Again we are on road

Aditi Ghosh

Again we are on road .. Nini’s favourite long drive… this time we chose ‘hills in the midst of jungle’. The place is called Silwar. From Duggada the road diverges – one goes uphill towards Lansdowne hill station while the other reaches Silwar, the forest trails to the Kalagarh Tiger Reserve. The jungle in the hills has a different kind of natural beauty and feel.

Our planned 6hrs of road journey became over 8 hours due to a long patch of the broken road from Miranpur to Bijnour, mostly because of the recent heavy and incessant rain. This resort is on the top of the hill amidst the forest. The last mile is totally steep off-roading only by their 4×4 car through the bouldered path. Off-roading with Nini is an adventure in itself. I was trying to hold her closer to me, worried that she might get hurt with the jumps and jerks, while Nini wanted to put her chin on the window and enjoy the adventure undisturbed.

By the time we reached it is 2 pm.. three of us were both tired and hungry. We ate and slept only to wake up to view the sunset. After the nap, Nini is back with her full energy and wanted to explore the entire property which I understand is 55 acres. But we are advised on our arrival that we are in a tiger reserve and no outdoors after sunset. I remember what the manager uttered ‘animal harms animal’. So, with Nini, we are inside our cottage as soon as the sun sets behind the hills. We embraced darkness through our glass wall and the cricket sounds all around further magnified the wilderness.

The writer is a globe traveller