‘You should have shouted at the top of your voice or at least pressed the damn horn a few times.’ I yelled at our gypsy driver. The evening air of Jim Corbett forest was still crisp but refreshingly cool and laden with sweet scents of green trees and flowers.
‘How could I, Sir? The other jeep had already taken a turn and it was a mile away from ours. They would not have heard the horn. Moreover, we are prohibited to blow horn in the jungle.’ The driver replied as he again pressed the ignition key to start the jeep’s engine. It didn’t start.
We were stranded in the middle of forest among tigers and elephants. The evening safari started an hour ago from Bijrani Gate. The sun would set early as it was November. Until now, the young and newly-wed couple on the back seat did not show any interest in the wildlife. Holding hands, they were busy chatting to each other in a low voice. It was only when I yelled at the driver; the man lifted his head.
‘Anything wrong?’ the young man asked. He looked surprised.
‘Yes, we have a problem. The jeep seems to have broken down!’ I replied.
‘Oh! I thought you pulled up the jeep to capture a few shots,’ the man said.
‘So, what do we do now, bhaiya? When would the help arrive?’ The girl asked the driver. She wasn’t surprised. Instead, she looked worried.
‘I don’t know, Madam. Ours was the last safari for the evening. It’s a weekday and not many people visit Corbett on weekdays. We started at three and its already four now. The park closes at seven in winters. They would wait for us till eight at night. If we don’t reach by eight, they would start searching for us.’ The driver replied.
‘Don’t you have a radio?’ I asked the driver.
‘No, the jeeps don’t have a radio,’ the driver replied.
‘Why?’ I asked in disbelief.
‘How do I know, Sir? We have reminded park officials many times for it. Even we are scared when we return alone from forest rest house after dropping the tourists at Dhikala or Kanda,’ the driver continued, ‘but they say that they do not have funds for it. Now, the drivers also stay at night in the forest rest house.’
‘What about the phone?’ I asked.
‘Haa! Mine is a local brand! The network is useless. My phone doesn’t work in a city. How it would work in the jungle?’ The driver grinned.
‘My Nokia shows no signals. It’s a shitty one at 20K.’ I grunted. ‘Hey! Does your mobile catch any signals?’ I asked the man at the back.
‘Damn! Even mine shows no signals. It’s a filthy piece at 40K.’ The man replied as he cursed the Apple brand.
‘What about the jeep which was in front? Won’t it return for the evening? I asked. I was agitated.
‘No, it won’t. It headed for Dhikala rest house. Didn’t I tell you that the drivers also stay in the rest house now?’ The driver explained. His reply further agitated me.
‘Great! The jeep has no radio; the phones are not working and the nearest rest house is thirty miles away. The gate officials have no idea that we are stuck in the middle of the forest among wild animals,’ the girl continued as her voice choked, ‘in an hour tiger and leopards would be out to hunt. I believe we are helpless and….and waiting to….to be slaughtered.’ The girl cried as she raised her trembling hands. The beautiful bangles of hers till the elbow also trembled. The sweat of fear also rolled down my head.
‘The tiger would surely kill us. It might jump on us. It’s an open jeep!’ The man said as he looked around.
‘Please don’t make the girl more nervous.’ I said and looked at the girl. Our eyes met.
‘No, it would not jump on us. Not unless the tiger is a man-eater,’ the driver said.
‘What do you mean by a man-eater? I don’t believe that Corbett has a man-eater!’ I asked with widened eyes.
‘Yes, there is a man-eating tigress operating in the area. I mean not here, but on outskirts. The tigress is called Sugarcane tigress.’ The driver replied. I could notice that his eyes enjoyed my nervousness.
‘What is Sugarcane tigress?’ The man asked. His eyes also widened.
‘The tigress had cubs which were killed by Hyenas. The tigress believed that her mortal enemy humans were behind it. Now, the tigress is laying her fury on us. She only kills humans. But, she never eat them,’ the driver explained.
‘So, we are safe from her, aren’t we?’ I asked.
‘Yes, we are. But, Corbett has unmanned boundaries. The tigress is operating in Dhikuli. The Tigers can cover twenty to thirty miles in a few hours. A few secluded and isolated areas in Marchula and Dhikuli are not secured and not wired,’ the driver continued scaring us, ‘the terrain is rough with small boulders, rocks, and small streams. Corbett is spread over a hundred miles, Sir. It is impossible for guards to secure each corner.’
‘I appreciate your knowledge on tigers and Corbett forest, but we can’t stay here in open for many hours. Indian jungles don’t have Twilight. The sun would soon set and then there would be complete darkness. I can see the low clouds, which means that it would be a moonless night.’ I shared my little knowledge of jungles.
‘There must be some way to get out safely of this, bhaiya.’ The girl asked hysterically.
‘Yes, there is an option,’ the driver replied as he turned to answer, but he also looked at me.
‘Don’t look at me. I will not get down and push the jeep,’ I suggested.
‘No, you don’t need to push down the jeep. But, you need to get down and walk with me to fetch help,’
‘And who would help us in this wilderness! I don’t see any village for miles. If you think of me as a courageous man, let me clarify that I don’t have a bit of courage to step down and walk on this tiger land alone and unarmed. If you think I am stupid enough to step down in the middle of the jungle, then let me tell you that I am a writer and write novels.’ I explained my profession nervously to the driver.
‘Sir, I doubt that some tiger lurking nearby in a bush hardly care about your profession.’ The driver said. I smiled back at him. He was witty in distress.
‘Let us hear what he has to say,’ the girl interrupted.
‘Okay, go on.’ I said.
‘Just on the turn which is around three hundred yards from here, there is a small ravine. It is forty feet deep. The ravine goes up to the edge of the forest. There is an iron Machan. We need to get down the ravine and then climb up. We would be at the iron Machan.’ The driver said.
‘Do we have some guard there?’ I asked curiously.
‘Yes, a guard has been stationed there for night duty to look for any poachers. He has a walky-talky,’ the driver said.
‘Can’t we shout to him or show him a light? The blow horn might help,’ the girl suggested.
‘No, it would not help. The guard takes up his position at eight,’ the driver said.
‘Won’t he pass from here?’
‘No, he enters from Dhangari gate. Moreover, the ravine doesn’t help the horn. The Machan is on the other side.’ The driver explained.
The big question was who would volunteer.
‘So….’ I asked.
‘So……So, what? You would go with him.’ The girl said as she shrugged her shoulders. The couple’s eyes met. The driver also looked at me with a grin on his face. Blame it on a betel leaf; I could see his red teeth.
‘I will not leave the girl alone. You have to go with the driver!’ The man suggested.
‘I will not go alone. Somebody has to watch my back.’ The driver insisted.
‘Watch your back? I am unarmed and as helpless as a wild boar or a deer. How would I watch your back?’
‘I need someone to gather my courage,’ the driver turned to the couple and continued, ‘for you; I would cover the jeep with a plastic sheet. If you see an elephant or a tiger near the jeep, just switch on the lights or blow the horn.’
‘But, you said that according to norms blowing horn is not allowed,’ the girl asked.
‘Yes, but not when the tiger is ready to jump.’ The driver replied. The girl smiled.
‘Won’t it affect the battery?’ I asked.
‘How would it matter? There would be another jeep in the morning to take us safely,’
‘Why in the morning?’ the girl asked.
‘What if a guard doesn’t turn up and takes the leave? We won’t have a walky-talky then.’
‘Oh! Yes, it might be. But, first, we need to reach the Machan.’ I said nervously.
The driver now turned to me and said, ‘Listen! You need to be a yard behind me, Sir. I will switch on the torchlight only when the terrain is rough or it is too dark in the ravine to see anything. Otherwise, I will use my wooden stick. I don’t want any tiger or leopard to see the torchlight. They might get curious and come to investigate it. Our march would be very slow and cautious.’
I nodded silently and agreed to the suggestions. Both of us covered the jeep with a sheet. The newlywed couple drew much closer.
Stepping out feet forward an inch at a time, the most horrific, unusual and challenging walk of our lives began. Very cautiously I looked left and right for the sudden charge of a tiger. The sweat poured down my head and neck. Of leopard, I was not concerned as the driver had a reliable wooden stick and man-eating leopards are rare. It was a man-eating tiger that was a concern and of which I was very much afraid. There was a man-eating tigress operating in the area and it could be miles away from here or it could be sitting silently behind a bush to charge. Cautiously keeping our foot on a dry twig or a branch, we covered three hundred yards in an hour.
The Tigers have acute hearing and eye-sight. The tiger can hear a faint of noise from a hundred yards and can see much better in the night. Its vision is six times clear in the night. I turned back to see the jeep that was stranded in the middle of the forest. The couple looked safe in the jeep that was covered with a sheet. The sun had already set behind the low hills and it was dark. Suddenly, I felt that we were in great danger. At the turn, the driver halted. I asked nothing and he said nothing. The driver signaled me to look at the right. The pair of yellow light stared at us from the bush. The sweat of fear poured down my face very rapidly. My lips dried and the stomach felt the pressure of excitement. The proximity of a man-eater sent down a chill down my spine. I froze. I expected the charge of carnivore soon. However, I was aware that a man-eating tiger never charges head-on. It stalks the victim cunningly and snatches the one in the rear when the victim is careless. Wasn’t I in the rear? But, I was not careless, and we were aware that there could be a man-eater. The man-eater knew it. Both of us stepped back silently away from the bush and stared back at the yellow eyes. However, the cool wind moved the bush and the yellow eyes disappeared. We realized that the yellow eyes were actually fireflies. I took a deep breath to ease the tension. We reached the edge of the ravine and descended it cautiously.
The ravine was not deep, but it looked like one because it was pitch dark. It was laden with small rocks and few boulders as high as three feet. It was difficult to see the driver in the darkness. The flat ground was nowhere in sight. On one occasion, I grabbed the driver by arm. He trembled with fear and I assumed that the driver must have looked back at me in disgust. It was difficult to see his reaction. I certainly made him nervous.
We took another hour to reach the flat ground after covering the rough terrain of the ravine. I was jubilant to see the iron Machan which was at the distance of twenty yards. I snatched the torch from the driver and sent its beam to the vacant Machan. There was no one on it. But, the guard would come, I was sure. The driver sat on the ground to take some rest. There was no point in sitting on the flat ground. Therefore, I signaled the driver to move. As I descended the torch, I noticed tiger grass and a small field behind it. I shone the torch and noticed that it was a dry and unattended sugarcane field. It was at a distance of fifty yards. Yes, earlier the villagers lived in the park. They moved out but the fields remained. In the beam of torchlight, I saw a slight movement in the field and a big tiger with enormous head emerged from the sugarcane field. The driver saw my nervous face in the beam of torchlight.
When humans run, the reaction of a tiger is same as that of a wild dog. The tiger also runs when humans run and chase them. This was a man-eating tigress and it was in no mood to step back. An ordinary tiger would have turned back. But, we were not looking at the ordinary tiger. The driver turned his head towards the field. He froze. I turned back to run, but the driver didn’t get a chance to run. The charge of a tiger has to be seen to believe it. The tigress took huge leaps. I took eleven seconds to reach the top of iron Machan. I locked the gate of iron Machan as I stared the tigress under the light of torchlight. My hands trembled. The tigress growled hysterically at me from the distance. The tigress took four seconds to grab the driver, three seconds to pierce his neck with her jaws and another four seconds to twist the neck of the driver. It was instantaneous. The driver shrieked only once. The tigress also stared hard at the Machan. The tigress circled around it for few minutes and then sat on its haunches near the ill-fated driver who did not move. She didn’t eat the driver. The tigress took no further interest in him. She knew it was all over for the poor driver. It was most unfortunate. I was filled with guilt for leaving him at the mercy of the giant tigress. But, what could I do? I was unarmed and unfamiliar. The guard did not arrive for the duty. The tigress moved away after few minutes. It was in the opposite direction and toward Dhangari gate.
The help arrived the next morning. I descended nervously.
‘Are you okay?’ The forest officer asked.
‘Yes. I am fine. I guess it’s the trauma of……’ My words choked. The other guards packed the poor driver.
‘He was a fine driver and a brave one. But, he had some issues,’ the forest officer said.
‘The guard of the Machan did not arrive at night,’ I asked.
‘Oh! Yes, he was on leave. The driver knew about it. I don’t know why he decided to come here,’ the officer said in confusion.
‘What? Did he know of his absence?’ I asked with widened eyes.
‘Yes, he was aware of his leave. The jeep is fine. It did not break down.’
‘No, it broke down.’ I explained in full.
‘No, it didn’t. The fuse was lying on the floor. Perhaps, he removed it or it fell. But, why would he do that? Anyhow, we would recommend an inquiry,’
‘Why didn’t you search for us at night?’ I asked the officer.
‘We did! In fact, we found the couple shivering. They were not sure which direction you and the driver went. We can’t roam the forest on foot at night!’ The officer shrugged his shoulders.
‘Hmm….Does he have a family here?’
‘Yes, they live in the village. But, he has been depressed for some reason. There were few monetary issues.’
‘It’s unfortunate. Would his family get compensation?’ I asked.
‘Indeed, it is unfortunate. Yes, the family would get compensation. It would be a big amount.’ The official replied.
With sad eyes, I sat in the front. It was the same jeep. It began another journey back to the gate. However, there was another driver. I met the couple and they looked horrified. They did hear tiger growls but remained glued to the back seat under the sheet and did not make any noise. They acted wisely. With deep thoughts, I tried to unfold the mystery. The jeep was in fine condition. But, was the fuse deliberately removed? Was it a deliberate attempt to break down the vehicle? The driver knew that the forest guard was on leave. There was no reason to make a risky journey to the Machan. But, why the driver safely placed the couple beneath the sheet? Why did he risk my life? Perhaps, he didn’t. He sat on the ground but made me safe as the Machan was within reach. But, why didn’t he go alone? Perhaps, he wanted a witness to his fate and his body to be found. Maybe, the statement of a witness would help his family get compensation. There would not be many questions asked. He wanted monetary security for his family. Did he commit suicide? It certainly did not look like an accident. But, he made it look like. No one would ever know.
