Rendezvous with the "Royal"

After spending 5 grueling hours in the forest, and spending over 5 grands,we had seen umpteen pug marks, deers, antelopes, wild pigs, and even God (reclining statue of Vishnu in that dense forest) but we were yet to see a glimpse of Tiger. It was 5 PM and 5:30 was the scheduled exit time from the forest, everybody was disappointed to the core, so much so that we started cracking jokes to make each other happy, but everybody had this request in his heart "God please, just one glimpse of tiger". Our prayers were answered, our guide heard something ( we did not at first), it was shout of the deer, we looked at each other, the guide looked at the driver and commanded "Sunil palta lo gaadi..." ( Sunil take a U turn), and the very efficient, docile sunil, turned the Gypsy, caring little about who will fall from it.

As we reached the location, there was a second alarm, this time we heard. And then the growl of the tiger, it was like rain in a city facing years of drought, we were so happy, I was breathing high now. Reason, we were alone in that way, and the growl was heard pretty close ( at least I thought like that), "looks like its a male one" guide told the driver, raising my heartbeat a little, growling male tiger, he surely is not in a good mood. Everything went silent again, "seems like he has sat again" guide told us "lazy bastard", I thought. "Sunil palta lo gadi...." the guide told sunil, and sunil was as obliging.

We reached at a point, choc-a-block, with other tourist gypsys, close to 30 of them, and there was a lot of movement, and we could guess it, it was the tiger. There were 20 vehicles, between us and the tiger, we thought we will not see it. And then sunil started showing his skills, navigating the gypsy like he was in rally racing. "Hold tight.." that was all the warning that we received from sunil and our gypsy was moving like a snake on hunt. We were well placed to see the tiger, "its female.." the guide told us. "It is spraying perfume, to attract the tiger...", the tigress was in no mood to give any kind of attention to all the 35 gypsys and close to 200 tourists, it was in its own world, scratching trees, rubbing her back on ground, playing with water.Royal indeed. She stared coming close, and she was about 10-15 meters from us and walked back. And it was 5:45 time for us to go out or the gypsy would face a ban for next 10 days. We all were happy, though we forgot to give sunil the ice-cream that we had promised to give him on seeing the tiger ( ofcourse, we didn't see the tiger, we saw tigress), we thanked him a zillion times.

I realized while sleeping that the fun part was tracking the tiger, its pug marks, its territories, its eating habits, so much so that, as i closed my eyes to sleep, I saw the pug marks and not the tigress. I understood why bandhavgarh has pug mark as its sign and not the tiger and why that signboard at the entrance of the Bandhavgarh.

Movie:The FountainHead

I always ignored this channel, TCM, and then a day before yesterday, I thought there was nothing to watch on any of the channels ( even FTV was not so interesting ), I decided to take this "bitter" dose of old movies. I sat on sofa, I was laid back as the movie (The Fountainhead) began and by the time movie reached its climax, I was little closer to the idiot box, watching the movie, fully engrossed. Based on Ayn Rand's novel,the movie is a must watch for every professional.

The engrossing tale of the struggle of the "Genius" against the "Mob", his passion for work, he doesn't want money, he doesn't want fame, these are all given by society, he wants something from himself and not from society. Some dialogs of the movie ( the protagonist is a genius architect)

"I don't build in order to have clients. I have clients in order to build!",

"A building has integrity, just as a man and just as seldom! It must be true to its own idea, have its own form, and serve its own purpose!"

or this fantastic conversation with the negative character.

Ellsworth Toohey: There's the building that should have been yours. There are buildings going up all over the city which are great chances refused and given to incompetent fools. You're walking the streets while they're doing the work that you love but cannot obtain. This city is closed to you. It is I who have done it! Don't you want to know my motive?

Howard Roark: No!

Ellsworth Toohey: I'm fighting you and shall fight you in every way I can.

Howard Roark: You're free to do what you please!

Ellsworth Toohey: Mr. Roark, we’re alone here. Why don't you tell me what you think of me in any words you wish.

Howard Roark: But I don't think of you!
[Roark walks away and Toohey's head slumps down]

Its a must watch movie.