Sawai Madhopur

This is the town closest to Ranthambhore. One travel guide book described it as "flea-bitten" and I guess I'd have to agree. There's not a whole lot to recommend the place except it is where some amazing Naturalists live who have given their lives to saving India's tiger. Such unassuming people and yet so dedicated to the cause. But not only lovers of India's King of the Jungle, they are lovers of all wildlife as well and speak respectfully and lovingly of all that Nature has to offer. Like when one Guide took the time to help me locate in my binoculars a pair of vultures perched high on a cliff. And when he later pointed out a black cobra slithering its way through the thick grass at our feet. I'd have been oblivious to both, but his eyes and ears were always trained and alert...

And these Naturalists/Guides have some amazing stories to tell, too. Such as the story of Ranthambhore's famous tigresses, Machali, aka Lady of the Lake, who killed a crocodile to protect her two cubs. She did it by putting one foot in the jaw of the crocodile and ripping the animal's mouth completely apart with her paw.

Another story we heard was about the year there was not a drop of water in the Tiger Preserve. (Which is remarkable considering there are 3 lakes in Ranthambhore.) One tigress, with cubs, was forced to venture farther afield to find water to drink. They found it by jumping over the wall of a 5 Star Resort that abuts the Preserve and drinking from the water fountain in the Resort's front lawn! The manager of the Resort alerted the guests to watch the amazing sight (from the safety of their rooms!) but was then advised by park officials to please build a higher wall!

The pictures I've posted are typical scenes of Sawai Madhopur but could be scenes from just about any colorful Indian town, including Kevin purchasing some medicine at a chemist, a man washing his bus, a shop of Ganesh idols, and the train station where we saw Nandita off. (Even though India now has some wonderful domestic airlines that make travel so much easier, we missed taking the train this trip and will try harder to include such a journey next time...)