CALL OF THE WILD

CALL  OF  THE  WILD - A  TRIP  TO  RANTHAMBORE  NATIONAL  PARK

The fleeting glimpse of a tiger, the relentless chirping of birds- such musical sounds and magical sights transported us to another world as we set foot into the Ranthambore National Park. It was 26^th January when a group of excited students from our college and the Wildlife Society, headed by Professor Shweta Jain, set off in the spirit of adventure to this national park in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan. Though the morning safaris around the park proved to be chillingly cold, a pleasant weather aided our exploration for the rest of the day. The guide augmented the horizon of our experience through many interesting and even minute details about the national park. We learnt that it covered an area of approximately 392 sq. kilometers. It was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1957 and in 1974, it acquired the protection of ‘Project Tiger’. Its identity was established as a national park in 1981. It is known for its tiger population and is supposed to harbour 36 tigers. Free from the unlicensed presence of vehicles and people, the tigers were likely to be spotted during the early hours of the day. The presence of almost 272 species of birds have been documented; it is also the home of some other wild animals like the leopard, nilgai, dhole, wild boar, sambar, hyena, sloth bear and chital. A wide variety of trees, plants and reptiles adorn the park further-it is the site for one of the largest banyan trees in India. The presence of several lakes beautifies this natural panorama. We also visited the Ranthambore fort, from which the park derives its name. Covering a huge area, the fort rests toweringly over the park atop a hill. The vestiges the passing time and civilizations are trapped in the surrounding ruins through which we could savour the mixed flavour of nature, history and wildlife. It was an enthralling walk upto the fort as the surrounding view became more and more inviting with every step till it reached a breathtaking height from the fort. We spent each and every day of our trip amidst new adventures and activities; the evening sessions of handball together in the resort’s swimming pool proved to be refreshingly fun. The crackling bonfire could only ignite our excitement further and along with it, the performance by folk dancers contributed to a uniquely rich experience which will stay on in the memory as one of the brightest souvenirs of the place.

                            

                                                                                         -  Diksha Kumar

                                                                                            St. Stephen's College, Delhi 

Photo Courtesy: Arnav Behera