Meeting India's Stripy Beast

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India's "Jungle Book" is larger than life

Indian safaris are anything but tame. Teeming with wildlife, leopard,bear, jackal and chital roam freely in the lush forest reserves. DEBORAHCHAN explores Madhya Pradesh in Central India in search for animals anda chance to see the elusive Bengal tiger. Here she finds amazing storiesof hoteliers who show by example just how tourism, conservation andcommunity development can form a perfect blend.

Written by Deborah Chan on 15 Jun 2011 with 0 comments. Be the first!

In search for the tiger

The heat of summer penetrated our light

clothing and although the air was dry and arid,

the scent of the fo rest laced through t he air,

hinting evidence t hat we are indeed in the heart

of Cen tral India, the Madhya Pradesh region

where Kanha National Park sits. Famed for its lush

sal and bamboo forest s, tall grassy meadows and

deep ravines, Kanha was the hub o f inspiration

for Rudyard K ipling's famous novel, "The Jungle

Book".

There are only a handful of lodges on the quiet

south side of Kanha, near the Mukki gate, one of 

three gates into the national park. Our choiceproved to be a great advantage as fewer jeeps

are allowed into t he park via this gate providing

guests a more secluded wildlife experience.

Kanha is one of the best managed and

monitored parks in India with ded icated park 

rangers guarding the forests and guiding guests

through t his magical natural labyrinth.

Morning safaris start at 5am just befo re the

break of dawn. Open de ck jeeps form a neat

queue in front of t he Mukki gate as vehicles register. There is a swe ll of exc itement despite t he

groggy daze of a premature morning. I was armed with a pair of binoculars and a notebook to

pen my sightings while my husband meddled w ith his digital DSLR camera ready to captu re a

'National Geographic' moment, in case nature decided to surprise us.

 A park ranger leapt into our je ep , int roduced himself, mut te red a few words t o our nat uralist

from the lodge whe re we stayed at, and our engines sputte red to life. The light mist parted aswe caught the first glimpse of the magnificent sal trees stretching for miles with banyans dotted

around providing shade and cover for the endemic swamp deer or better known as barasingha,

spotted deer also known as chital, wild boars and gaurs. A symphony of morning chirps weaved

through the air as we caugh t birds in flight and land birds crossing our path.

The day had just begun as the first few rays of light broke from the horizon. The mahout was

already at work. A great big silhouette teased my eyes as I saw huge ears flapping and four giant

feet taking gentle strides towards our jeep. Could it be? Yes it was! An elephant with a man

riding him atop. T he mahout smiled and exchanged a few wo rds with our park ranger. He to ld our

park ranger that the search was still on; the elusive tiger was yet to be found. He waved

goodbye and disappeared behind our jeep, eyes peeled for the animal most tourists have come

here to see.

Meantime, we savoured in the rich diversity Kanha had to offer with fantastic sightings of jackal,

leopard, jungle cat, barking deer, peaco ck, langur and gaur. W ith over 350 species of b irds,

introduction upon introduction were made with every sighting and bird call. From green bee-

eate rs to Indian rollers to grey hornbills, this was a t reat for bird ent husiasts and nat ure lovers

alike.

 As mid morning approached , a p icnic was laid out for u s with t he fore st as a backdrop. Tea,

coffee, sandwiches and fruit were passed around and while we savoured our breakfast, our park 

ranger scrambled to the office to check if the mahout had recorded sightings of tigers. He rushed

back with great excitement and urged us to hurry along.

 A t igress had been spo tt ed and in o rder t o see her, w e w ent off the beaten track atop an

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elephant with a mahout. The ride was bumpy and quite an adventure trying to avoid spindly dry

bamboo branche s from stabbing us. And then we caught sight o f her, majestically seated on a

bed of earthy-amber leaves, she stared into the open, in her element completely unperturbed by

our noisy rustle. Her orange and black coat camouflaged perfectly into the surroundings. She was

not only sharing her space with us but also with a large meandering python. She eyed occasionally

at the reptile with no intent of making a kill, just like Shere Khan and Kaa from the Jungle Book.

Most of us when asked to conjure up an image of a tiger imagine a man-eating predator skulking

through the steamy jungles of southern Asia, particularly in the subcontinent of India. Here in

Kanha, tigers are friendly, welcoming and accustom to the scene of jeeps and clicking cameras.

There is a strong unspoken bond between tiger and human. As a result of tourism, conservation

efforts such as 'Tour Operators for Tigers' (TOFT) have emerged forming alliances among Indian

operators in order to promote best practices in wildlife viewing. Over the years, the Indian

government have also realized the need for stricter monitoring and census in order to keep thetiger population at a healthy state.

SINGINAWA JUNGLE LODGE

Protector of the Sacred Forest

My visit to Singinawa Jungle Lodge fuelled my passion to discover this unique relationship between

tou rism and conservation. I met w ith Dr. Latika Nath Rana, a pet ite lady with capt ivating big

brown eyes and her husband, Nanda S JB Rana, a friendly man w ith an imposing build. Both w ildlife

enthusiasts heeded their passion for the wild and eventually led them to cross paths. Latika is a

wildlife biologist and the first woman to be awarded a doctorate on tiger conservation and

management from the University of Oxford. She is also fondly dubbed as the "Tiger Princess"

being married t o Nanda w ho hails from the Royal Rana family of Nepal. Nanda is a tiger

photography expert and film producer having worked for notable organizations such as National

Geographic, BBC and Discovery Channel.

Both knew that t hey had a strong role in the fight to save t igers. With their wealth o f knowledge

on tigers and Nanda's love for hospitality, they bought an initial piece of land just outside of thebuffer zone bordering a local tow n named Bayar. It was evident that the main reason tourists

visited Kanha is for the wildlife, more specifically for the t iger. The pair knew all too w ell that the

fight to save tigers is not a single minded quest; instead it required tourists to be educated, locals

to sense pride, government to buck up and private enterprises to take on the role as catalysts.

Hence t he inception of 'Singinawa', which t akes its meaning from a Sherpa term, t he "Protect or

of the Sacred Forest".

Nanda understands the need and importance of embracing the local community, "if we start

something, it nee ds to make a difference to the people around it". T hey hired over 350 local

people for the construction of Singinawa. For 10 months, a small community was formed as local

men shared craftsmen skills, exchange st ories of wildlife encounte rs, and shared life t oget her.

Many of them stayed on to be part of the Singinawa family.

The construction of Singinawa Lodge was no easy feat with many minute considerations to take

into account in order to lessen the impact on the environment. Details such as land use, building

material, waste management, energy source and water management and wildlife management

were part of the equation. A sustainable property w as the only kind of property that Latika waswilling to build, st ating, "If I as a conservationist and wildlife biologist set a place and don't think 

about conserving it, who w ill? It is a responsibility I ow e".

The Lodge

Today, Singinawa provides affordable and comfortable living with a grand main house and 12

individual cottages dotted around the 55 acre land. The once degraded land choked by lantana

has now been rest ored and it is home to tw o resident leopards, chital, wild dog and wild boar.

Every structure is designed and built around existing trees and a great evidence of that is upon

entering the main house with a lofty tree at our welcome. The interiors of the main house are

decorated with heavy wooden furniture and leather bound chairs giving the impression of castle,

perhaps influence d by Nanda's upb ringing of living in palaces most of this childhood. The grandeur

of this building is further enhanced by the magnificent photos of tigers set in bold frames, all

taken by Nanda who is notably the only photographer who has document ed six generations of 

tigers in Bandhavgarh National Park just six hours away.

On wintry nights, the cosy fireplace in the library makes for a perfect seating for stories. Thedouble walls provide adequate insulation in the w inter and perfect cooling in the summer. A

natural air coo ling system channe ls hot air out and cool air in eliminating t he ne ed f or air

conditioning in the main hall. And where possible, without the disturbance of langurs and

macaques, solar panels have been fitted to provide energy for external lighting.

Creative conservation

 As conse rvation ists at heart , it w asn't enough just t o se t up a lodge for w ildlife ent husiasts or

holiday makers. Latika and Nanda thought up innovative ways to raise money for conservation and

community de velopment projects. Last year, Latika rallied a group of w ell-known artists from all

over the world for a 10-day retreat the lodge. Surrounded by incredible wildlife, great food and

organic inspiration, t he artists produced passion-laden paintings that we re later auctioned to raise

funds for tiger conservation projects such as the building of watering holes for tigers in Kanha.

In 2008, the Singinawa Foundation was established with a steady flow of funds coming from the

Spa at Singinawa. Guests who pay to be pampered at t he Spa are contributing to the w ellbeing

of t he villagers around the lodge. Through mon ies raised, me dical camps are organized and

critically ill villagers are being sent to hospitals that t hey could neve r afford t o pay.

The need never stops and as long as operators like Singinawa continues to thrive, protected

areas are a litt le safer, w ildlife can cont inue t o flourish and local communities w ill grow in the ir

sense of pride and belonging that they t oo are "Protecto rs of the Sacred Forest".

SHERGARH TENTED CAMP

Not far from Singinawa is another remarkable story of change makers who have steered away

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from mass tourism to create a unique kind of travel with a focus on nature and people.

The making of Shergarh Tented Camp is a story that tugs at heartstrings. It is a story of love and

passion resulting in a concoction o f w ildlife hospitality. Jehan Bhujwala grew up in the me tropo litan

city of Bombay having only the concrete jungle as his playground. He furthered his studies in

geology and mastered in it but soon realized an insatiable longing t o live life in t he w ild. He

purchased a 21-acre land on the fringe of the buffer zone adjacent to Kanha National Park in

2001 w hilst w orking at Kipling Camp, the first camp built ne ar Mukki gate. In 2002Katie, a British

girl from a village close to Bath in the United Kingdom was so drawn to India after an extended

backpacking trip that she decided to find a job at the same camp, and love struck.

 At that t ime, Jehan w as living in a t iny mud house on his propert y and had already start ed

conceptualizing the idea of a tented camp. W ith extra hands and a like-minded partner, ideas soon

evolved into reality and Jehan and Katie began building the camp. "This was not going to be any

ordinary camp. W ith Jehan's experience as a naturalist and my insight on travels after much

destination hopping during my backpacking years, we both decide that this camp will honour and

respect the environment and people living around," explained Katie.

The y adopted villages around t he vicinity, hired local communities to help build the camp and

fostered impeccable relationships with the villagers. "For many villagers, to urism was a foreign and

new concept to t hem, especially when Shergarh Tented Camp was one first few properties

established ne ar Mukki gate. Today, they are like family." said Katie. "We have incorporate d local

skills and te chniques into t he lodge as much as possible, such as their dry-stone masonry and mud -

plaste rwork, and have used local carpenters, masons, plumbers and electricians."

Due to poor knowledge of sustainable agriculture practices, the 21 acre land was completely

degraded and overused. Katie explained that the entire land space was filled with invasive and

chocking eucalyptus trees, biodiversity was close to barrenness and the land was starved. The pair

spent many months and years regenerating the land, chopping down eucalyptus for construction

and firewood in t he w inters. Indigenous trees w ere reintroduced t o t he land and the beautiful

waterbed t hat sits in the middle of t he land continued to feed the trees.

We walked past t he waterbed to reach our tent s, and much to our delight, w e saw egrets,

commorant s, kingfishers and bee - eaters basking in t he w ater. Katie te lls us that jackals and w ild

boars frequently roam the area and just at the entrance amongst the patch of tall green

meadows, a jungle cat has made that his home. Katie recollects an incident when the name

Shergarh meaning "Home of the Tiger" resonated. "In November 2008, a 5-year old male tiger

strayed from the core forest and took refuge from (in?) the surrounding paddy fields".

Camp in Comfort

 As w e amb led into the vicinity of Shergarh Ten te d camp in Kanha, w e w ere expe ct ing high A -

framed tents, foldable camp beds, make shift toilets and simple skinny mattresses, but what we

found at Shergargh was a haven of comfort and simplicity.

The rugged looking canvas tent is tied securely on concrete A-frame structure with a sturdy roof 

made of handmade clay roof t iles. The t ent s are incredibly roomy inside w ith a large king sized

bed, bedside tables and a spacious permanent toilet, shower and open closet area. Just outside

the tent, a few plush cushion mattresses and deck chairs are cleverly positioned to great views of 

the lake and the ope n skies as we w atch the stars emerge at night.

The tents take on names of indigenous trees in India such as Tulsi (Indian basil), Aam (mango),

Jamun (blackberry), Imli (tamarind), Mahua and Neem. Many of these trees were re-planted

around the property in their effort to revive the degraded land.

Moving away f rom a tiger-centric approach

While it's easy to take on a t iger-cent ric approach as tiger sightings are almost a daily affair, t he

couple knew that that w ould not do justice to the rich diversity in Kanha. Instead they have

expanded the ir list of act ivities t o include village visits, walking hikes and bike t ours.

In October 2011, Shergarh will be offering bespoke bike tours from half day tours to 3-day tours.

These cycle 'tolla' tours (tolla meaning village) will take guests off the beaten track from Kanha

through villages and obscure towns to Pench National Park (approximately 200km) or

Bandhavgargh National Park (approximately 250km). Exploring the Madhya Pradesh region on two

wheels opens a new spectrum of experience for guests giving the m a chance to interact w ith

locals, savour chai at roadside stalls, w eave t hrough tall paddy fields and stay w ith local

communities. For a more rustic camping experience, guests have the option of camping out in the

open and cooking meals over fire and charcoal.

Whether it is a lodge or a tented camp, conscious travellers are now looking for more than just a

comfortable place to stay. I found myself searching for operators who are committed to

preserving the destination and operators that can offer authentic experiences crafted through

their commitment and understanding of the destination and the surrounding people. At Kanha, I

found two champion operators who are investing time and resources to preserve the very thing

that t ourists come to Kanha for, a genuine 'Jungle Book' expe rience .

How to get to Kanha National Park:

By Air: Nagpur is the nearest airport t o Kanha National Park. Other airports include Raipur and

Jabalpur. T hese airports are all connect ed t o major cities in India.

By Train: Jabalpur is a conven ient rail route to head t owards Kanha National Park.

By Road: Kanha National Park is we ll conne cte d w ith major roads from Jabalpur (175kms),

Nagpur (266kms) and Raipur (219kms). Kanha also has a good network of roads connecting

to surrounding national parks such as Bandhavgarh, Pench, Panna, Achanakmar and Phen

National Park.

Best time to visit:

The peak season for Kanha National Park visits is the winter season, from October to February.

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Write to Deborah Chan

Deborah Chan

 As W ild Asia's associate programme manager, Deborah ove rsees

several initiatives such as the Responsible Tourism Initiative and

Corporate Responsibility projects. With her extensive experience

in strategic communications and branding, she also m... moreinside »

Deborah Chan also contributed 2 other articles in this section:

Treetop Jungle Retreat

Home with the Wild at Ngala Private Game Reserve

all articles by Deborah Chan »

During the summer months from March to June, tiger sightings are at its best as the

grasslands dries up making it easier to spot wild animals. The park is closed from mid-June to

October during the monsoon season.

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