CitiWalks

The road runs parallel to the gushing river,

They’re like two lives running together with same intensity

The road takes a curve, the river bends

Bringing to mind picture of lovers copying each others’ moves and making amends

While I reasonably wait for the journey to end

the road and the river seem to be in a ceaseless affair

because till the time they are together they don’t want to leave nothing to chance

Until another curve and bend brings to end their romance

Perhaps in some other place and time they will suddenly see each other once again

And continue with their unknown destination

When one road stops, another begins

A small stream turns into river, flows and sings

It was late spring but already very  hot in Chitwan. A lazy, restful silence was in the air until a jeep drove past the empty road billowing a cloud of dust.

“You’ll just be making a round of the jungle,” the rickshaw man said as we sat in a restaurant waiting for the elephant to arrive. He was beetroot-red in the face and sweating heavily after the ride in the sun.

Heaving a long and tiresome sigh, he wiped his face and hands with a damp towel flung round his neck and continued, “There are tigers, rhinos, leopards, and other wild animals out there, but it’s mid-day and very hot, so they’ll not be easy to spot. They will hide deep in the bushes.”

The heavily built restaurant-owner nodded. “He’s right. If you’d come later in the afternoon, like at 3 or 4, you’d have had a better chance of spotting wild animals. It’s very hot now.”

“Nobody told me that before,” I said, feeling a little helpless, “not even the man who sold me the tickets. He claimed that some tourists had spotted a tiger just this morning. Was he telling me a lie just to sell the tickets?”

“Only rarely are tigers and leopards seen in the jungle, and certainly not at this hour,” the restaurant owner replied. “They come out of their hiding to make a kill or drink in the ponds late in the afternoon when it is much cooler. But you’d still have to be  very lucky.”

Sauraha was not accustomed to welcoming visitors at this time of the day. The shops were still shuttered and restaurants deserted, save for waiters fanning themselves or lounging on tables under the shaded terrace. There was nothing to do, but wait. Continue reading…