A Rugged Cave & a Pair of Wild Eyes

Though I have photographed hundreds of tigers in the wild in the past decade, I always wanted to photograph a tiger in a cave and I know that it is not be easy to get such moments due to a number of reasons such as – there should be a cave the jungle, the cave should be accessible in the jungle, then a tiger has to consider that cave as its home and during the safari, the tiger should be present in that same cave as well. The probability of all these coming together was very meagre.

After a long wait, I came to know about a cave in one of the central Indian jungles and planned a trip to that Jungle to have a look at that Cave. It had been carved by nature in dark contrasting colors. The most fascinating part was that the Cave had vibrant natural colors owing to the flowing waters, algae, and the changing weather conditions. As I saw the Cave, my excitement grew multi-folds. “How about a tiger here?” I wondered the very first time when I was near that cave.

I made a game plan of at least two visits to that jungle in a year and decided to stay there about a week every time. I was relentless for years, yet every drive was a disappointment to me. But I did not give up on my dream. After waiting for years, I got the most awaited phone call from one of my close friend and naturalist that a new Tiger family have taken the cave as their home. With pumped-up emotions, I packed up the bags to reach the Forest and to visit the same cave. After 2 days of travelling, he fervently forged ahead towards the same cave. I have almost exhausted all my drives but could not see the tiger. For the last drive, I took my brand new NIKKOR 180-400 f4 1.4TC lens, since somewhere in my mind I felt the versatility of this lens which has a range from 180mm to 560mm will ensure an edge in capturing the most awaited moment. On the downside that was a very heavy lens, but I was willing to take that risk.

In a hunch, I also decided to be there at the cave at the latter part of the drive at around 10:30 am since the weather is warmer and the chances to see the Tiger are higher. The main concern here was that we only had one shot at this, since it takes around two third of the total time one can be in jungle just to visit the cave and come back. Unfortunately, my plan was shattered when the driver told me that it is difficult to be there by 10:30 am and come back, and it is only possible to visit the cave first i.e., by around 7 am to 8 am. Leaving things on its way, I went to the cave and saw nothing. This time I decided to wait there for one last time. After a long wait, I felt an odd silence in the jungle (a feeling I always get seconds before I see a tiger); for no reason I casually moved my eyes from the cave to my left and was shocked to see a Male Tiger resting on a rock. He was watching me for the whole time. I became numb and was just seeing the tiger in the awe. But still, the tiger did not enter the cave, but he was on the other side to it. While I was waiting for the actual moment that I always dreamt of, the tiger lied down on the rocky terrain and gave a chilling look straight onto my eyes.

When everything felt like I would have to wait for more years to see a tiger in the cave, the Tiger stood up walked through the rocks towards the cave and did not enter it but laid down at the entrance and stared straight into my camera. I decided to capture the complete cave and the Tiger at the least possible focal length. Thanks to my versatile Nikon lens.

Then suddenly, the Tiger became so curious and with his ears wide open and gave a royal pose. That pose felt like my dream has just come true.

I was experiencing what I dreamt of and was just immersed on the moment; the muscle memory was the one clicking the images.

After a point of time, the Tiger became comfortable and leisured at the cave. I fired more than hundreds of rounds, took images till my cards and my heart were filled with happiness to brim.?

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