varsha n
Each Taj experience is unique. Baghvan was nothing like any of the Taj experiences we’ve had before. 12 cottages located at Pench's buffer zone, maybe just a kilometer from the Turia gate, I now understand why the Baghvan experience is only comparable to stays at the other Taj jungle lodges, which we will now surely venture to plan and travel to!||Baghvan was our idea of relaxation after 2 hectic work weeks. We wanted to get away in a hurry, just before Pench would shut for the monsoon. What a time to see the forest!! The first rains had just started in the last week of June. Compared to the other times we’d been in National parks, this time felt greener. The air was more humid. So many more insects, birds, animals. ||The front desk at Baghvan (Ajay, Akash, Khusvinder and Sonali) and Taj safari team (Pooja, Snedden) were quick to respond to my reservation request, send out payment links, check membership status for the best rates, figure out food preferences, answer questions on the safari availability. Appreciate all of them for answering their phones, responding to emails/whatsapp texts. It is their job, but it was extremely well done. ||The most special part about the Taj safaris has to be the Naturalist, who in our case was Santosh. How lucky we were that there were no other safari takers in the lodge those last 2 days of the season! What a pleasure it was, listening to this passionate person talk! He drove us on both our drives (one evening, one morning); was always waiting for us a few minutes before time; was so gentle and understanding with our young children. He joined us for a meal, ate what we ate (regardless of what he may have actually preferred!), made suggestions to the kitchen to serve us dishes he knew we (may) like. Above all, a person who oozed love for nature, passion for creatures big and small. You could see him melt over the first rare sighting we had – a pack of wild dogs. As he backed up our vehicle a bit while the others went ahead looking to sight tigers, he spoke to us about their habits, how they were lesser in numbers than even tigers. The ready reckoner we had for Flora and Fauna was put to good use with Santosh’s brains, keen eyes. This guy’s a team player --- the park staff, other gypsy drivers, hotel staff at the kitchen --- they were all ready to help. So much goodwill is so heartwarming to see. ||His quick response to an almost deer-like call (from a colleague!) got us a fabulous sighting of a hungry and prowling T4. Tracking tigers is an exciting adventure. You really don’t know when and where you will see one, for how long. It’s all chance. The next day, we were able to sight a leopard, but it was faraway, asleep on a rock. It put in perspective how lucky we had been the previous day with T4. We also saw a huge monitor lizard hunt a bullfrog. We learnt a few bird calls, saw almost 40-50 birds in those two days, many of them up close and for a while. Eagles, vultures, rollers, jungle owlets, so many more. Watching nature up close, in the rain, with a guide to tell us what we were seeing and how special it was --- it made the whole expedition so much more special for all of us. The picnic breakfast of poha, sandwiches, hot chai (cocoa for the kids, made right then!), fruits, freshly made muesli and curd – what a luxury in the middle of the forest. ||Which brings me to the food. Baghvan’s kitchen is for lovers of simple, fresh food, with most ingredients sourced locally. While it may seem to some like this translates to a “limited” menu, to us, it was heaven. We loved the offerings made by Chef Milind and Chef Lekhraj – both wonderful men, who made the effort to spend a lot of time with us and cater to our food preferences. They met us before and after almost every meal, and served us amazing dishes which gave us home-cooked five-star satisfaction The kids enjoyed their yum pasta and noodles, while we relished local flavours with joy. The dal kaandha, tharri-poha, hot parathas, kadhi-chawal – they were our favourites. Shyam, Raj, Yuvraj, Raghu – some of the staff who were most helpful at the kitchen during our stay. Raj and Shyam were waiting on us exclusively, tending to each of the kids’ icecream requests with patience, while Yuvraj was up in the wee hours of the morning to lay out hot cups of tea in the monsoon rain before our safari. Each of them fearlessly swept away insects that came by our tables, cleaned up spillage, and dealt with our sugar cravings in the middle of the jungle! Thank you Raghu, for telling us the amazing history about the significance of mahua trees to the local community, and for the fabulous mahua cocktails. We’ll be coming back for more!||We enjoyed a morning at a tribal village in the forest’s buffer zone, trying to do pottery with some folk who do pottery for their livelihood. We were so humbled by their skill, and our complete lack of it. Children learn fast --- ours weren’t fazed by the dirt of wet clay, and wanted to keep trying to make something meaningful from the clay. But we the adults, hahahaaha. It takes us so much longer!! Pankaj is a master at the pottery wheel, and we are grateful for the time he spent with us. We happily brought home some pieces to pack into our luggage, and enjoyed the wonderful open-top jeep drive in the light rain with Santosh, who didn’t lose the chance to show us a few more fruit bats, and a scaly breasted muniya. ||Warm thanks to everyone at Baghvan, including the watchman (sorry I didn’t get his name), who waved us cheerily into Baghvan after each of our expeditions. It is one thing to travel to a jungle lodge in the peak of summer, when animals are looking for water, waiting for us to find them near watering holes. But it is altogether a different experience to see animals on the move, wet from the falling rain, insects sprouting wings for a few days just to mate. What a rewarding experience this was. We are happy that the other Taj Safaris await us!!
