small clearing. The vehicle stopped and we quietly gawked at the beautiful creatures merrily munching the fresh grass. There is something quite thrilling to watch animals in their natural habitat; it’s unlike any experience a zoo can ever provide.  

Soon thereafter, we were coming to a close on the trip and there was disappointment everywhere as a tiger had still not been sighted. All the talk was still centered on the tiger. A couple of other vehicles passed by and informed us that they had luckily sighted a tiger on a certain route just minutes ago. There was a collective loud groan from all of the people in our canter, including me. It seemed we were very near to the cat and had yet missed it. But there was not much to do about it now as I saw the canter taking us back to the entry gates. The first trip was over. Though people kept chattering on how unsuccessful the trip had been for them, I was quietly satisfied.     

                                                                                                                                                               

  I had enjoyed it for the special moments it gave me.

Food and Relaxing

“I am not going in there man,” Haokip said in anguish as he looked in horror at the vegetarian restaurant I was taking him to. I had to drag and convince him at the same time that it was an economical deal. We were at a restaurant which was at walking distance from the park. Going to look for a non-vegetarian restaurant to the main city would involve a lot of travelling and would hence mean spending extra money and with it extra time as well. We had to save both and hence I convinced my friend to eat here.

It was almost like watching someone forcibly eat jail-food. Haokip looked in disgust at the plate of yellow daal and rice in front of him and chewed each morsel as if someone had died in his family. I did not have the time to ponder over his grumblings as I had to refill my own tummy and thus I greedily dug in at my spread of the same item and relished eating it as Haokip kept eyeing me angrily.

                                                                    

                                                                                                  **

Haokip was evidently quite happy at the shop

I managed to cheer Haokip’s sour mood again by taking him shopping. It was the very same shop from where I had brought my tiger printed T-shirts a day earlier. Like me Haokip too was impressed by the man’s collection and soon he forgot his ordeal with the vegetarian food and got interested with the T-shirts. He brought himself a couple of them and looked quite happy with himself. I checked my watch; it was still around 12.30 pm and the trip to the park was to commence at 2. Going home and coming back again did not seem like a very smart thing to do in the heat that was now constantly rising. We were quite tired from getting up early and taking the rocky trip at the park.  I thus requested the shopkeeper to let us stay outside the shop which had a nice shed. He happily agreed and we finally got the chance to relax our tired bodies there. The atmosphere was pin-drop silent and it helped to relax my tired nerves. Haokip immediately got busy in his handycam as he surveyed the videos he had shot. He kept punctuating the silence by laughing every now and then for some unknown reasons as he looked at the videos. I got bored and felt heavy from the food I had just eaten. Putting my head down, I took a short nap.

Trip 2

The baarasingha I took a click of

The second trip to the forest was quite mundane and sedate as compared to the first one. It was 4 in the afternoon now and as the guide informed me, perhaps the animals too preferred to rest in the shed of the tress at this hour. We did not spot anything exciting as the canter moved along except for the occasional chital, baarasingha and neelgai and a menacing looking vulture atop a mountain rock. Then we also came across a group of langurs at a checking post and had fun feeding the chattering lot.

The real tiger tracks

The thrill came when our driver directed our attention to a tiger pug-mark.  We stopped there looking at the foot- imprint of the tiger on the dirt. It was breath-taking to feel that the tiger had been to exactly this spot just an hour ago. But it had left now and we had to move ahead.

Another hour went by and everyone in the canter seemed to be getting quite somber and quiet. Haokip seemed sleepy and had shut down his camera as there was nothing new to shoot except for the trees swishing by. I looked about at the trees and the grass, wondering what animal might be hiding there as we entered another bend of the road at the forest. I kept looking at the thick greenery when I thought I saw something move in the bushes. I kept piercing very hard at the spot for any sign of an animal. And then… A streak of yellow flashed by! I alerted the driver to stop the vehicle, telling him of what I had just seen. Everyone was alert and standing up now. My heart was thumping. I thought at the exciting possibility that might be in those bushes- could it be?

All of us were craning our neck at the same direction where I had pointed my finger at. Haokip was ready with his handycam. We waited with bated breath. And then all of a sudden an animal jumped from the bushes behind our vehicle, crossed the dirt path and got lost into the opposite thicket. It was a leopard! It happened so fast, in a matter of seconds, yet I spotted the animal very clearly. It was a young male leopard with beautiful black spots decorating its body. The cameras were out but we hardly got the chance to film the moment except for in our minds. A few seconds later however, we spotted the leopard again; at a small clearing in the bushes. It was snarling at something above a tree, perhaps a small animal or bird. We could look at it only partially, as it was mostly covered by trees and branches but it was enough for the people to go mad with their shutters. I savoured the moment and framed it in my mind’s eye and a couple of minutes later the leopard vanished into the dense bushes again. We waited for another ten minutes but this time it did not reappear. Nevertheless, it had done its job. Our hearts had been satisfied after a dull trip.

The sun was now setting behind the mountains and the canter sped towards the entry gates.

Exploring, food and a tired night

It was getting darker by the minute and me and Haokip were walking back towards the main city. Our legs were tired and we didn’t feel like walking but there wasn’t any public transport available in the park’s surrounding areas. I suddenly spotted an army jeep passing by; there were a lot of those given the fact that there was a local army headquarter nearby. Purely in jest, I signaled my arm asking for a lift. To my surprise the vehicle stopped and a guy dressed in the traditional army outfit peeked out from the driver’s window. He smiled at me and said, “Hop in”. It was the first time that I had stepped on to an army jeep and it felt quite cool to be sitting there chatting away with the officer and looking around the city as we moved ahead. He was a nice and friendly chap and I never felt like I was talking to an army official.

The city looked beautiful, decked with twinkling lights everywhere. The more I observed it, the more I fell in love with this small and simple town. The local people looked happy everywhere and the city exuded a happy-go-lucky atmosphere. Everything about the city was small- the shops, the houses, the hotels; but the heart was evidently quite big.

                                                                                                        **

We strolled about the markets of Sawai Madhopur in search of a good restaurant. Haokip’s eyes lit up when he found a non-vegetarian hotel, but it was overcrowded with foreign tourists and hence did not have space for us. It was the same case with another four to five non-vegetarian restaurants that we looked at. Haokip’s mood was getting twitchy again; he hadn’t touched meat in two days and that was a big thing for him. However fate wasn’t on his side as even after about another half hour our search for a non-vegetarian eatery turned out to be futile.

As we moved about my eyes fell on the board of a restaurant named ‘Saraswati Bhojanalay’- an all-you-can-eat vegetarian restaurant. The prices were cheap and I directed Haokip’s attention towards it. He was blank for a moment and then shrugging his shoulders he went in. Smiling to myself, I followed him inside.

                                                                                                          **

Haokip’s snores pierced the silence around me as I lay awake staring at the ceiling, lost in my own thoughts. I recollected my adventures from the day and concluded that it had been a satisfying outing up until now. However, the tiger still remained elusive and I wondered if I would be able to have a glimpse of the beast on the next morning’s trip. It would be our last chance to catch it as we had decided that we could not afford any more trips in the park; it was going out of budget. Tomorrow was our last day and we were to leave the morning next. My nerves had soothed down compared to my first night here but just the thought of getting to see the tiger got me excited again. I closed my eyes and pondered on what the tiger must be doing precisely at this hour. I imagined the great striped animal to be relaxing merrily in the bushes of the jungle as the crescent moon-light shone over its magnificent body. “Where are you Mr. Tiger?” I whispered to myself before dozing off.

Trip 3

I inhaled the fresh morning air of the forest as the canter zoomed ahead. The similar feeling of invigoration ran through my body and I closed my eyes with the intention of seeping in every second of the moment. I knew this was my last trip and I wanted to make every second count.

The trip however continued without any thrills and we did not notice any animals this time except for the occasional chirping birds. An hour had passed and the jungle was strangely silent today. I was getting severely disappointed and thought- Is this how my last trip is going to end?

And then I heard it! It brought me out of my gloomy thoughts. The alarm call of a deer! I was sure I had heard it and then my eyes met with that of the guide’s. Apparently he too had heard the call and asked the driver to stop instantly. We sat silently for a few minutes and then we heard it again. It was loud and clear this time; like a small bark. It was the obvious alarm call of a deer. The ones they make to alert their pride when they see danger approaching; especially when it is a tiger!

That moment of wait

My breathing became heavy. It was a scene straight out of the Discovery Channel documentaries I had watched. Another alarm call; this time more distinct. I pierced very hard in the dense thicket from where the sound was coming from. And then came another sound- the alarm call of the langur. “It is here,” the guide whispered. My heart started pounding like crazy. Everything was dead silent in the forest now except for the alarm calls made by the deer and langur in short pauses. It seemed like the entire forest was holding its breath along with us. Nothing moved, not even the leaves nor the air around us which I refused to breathe. I was completely spell-bound.

I suddenly saw some movement in the bushes a little away from me. And then came the moment of my lifetime. The tiger casually strode into the clearing in front of us, thumping its huge paws on the soft earth. Its magnificent body pushed the bushes around it and after coming to a rocky platform, it stood still and observed its surroundings. The robust body of the majestic beast gleamed in the sunlight and then it moved its head towards us. All of us were enchanted by its presence. For a second I felt it looked straight at me. The hair on my body stood at its end and my legs felt weak.  I had lost thought of everything around me and suddenly realized that everyone was going crazy capturing the tiger in their cameras. I however was capturing it in my mind’s eye; where it would remain for the rest of my life. The tiger then gently tilted its head to the left and lunged off into the deep bushes ahead.

All of this had happened in a matter of perhaps ten seconds but it seemed like an eternity had passed by. The people in the canter now finally let go of their breaths and immediately started discussing the moment amongst them. I looked at Haokip who was smiling at me. “I couldn’t completely catch it on the film man. It was too difficult,” he said to me guiltily. He was the one who really knew what seeing the tiger meant to me and was perhaps left feeling guilty that he couldn’t capture the moment we had come here for.  I was too overwhelmed at that moment, and seeing him standing there I just went and hugged him. I still do not know why I did it, but at that moment of catharsis, I needed to do something and embracing my friend felt the right thing to do. We were on this together and it was like our own small moment of victory; nothing else mattered to me now!

The trip had been successful after all.

Food and exploring..again

I managed to entertain myself after the lunch

In all the excitement we didn’t realize how hungry we were. Thus we ventured towards the market again in search of some good eatery. Yet again, I took Haokip to the same vegetarian restaurant I had taken him on the first day- 'Hotel Shyam'. I convinced him saying we have already spent a lot of money and thus shouldn’t waste it anymore. Haokip it seemed had lost the fight in him and merely said, “I hope I don’t die before we leave this place”.

                                                                       

                                                                                                                           

   

                                                                                             

                                                                                                     **

At a lake in the Ranthambhore Fort

It was afternoon time and we were now strolling around the steps of the Ranthambhore Fort which was a historical fort built by some Rajput king. We got to know about it from some local cops at the restaurant. It was a nice and picturesque place to while away our time as we did not have much to do for the rest of the day. We spent almost the entire afternoon striding around and observing the historical place. As the sun prepared to set behind the horizon, we found the perfect setting near a serene and peaceful lake to view the stunning spectacle. It also gave us a chance to rest peacefully and reflect on our thoughts for the day.

                                                            

                                                                                                                   **

Darkness had befallen again in Sawai Madhopur and both of us were walking back to the main city. I observed the small houses and felt sad that I won’t be seeing them again. Haokip on the other hand was drinking a can of beer and smoking a cigarette at the same time and looked in a jolly mood. All of a sudden he took me by neck and pointed my head at something. It was a five star hotel named- Tiger Den. I looked at him inquisitively, but before I could say anything he dragged me inside.

It was a really swanky restaurant that served non-vegetarian food as well. The crowd around us was quite opulent and as we sat at our table I felt queasy. I picked up the menu card and looking at the prices I gulped and wiped a bead of sweat from my face. I looked at Haokip and said, “Err. Buddy, listen to me...”

But before I could finish he silenced me with a wave of his hand. Throughout the trip I had given the instructions and he had followed me quietly but this was ‘his’ moment. It was reminiscent of the movies where the side hero tags along with the protagonist throughout the story and gets to mouth the best dialogue in the end. True to that he first removed his bandana and put his camera aside, and then moving his hand through his silky hair he coolly said, “Order anything you want man. The treat is on me”

The last goodbye

The puri -sabzi I had eaten at the station in the morning still had its taste in my mouth. It was 9 am and we were sitting in our compartment of the Jaipur bound train leaving from the Sawai Madhopur station. From there we would catch our train to back home.

Haokip already had his eyes closed and was swaying his head to the tunes of the music which came from the earphone plugged on to his ears. I was feeling heavy. I had thanked my ‘uncle’ at whose place we had stayed and even touched his feet as we left his home. He had treated us like family and I would never forget that.

Coming to the station was not a very good feeling. Though it had just been three days, I felt so attached to the place that it felt like home. I wanted to stay on and enjoy some more, but unfortunately that was not possible. The time had come to bid farewell to the small town which had given me a lifetime of memories.

The train blew its horn and jerked a little before slowly chugging ahead. I looked out the window at the thick grass and the mountains beyond. The tiger we had seen would perhaps be having its morning snack right now, I thought. Before I had come here all I wanted was to get to see the tiger, but now I also realized that the enchanting Ranthambhore was much more than just the striped beauty. The town it lay in had its own charm and many tales to recount in its small lanes. This little town from Rajasthan and its people had won my heart.

It started drizzling outside and the train now slowly gathered momentum. I took my hand outside the window and waved goodbye to the land of the tiger one last time.

Before I brought my hand inside, I quietly whispered to myself, “Aaujo”.**

Concluded

* (Special thanks to my friend Rahul Jaiswal whose digital camera I had used to take the pictures of the trip. Without that, the  trip would not have come alive in this post.)

** Aaujo: Local Rajasthani word, literally meaning 'good-bye'. 

(To read the first part of this story click here.)

The Ranthambhore Adventure (Part -1)

(I had been intending to pen this for quite some time now and have finally got the chance. My visit to the Ranthambhore National Park, about four years back, was one of the most exciting and enriching experiences of my life. Hence, it deserved to be shared in this blog. I would be chronicling the events of my stay there in two separate posts. Here is the first one. This is a kind of writing I have not attempted before, hope you all like it.)

The silence in the bogie of the train was palpable to the extent that it seemed almost eerie. It was past midnight and crouching on my side lower seat, I realized that I was perhaps the only one awake in the compartment. I looked out at the misty, November night sky from the window near me and got lost in my thoughts. I was nervous and anxious at the same time.  It was the first time that I was travelling alone to a completely unknown place; hence my nerves were a little jangly when I thought of what could go wrong there. But when I thought of the things that could go right, my spirits surged again. After all it wasn’t everyday that one gets to visit the Ranthambhore National Park. Not me at least; it was my first time to any national park. And I was to join a friend the next day for a two-day trip there. Over the years I had heard of many tales from the world famous place, and now I was barely hours away from experiencing the magic it held for myself.

As a cold breeze blew in, I came back to the present again and looked at my watch. It was nearly 2 am now. I had to get some sleep. As I shut my eyes, I had weird visions of my friend getting lost in the jungle and being attacked by a tiger. Sniggering to myself, I finally went to sleep.

A long and exciting day lay ahead.

Arrival  

“Welcome to Tiger city, Sawai Madhopur”; this sign greeted me as the train chugged into the Sawai Madhopur station at 9 in the morning. For those who don’t know, Sawai Madhopur is a small town in Rajasthan which is about 180 kms. from Jaipur. The town is basically famous for being home to the Ranthambhore National Park and it is indeed very proud of the fact.

As I got down from the train, I noticed that everything about the station reminded you of the fact that this was indeed a ‘Tiger city’. There were tiger posters sticking everywhere around and right outside the entry gates of the station there was a massive billboard with the face of a tiger in it and which invited everyone to the city. The best attraction though was the design of the entry gates; the upper structure of the gate was molded in a semi- oval shape and painted in deep yellow with black stripes. My heart thumped with excitement. I was finally here and would probably get to meet the King; the animal which had fascinated me for close to two decades.

First Look

I took an auto to reach the place of the acquaintance I was supposed to meet. He was a doctor and was kind enough to let me stay at his place for free. I looked about at the streets on my way there. The town, with a population of just about a lakh people, was small and simple, yet it bore the inimitable essence of Rajasthan. The auto maneuvered through the main market area of the city and I noticed that people with traditional Rajasthani moustaches roamed about while many were lolling around or busy selling their stuff. Having a half Rajasthani blood in me, I wanted to sit there and observe some more, but that was not the time. I had a lot of work piled up for the day.

I soon reached the residence of my acquaintance; he was someone whom I had never met and I had been introduced to him by a relative. The man was quite gentle and on meeting me, offered me some snacks, enquired about the purpose of my visit, gave me a brief history of the park and finally showed me around the place where I was supposed to stay for my trip. It was a nice and capacious room with an attached terrace; more than good enough for me and my friend.

I looked at my watch; it was 11 am already now. My friend was to arrive at 3 in the afternoon and before that I had to book tickets for the park which we were supposed to visit the next morning. I quickly took a shower and got ready.  

Exploring

I did not know the direction to the park and hence had to ask around. First I had to board an overcrowded bus full of the local villagers which would take me to the main city. Once there, fortunately enough, I caught hold of an auto driver who was more than willing to take me to the national park gates. He was a middle aged typical Rajasthani guy who spoke a lot. I quickly made friends with him and even arranged for him to come down to the place I was staying and take me to the national park early in the morning. As we rode, he kept talking about the city, the tiger sightings and himself. I listened to him interestedly only to realize later that he had missed one very vital point in all his conversation; the tickets for the park were only available in the wee hours of the morning, a couple of hours before the gates to the park were opened. I came to know about this when I had finally reached the ticket counter of the Ranthambhore National Park. Deflated, I cursed the auto driver and seeing no other option I decided to head back to my place.

Luckily enough, this also gave me the chance to explore the town. The November breeze was quite pleasant even at 1 pm and I decided to walk all the way to the main city. As I looked around I realized how different this place was from the big cities. No high-rises, no swanky cars, no overdose of people crowding you; just a lot of greenery and long, endless roads. For a small town, the roads were quite good. And since I was very close to the national park right then, everything in and around this area reminded me that I was in tiger land. Billboards and posters of the park with the face of the tiger decorated the small lanes that went out to the main city. Even the shops and hotels had names that would make you aware where you are; Tiger Inn, Tiger Palace, Tiger Villa, Tiger Den etc.

Just loved his moustache

As I went about looking at the shops around me, I came across a particular one selling T-shirts with tiger prints. I went inside excitedly and also noticed that the name of the shop was, well, Tiger Tracks. The shopkeeper was another typical Rajasthani guy with a very thick moustache. On snooping around I realized he had an amazing range of tiger-printed T-shirts which immediately made me overtly greedy. I brought about half a dozen of those T-shirts from him right then and I still wear them very fondly. The guy was apparently very happy at my purchases and offered me a cup of tea. As I sipped the tea, I got a call from my friend and was informed that his train was an hour late. A little relaxed now; I realized how hungry I was. As my tummy grumbled, I noticed the shopkeeper had a bike and I asked him if he could drop me to the main city. 

He readily agreed and off we went.

Once there I desperately looked around for a small eatery and soon found out a dhaba like restaurant. It was planted right on the main road of the city and was apparently quite famous going by the footfall it had at mid-day. I ordered my food and waited for it to arrive, while watching an India-England ODI match on TV. As Yuvraj soon went bonkers, I dug into my plate of kaali daal and tandoori roti. The food was indeed scrumptious and I ate to my heart’s content. Satiated to the core, I now decided that it was time to go to the station to receive my friend.

                                                                                                                   ****

My friend’s name was Haokip (his first name was too difficult to pronounce, hence I chose the safer option of calling him by his surname) and he was a Manipuri who used to study Journalism with me at my college. He was a very cool and laidback kind of a guy and was a fun company to have. He didn’t talk much, and liked travelling, but had left it to me to make all the heavy arrangements of the trip. "You are too good in all this man," he had exclaimed in his typical North-eastern accent.

As I was taking him back to my place, he recounted how bored he had become to travel all those 40 hours alone in the train. I listened to him half-heartedly, as I was too tired then to concentrate on anything. All that walking had taken its toll on my senses. 

After reaching home we decided to take a short nap as both of us were quite exhausted from our respective events of the day. Sleep was indeed essential.

Exploring 2

As we roamed about in the markets of the town in the evening, the place increasingly reminded me of another small Rajasthani city- Udaipur. It is a city that I am immensely and emotionally attached to and hence the memories of my childhood on the streets of the Udaipur came soaring back to me as I wandered around the lanes of Sawai Madhopur.

I also noticed that besides the local townsfolk, the majority of the people that came to the city were foreign tourists who come to visit the national park almost every day. You can say that these tourists form a majority chunk of the population of the town for a large part of the year.

Poor Haokip had to finally suffice with rice and mixed vegetables

Shortly after, our exploring came to a halt as hunger pangs soon came in. We looked for a decent place to eat and after much seeking we found a vegetarian eatery. Now, Haokip was a hardcore non-vegetarian and it took me some convincing to get him to eat there. The prices were cheap and I did not want to waste unnecessary money even before we had visited the park. He agreed dispassionately and grumbled a lot as he ate. “What kind of a roti is this man?” he enquired pointing at the roomali roti I had ordered, before continuing his moaning, “I need chicken man. I am tired and hungry. I don’t want to eat this stupid daal.”  I chose to ignore his rants and concentrated on my food, which by the way was very palatable.

Haokip was still upset as we ventured out to home. I finally lifted his spirits when I treated him to a cup of rabri from a local sweet shop. “This is bloody awesome man,” Haokip, who was tasting rabri for the first time in his life, said and slurped down his cup at one go. The rabri had the perfect blend of Rajasthani flavour in it and both of us greedily gulped down two helpings of it. It also recharged Haokip who now hummed along a Beatles song as we walked away from the shop, leaving me smiling and guilt-free of forcing him to eat vegetarian food.

We soon realized that it was already 9.30 pm and we had to head back to our place. We needed to rest and catch some sleep before the long day ahead.

Anxious night

Back home both of us sat at the open terrace to relax a bit before we hit our beds. It was the most beautiful night. The stars shone in the clear sky above and a light, soothing breeze flew by that ruffled my hair. It was so invigorating that I felt like staying there for the rest of the night. If not for the male company I had currently, the setting would have been perfect for a romantic night with someone of the opposite sex. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the moment thoroughly and still recall it many a times.

Haokip kept speaking about his life in Manipur, his many girlfriends and his future plans. Though I kept looking at him, my thoughts soon wandered away. I was only and only concerned about the day ahead. The moment that I had been waiting for such a long time had finally arrived. Would I finally get to see the King in his lair? What would the forest be like? What other animals would I get to see? Would they all be just like the way they show in Discovery Channel? Would our trip to the forest be successful? These kinds of thoughts enveloped my mind as I finally lay down on my bed.

The perfectionist that I am, I had been preparing for this trip for close to three months. I had researched everything in minute detail over these months. The name of the hotels, the name of the forest officer of the park, the park timings and ticket rates, the different stations that came before Sawai Madhopur etc., were all marked down in my notebook. Everything was done for the sole purpose of visiting the park and getting to see the tiger. Just thinking of it made my heart pound like mad.

I could now hear Haokip’s snores in the darkness, but sleep was yet to come to me. I set my alarm at 3.30 a.m., as the auto driver I had a dealing with would come to our place at 4 am sharp to take us to the park by 4.30 am.  The trip to the park was to commence at 6 am and hence we had to get our tickets early. I forced my eyes shut to get some sleep, but all I could hear was the roar of the tiger. My heart went thumping again. The D-Day had finally arrived.

“Tiger! Tiger! Burning bright. In the forest of the night,” ; humming these famous lines from my childhood I finally lulled myself into sleep.

To be concluded

(To read the second part of the story click here .)