Satpura, Madhya Pradesh | Trapped in a tiger-less land

It was a dark and stormy night, as it so often is in these kinds of stories. Our mud-stained Gypsy had just pirouetted around the edge of the rock-riddled road. It jerked to a halt—with its wheels lodged in some slush from the monsoon.

We were stuck somewhere in the heart of the wilderness of the Satpura National Park and Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh. But realistically, we were in the middle of nowhere.

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Only a couple of hours earlier, my husband and I had set out on our safari in the hope of spotting tigers. Our naturalist, Amit Bangre, had told us that tiger sightings occur about once in 11 months.

Still, this being my first safari ever, I was overawed as our Jeep had lurched within sneezing distance of wild gaurs (better known as Indian Bison). We’d spotted a herd of blackbucks and antelopes that traipsed past us on their slender legs like a troupe of ballerinas. A Crested Hawk Eagle had swooped above my head and perched itself high on a nearby tree. A sambar (deer) had sunned itself, oblivious to the Black-Bellied Tern that was perched on its hump. A peacock had flaunted its feathers like a tantalizing courtesan. We had even managed to chase a stray civet up a tree when our Gypsy turned into a thorny bush-covered path.

It was on our way back that we’d found our Gypsy stuck in mud. Soon, clouds rumbled a warning, and it began to pour. In the jungle, we found ourselves in an immobile Jeep, with rain gushing down all around us.

The tyres churned mud like a ferris wheel on crack, but they refused to move ahead or back. With trees towering around us, we had no hope of a cellphone connection. We had no choice but to sit tight and hope that the staff at the lodge would have some intuitive urge to rescue us. So we waited, even as it grew darker and I tried to not get nervous.

The forest department maintains Jeep trails through some parts of the reserve. But our drive into the forest had required us to rely completely on our guide’s instinct and experience. Sometimes the make-shift mud roads (made through incessant ploughing of car tyres) had led us to a path with great sightings, but sometimes also to trees splayed across our paths, like angry Medusas ordering us to find another way. Navigating this forest requires luck, and skill to guide this luck. Being stuck like this with no rescue in sight, I told myself, would surely have to count as a generous helping of bad luck.

A pack of wild dogs (dhole) scurried past us. All of a sudden, Aly Rashid, our other naturalist and owner of the Reni Pani Jungle Lodge where we were staying, jumped out of the car and beamed his flashlight high up on a tree in front of us. A massive Eurasian Eagle-Owl peered down. In the background we heard the growls of invisible hyenas, the flapping of eagles’ wings and the snores of sloth bears. This was the Life of Pi part deux, except that these animals and birds weren’t imaginary.

We waited an hour or so. A jungle cat’s eye threw fluorescent beams at us. The wind was howling its secrets. A gleam of yellow peered through the curtain of the trees ahead of us. Was this the end of our not-too-dramatic ordeal? I sure hoped so.

It was. The yellow grew more intense, and we made out the shape of a Gypsy lurching through the foliage toward us. Rashid told us that if guests don’t return within 2 hours, the lodge staff is trained to set out to find and rescue them. I was amazed at how they had so quickly found their way through the unruly forest.

We jumped into our rescue Jeep, and soon reached our lodge, where we quickly went to sleep, exhausted by the day’s adventures.

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Reni Pani, which gets its name from the neighbouring village, is a conservation and wildlife-themed lodge—spread across 30 acres—located close to the Satpura Tiger Reserve. Designed by the famous Goan architect Dean D’Cruz, a pioneer in creating gorgeous jungle lodges around India, Reni Pani has made full use of local timber and produce.

No trees were cut to clear land for the 12 free-standing villas, which are built in three distinctive designs. All villas are located near the nullah flowing through the forest and hills. Every villa uses recycled wood for the windows and local stones for floors. The huge bay windows give you views of the lush horizon. Besides all the modern amenities (air conditioning, plush bathroom, the works—but no TV), there are outdoor showers too but I was far too conservative (read: scared) to partake in ablutions with the monsoon creepy crawlies hovering around. The lodge is sprinkled with personally chosen artefacts (iron carvings, curios made from bamboo, folk paintings, exquisitely woven dhurries) from the state.

We had driven for 2 hours on a rather lonely stretch from Itarsi to get here. But staying here (even with its five-star indulgences) is not for faint-hearted technoholics—for there is no phone or Internet connection. So when you are here, you are really just here. Think of it as a different kind of (luxurious) jungle vipassana.

As we had come here during the end of the tourist season, we were the only two guests at the lodge. But it felt as though we were house guests in an estate whose owners were away on vacation. We were lost to the world, and the world was lost to us.

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The rain from the night before had filled up the ravine around the lodge. While staring at the water, I noticed that something was slithering under the currents. Two 6ft-long snakes were locked in combat. I kept staring till they flowed away to the other end of the nullah. My reverie was cut short as a colourful gecko waltzed right past. It stayed in front of me long enough for me to name it Gordon—and then slithered off.

As the day slowly cleared, we headed on a boat ride on the Tawa Reservoir which forms the western boundary of the park. River Lapwings and the Indian Pitta greeted us at the entrance of the reservoir. Almost a dozen wild boars were drinking on the bank a mere 10 yards away from us. As our boat mulled on, I could hear the faint strains of a mynah.

I was beginning to get slightly rheumy eyed when I saw crocodiles sunbathing some 50ft away. As we neared, they swiftly disappeared into the reservoir one by one, until the last bits of their scaled tails sunk right in. A White-Breasted Waterhen also made an appearance while a Tawny-Bellied babbler rendered the outdoor acoustics. We even witnessed a herd of heavy water buffaloes swimming through the 1,815m length of the reservoir—some oblivious to the Ashy Prinias getting a free ride on their backs.

On our way back to land, we spotted a Barking Deer that ran for cover on seeing us, and the richly coloured Green Bee-Eater flying alongside the Indian Grey Hornbill. On the various trees across the reserve area, a motley crew comprising the Pied Starling, the Long-Tailed Shrike, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher and some White-Eyed Buzzards kept moaning overhead.

What also makes Satpura a rare and refreshing getaway is that you never know what a ride into the jungle will throw at you. Tigers aren’t easily spotted here—but then, truth be told, that isn’t the main draw. Visitors who come here are typically those who care about observing rarer and lesser known birds and animals. Fascinatingly enough, leopard sightings here are more frequent than in any other park. While we didn’t get lucky, it gave us enough reason to want to return some day.

We had to leave Satpura the next day. But just as soon as I saw the little bars on my phone light up, I turned the phone off. I realized that I wanted to stretch the silence that had stealthily seeped inside of me a little while longer.

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Getting there:

Places to stay:

Reni Pani Jungle Lodge provides five-star indulgences (Reni Pani Village, Sohagpur Tehsil, Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh, tel: 9301999223; email: info@renipanijunglelodge.com). It is a wildlife focused lodge—spread over 30 acres of flora—located close to the Satpura National Park and Tiger Reserve. Tariffs: 18,000-24,000, excluding service tax, for double occupancy, per night (it includes all meals and two national park activities per day).

Places to eat:

All meals are provided by the Lodge.

Things to do:

You can spend your days trying out more than three different types of safari trips around the national park. You have the option of going in a 4x4 car, boat, canoe, on a horse or even take an elephant safari. You can also go on numerous nature walks.

Supriya Dravid is a Delhi-based writer and the author of A Cool, Dark Place (Random House India) that was released recently.