Rediscovering Gypsies on tiger trails

 Another road trip, another holiday after several got cancelled because of work, wars ... This time, however, the call of the jungles was too strong for any disruptions. The given modes of transport were an Airbus A320, a Maruti Brezza and Gypsy - rather Gypsies of various vintage. 

As we prepared for the holiday, the Ahmedabad air crash made me jittery travelling by air right after. Imagine my predicament when I found myself in seat 11F. That was the row in which the sole survivor of the Air India crash was seated.

A smooth takeoff and an even smoother touchdown and we were in Nagpur. We took a self drive Vitara Brezza from the airport. It was a variant with a smart hybrid petrol engine. We hopped on and drove into the city in no time. Setting the destination in the car's navigation system to our hotel near the city's railway station, it was easy weaving through Nagpur's sparse Sunday traffic. 

A little note on the hotel. A property that earlier belonged to the legendary cricketer CK Nayudu, the first Indian cricket Test team captain, Treebo, the Pavilion's decor paid homage to the legendary cricketer and the sport.

A night's rest with some sampling of Nagpur's Saoji cuisine and orange burfi, we were refreshed and raring to go next morning. 

Taking the NH53 and then on to NH44, a drive to Pench Tiger Reserve in the south west border of Madhya Pradesh, 110 km away from Nagpur would take over 2.30 hours, according to Google map.

The Brezza drove well through the plains and the winding roads of ghats. With a smooth pick-up and an effortless drive, the vehicle is a dream on highways. A good road presence with its dimensions and a high driver seat, the Brezza is an easy vehicle to command and also offers a commanding view of the road. With speed monitors, an alarm goes off every time the speedometer exceeds 70 kmph. 

There is significant bodyroll at high double digit speeds as the Brezza meandered through the winding ghat roads. That was surprising given that the car appeared planted and the drive overall assuring. 

The road to Pench was smooth and picturesque through forest corridors. We encountered road signages alerting us to wildlife presence where we took care to slow down.

One irritant we had with the Brezza was that the phone has to be paired each time the ignition was switched off. Everytime we stopped to refill or take a toilet break, we ended up re-pairing our phones. This could be because of our ineptness with the vehicle. More on this at the end.

At Pench Forest Reserve, it was a different vehicle that gave us yeoman's service. A fleet of Maruti Gypsies are used for the safari rides inside the forest. These 4x4s are no longer in production since 2019 but they are still used in the forest tracks. Not just Pench, even at the Satpura Forest Reserve, Gypsies are used for safaris. While in Pench, the Gypsies are owned by private drivers who do duty at the Pench Forest, in Satpura, the MP forest department owns a fleet of Gypsies. These 1.2 litre petrol engines with a good ground clearance are perfect for the kind of heavy duty offroading needed in forests.

As we went on the tiger trail, our Gypsy ran through gravel roads, crossed ditches, climbed hillocks, passed grasslands, in short criss-crossed the core zone of the forest with ease. As these offroaders age, it will be hard to find replacements for these nimble-footed 4x4s that are at once jiffy and dependable on any terrain.

From Pench, we drove the Brezza to Pachmarhi, a five hour drive through some winding hill roads. The drive was done after a morning safari that started at 5 am and finished at 11 am after a thrilling chase to sight a full grown adult tiger. It was quite exhausting but all tiredness was overcome by the serene, verdant town of Pachmarhi, a hill resort built by the British and impeccably maintained by the Army and the forest division.

We encountered the Gypsy at Pachmarhi too where local sightseeing is done with these 4x4s. Tour operators here go to extensive lengths to get hold of a Gypsy. Our driver for the day narrated how he went south to purchase a Gypsy for Rs 15 lakhs.

Maruti last sold the vehicle for Rs 6.64 lakhs

As we climbed steep inclines, navigated broken roads through the Satpura range to Dhoopgarh at an elevation of 1352 metres, the highest point in Madhya Pradesh, the vintage Gypsy braved lashing winds and rain and drove through non-existent roads.

There were more Gypsy rides waiting for us as we drove the Brezza from Pachmarhi to Madhai, a gateway to Satpura Tiger Reserve where a sprawling over1300 sq metre of forest area holds the most bio-diverse spots in India. 

A morning safari entailed a boat ride across Dewan river in the early morning light and then a Gypsy ride through the forest terrain. The Satpura reserve has the most diverse landscape with undulating hills, rocks, boulders, rivers, streams and rivulets. Our chariot, again a Gypsy, one from the fleet of the forest department, drove through rocky terrain, crossed streams, gorges and helped us spot a sloth bear crossing the mud road and bounding away into the wilderness, a herd of gaurs, healthy adults grazing peacefully, a Crested Serpent Eagle perched on a top branch, a young adult tiger sprawled across the road that napped away as we shot him through our cameras.

The next day's morning Safari at Satpura reserve was full of thrill. For this safari we got a Gypsy that was particularly noisy with a metal clanging on its underbody. Yet it took us to where a tiger waited in its haunches ready to prey as a herd of gaurs grazed away peacefully. No sooner had the bovine anumals scented the tiger, the entire heard went on an attack mode, snorting at the lone tiger which put its tail between its legs and left.

Our Gypsy went on the tiger's trail but to our utter excitement and consternation we found the predator following us on our track. A forest ranger in a separate vehicle commanded our Gypsies to move away and remain clear of the animal's path. We obliged. The tiger then lopped off to the surrounding boulders sniffing a catch. It had spotted a lone gaur and stealthily moved towards it hiding behind trees and shrubs. But the forest has its own warning system as a group of langurs called out to alert the gaur who then ran away to join its herd. But the tiger continued on its hunt as we left to chase others in the forest.

From Madhai, we made our way to our last destination in this holiday, Bedhaghat near Jabalpur. The drive was another marathon five hours with village roads and narrow state highways that delayed our progress. The straying cows, dogs were also another traffic that needed to be negotiated. Highways in Madhya Pradesh have its fair share of stray cattle, particularly cows and can slow you down considerably. The road to Jabalpur was a mix of winding hilly roads and straight drives. The ghats make this drive beautiful with the Satpura range in the horizon.

Bedhaghat is a small village that hosts the famous marble rocks. Jagged marble cliffs rise from the waters of Narmada creating a dramatic landscape with deep gorges and waterfalls. The cliff's shimmering images on the waters are a photographer's delight. A boat ride around the marble rocks show the beauty of these rocks in its various shades of white, moss grey, pink and blue. However, the boat rides stop from June 15 in view of the monsoons that swell the waters of the Narmada. 

There is also the Dhuandhar falls where the Narmada falls from a height of 30 feet causing mist and spray. Apparently, during monsoon, the rising waters of the river submerge the falls which then shifts at a different site. 

After the marble rocks it was time to wrap up our holiday as we drove the Brezza to Nagpur and hand it back to its owner. On the over five hour journey back, we seemed to have cracked the puzzle of the navigation system which came alive on its own (without us having to re-pair our phones to the vehicle communication system) each time we switched on the ignition after toilet and refuel breaks.