Ranathambore, Retreat for the Royal Tiger (2015)
Ranathambore, we were told, is the park to go to, for tiger-sighting. Having been to Jim Corbett thrice and having failed to spot the striped king, I jumped at the idea. It was a family trip. We took the train from Delhi to Sawai Madhopur and stayed there in one of those sprawling resorts. Two days and three safaris later, no sign of the tiger. And there were too many tourists. Just as we were leaving the park, we spied half a dozen vehicles parked in one of the side paths and we joined the crowd – and there she was Machali, the star of the park who has spawned a huge brood to keep the tiger population up. (Alas, she died in August 2016). Before I could point my camera and shoot, she got up and majestically walked away from the gaping jeeps and canters.