Have you ever had a sudden epiphany about something you once believed when you were a child and carried into adulthood without question? I remember clearly (my college roommates won’t let me forget) watching Aladdin freshman year and quoting the genie saying “Wake up and smell the homeless.” My roommates looked at me in shock—Michelle explained “he doesn’t say that. He says ‘wake up and smell the hummus.’” I did not let it go without a fight: “But Aladdin is homeless so he probably smells…remember the flea scene.” More horrified stares. Looking back, I guess hummus made more sense; it is a children’s movie after all.
Now, I had another such moment in India in November when I went to the Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, about 7-8 hours west of Delhi. The safaris there advertised creatures like monkey, snakes, sloth bears, and tigers. I thought to myself: that sounds like the whole crew from the Jungle Book. It took me a few minutes to connect the dots (no comments, peanut gallery): Rudyard Kipling lived in India…he must have been writing about the Indian jungle! All of a sudden Mowgli’s animal friends made a lot more sense…as did Mowgli and his Indian-looking girlfriend. Wait, all of a sudden Talespin made more sense too.
Alrighty, enough with epiphanies and onto the jungle. I am going to spoil the ending for you—we did not see a tiger…and it was all my Bain male co-worker’s fault. Here’s the long and the short of the tiger story. We saw many animals at Ranthambore, including jackels, deer, wild boars, owls, snakes, and monkeys, but the tiger remained elusive during our first two trips into the jungle. On the third and final trip we got into our safari jeep determined to see a tiger. We tracked one deep into the jungle, seeing his footprint and hearing his roar. Alas, he never came out of the trees, and we were forced to return home defeated. The three boys I traveled with were so disappointed that they decided to make a pit stop to use the er outdoor restroom and let the jeep behind us pass us by. I sat dejected in the van. And then from ahead, I hear a roar. The tiger passed right in front of the other jeep! Sadly, by the time the boys joined me and the driver in the jeep again, the tiger was gone. Some may say that the boys were brave to have gone the bathroom outside the jeep with a tiger on the loose; I, however, knew better. Life lesson: never go tiger hunting with men.
Baby crocodile
Monkeys!
Bambi?
A footprint is as close I ever got to a tiger...thanks boys.
