Hanuman Ansh; Journey of Hope & Faith!

 

                                        

                                                                

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"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe." — Saint Augustine

"Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible." — Corrie ten Boom

"Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light." — Helen Keller

“It’s not about faith, it’s about how you tell the story about the faith” …Me.

Augustine of Hippo, also well-known as Saint Augustine, was a Christian theologian and philosopher from Thagaste (Died 28 August 430 AD) Cornelia Arnolda Johanna "Corrie" ten Boom was a Dutch watchmaker and later a Christian writer and public speaker. Helen Adams Keller was an American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer who lost her hearing & eye sight at age of nineteen & lived till eighty-seven years. Well, Siant Augustine nobody has seen or met but the rest of two are very much from our mortal world (and Me too) & what they all wrote about one aspect which differentiates humans from all rest living animals is very true & its faith! Especially our Hindu philosophy revolves around this one word & so does ancient Chinese philosophies also though western world was never much in fond & yet they believe in Jesus & his rebirth or say reappearance post death! Well, you must have guessed by now with my love about movies & the current rage post Dhurandhar, yes Hanuman Ansh! If you don’t know what’s this, which probably most Gen Zs’ or even so-called grownups educated ones must now have watched then I am sure you must have come across at least some post about its success (commercial of course) on Insta or Google ads as FB no more many people take seriously though they do post (sarcasm)!

Ok, it’s a movie about a Nib Karori (not Nim Karloli) Baba, who was very much real & passed away in 1973 & was a great devotee of Haunamanji (plz google). I myself too am a devotee of Hanumanji but I won’t share or spend time about what I do as a devotee! Because that’s not subject of the sharing but my movie-love pulled me towards Hanuman Ansh, as after ages there is a Bollywood movie which was supposedly about a Saint (Sadhu) & his life & he is not philosopher or Gyan sharing Saint, just a simple man from normal family, so how the movie went on making crores & become one of the greatest all-time hits of Pan India cinema already & still going, was my subject of interest! Just to give you an idea, Dhurandhar which is supposedly made some 3000 plus crores rupees (both parts combine) is way ahead on gross collection than HA (hanuman Ansh short form lol) but it's making & publicity spending is more than 1200 crore rupees, means the profit is double or say max triple, a guess! HA movies making & total expenses are said to be 2 crores rupees & it’s already earned nearly 300 crores & still counting & this doesn’t include OTT money which will follow, now tell me who is more hit, Dhurandhar or HA, is my subject or interest & sharing & study! And yes, Disclaimer (Terms & Conditions applicable); I am not justifying any miracle or such act shown in the movie Hanuman Ansh, nor I expect people to believe whatever has been shown in it about Nib Karori baba’s supernatural power, that’s up to individuals’ discretion, my sharing is about the way movie has been made & presented & its success with masses & on box office!

Before we analyse success of HA, nearly fifty years back there were two movies, Santoshi Maa & Shirdi ke Saibaba, made in low budget & they broke all box office records, though back then there was no 100-crore club thing but I remember vaguely (as I was 5/7-year-old then) in 1975 the entire theatre singing (mostly ladies) aarti of Santoshi Maa when the song used to play on the screen, it was mass hysteria! Same thing repeated two years later, 1977 with Shirdi ke Saibaba (sure no need to introduce Saint Saibaba) got released & devotees made box office ringing like anything, in both movies actors & rest crew’s names were not known much except Saibaba was produced bay Manoj Kumar out of his personal devotion for the Saint & he also didn’t think that this will be his life’s biggest hit in term of money earnings! Why I mentioned these two movie’s names is because Hanuman Ansh made me remember these movies as no success is an accident, it may look like one yet somewhere you hit a formula which has all potential for a hit just you don’t know about it, is the case then also & today too! Year 1975 & that era was full of unrest, which is why the Angry Young Man Hero became the Super Star of all time where most of the youngsters & mid-age men could correlate with his way of dealing with society & hardships of life! But what about women & people who were not physically fit or knew their limitations about fighting with the system & even in movies couldn’t relate with Angry Young Man’s actions, well, the answer was in Santoshi Maa & Saibaba! Evry young & middle-aged woman in the society could correlate with troubled (tortured) Daughter-in-Law in Santoshi Maa who is helped by the goddess for her survival fight in Sasural & all ends with good things. And in Saibaba, a middle-class family man was helped by powers of Saibaba & there to all ends well, what more connection with masses could have been there than this & outcome was not just commercial success of these two movies but the way they reached to the hearts of their watchers, mostly common families!

But this is 2026, a most commercial digitalized so-called intelligent era of all times & ruled by Gen-Z. Today everything is available to everybody on screen & nothing can make this genre surprize or to make them believe & in such scenario how a movie about a Baba (Saint) to whom most of these people has never ever seen could make them believe in him but connects with the movie to make it the biggest Sleeper Hit (plz google about the term)! Answer lies in three things (by me), one, this period is also of unrest & of insecurity & this unrest is generated not because of lack of something but because of plentyness (too much) of everything, as deep within most of us are unhappy & not at peace, though on surface (read as on Insta & FB) all are busy in showing how best their life is! And second is the way story is being told, as its not complicated with turns & twists but can happen with any of us or around any of us, is something we have forgotten to experience & yes third thing, no darkness about the presentation of the story, no blood shade, no abusive language, no flesh exposure (item songs) or no patch-up comedy characters, as people have got bored of it & needed a break where they can watch something simple & day to day goodness of life which we have forgotten! A neighbourhood which cares for you, gives you shelter, shares their food with you without asking your caste or religion, this is what we are as an Indian society, & this we have forgotten to watch! And then there are scenes like Baba making a gora (angrej) surrender to his powers & devotion by stopping a train in which the angrej was travelling, adding dash of our Mythic power’s victory over the western world, a perfect blend of all the masala which has a potential of a super hit is there in HA! This is the reason why years after years & for nearly a century, Disney studio keeps presenting similar stories with earnest simplicity & feel-good approach adding dash of magic & miracles & outcome is, most of their movies become a commercial hit. In the past we too had a dash of such storytelling, “Ashtavinayak” was one such in modern times & was a good commercial hit but in the midway somewhere today's movie makers misjudged the new age generation as non-believer of magic or faith in goodness & stopped doing such movies. But we forget, the same so called non-believer society in magic & miracles has made movies like “Stree” a hit where there are miracles, magic but on dark side so all it needed is a story which will touch the hearts of the masses with magic & miracles blended with faith for goodness & what better story can there be which involves journey of a believer common kid towards becoming a saint & that too with god which is most common in central India i.e., Hanumanji, is the true success of Hanuman Ansh!

Do mind, I come from a town (khamgaon) which itself is known by the Saint i.e. Gajanan-maharaj of Shegaon & people still believe that he had magic powers & there used to be oldies in my childhood who had witnessed Maharaj doing miracles, again individuals’ discretion to believe or not! But the best part of HA is the Nib Karori baba does perform his miracles in a very subtle way, for e.g. when a poor man comes to him for illness of his wife, Baba asks him, “Baid ko dikhya? (have you shown her to a doctor), when the poor man says no then Baba says, Baid ko dikhao sab thik ho jayega! In another scene, when some farmers come complaining about their crops being stolen at night, baba says, increase night watch & all will be well. Means Baba has shown telling his devotees not to rely totally on god (or any such power) but put your efforts in the problem at hand & then the gods will be with you, isn’t it true everywhere for any believer? Agreed, there are some miracles shown but then it can be a case of mass hypnotization also (for a non-believer) what is important is the outcome of having faith & yet putting our full efforts, no harm in it, right? Faith & hope should be our strength & not become our crutches making us weak, is the message from Baba, which is very important, especially for today’s devotees!

Full marks to team of Hanuman Ansh as by its commercial success, it has once again proved a right product always succeed & here the product was not some Nib Karori Baba but the way his story been told, after all we all believe in something (most of us) & stores like hanuman Ansh makes our belief strong not just in miracles or super powers but by giving (read as gifting) the most important thing i.e. Hope! If the devotees are going back home happily after watching Baba pulling them out of their troubles, then many youngsters & grownups now can believe, if this movie with such small budget can make a mega hit, then I also can succeed in my project however difficult it may look for now, that’s the biggest success by me of Hanuman Ansh! And all kudos to the producers, director & every person associated with the movie for gifting us something we are lacking i.e. hope; Sitaram, Sitaram; what better words I could have to say adios & yes, eagerly waiting for Shesh Katha i.e. part2!

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Sanjay Deshpande 

smd156812@gmail.com

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about finding a Right Home/ Office in Pune, at YouTube link below & share if liked...

 

https://youtu.be/27j3I3rwGPQ?si=-ODYBxVI2Dl_C345

 

Please do visit my blog links below to read about real estate & home buying! 

https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2025/12/pune-real-estate-in-2026.html

https://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2024/12/2025.html

https://jeevnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2026/08/
Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below) 

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A Decade of RERA & Real Estate!

                                                     

                                                         

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“Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.”

― Dalai Lama XIV

“The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules but by people following the rules...”― Banksy

“Unfortunate fact of doing legal business in India is, you have to face competition from a person who doesn’t follow any law or rule”… Me

Well, no need to introduce the first name as his philosophy & courage to stand against the might of communist Iron curtain (China) is known. Interestingly Banksy, is a pseudonymous England-based Street artist, political activist, and film director. He has never publicly confirmed his identity. I don’t wonder as with such kind of opinions about system (govt) it’s better to hide your identity for obvious reasons as in coming days I might also feel to do same (lol, sarcasm), but till I can write with my own name, let’s do as much I can! If it’s a boon for being able to express what you feel about rightness then curse is time & again you have to write about right things, means wrongness is increasing (read as, on rampage). And if you are frowning who I am to say my right is right, then let me tell you I am not saying to believe what is right or wrong just because I say so as one, I don’t have any authority to do say so (read as nuisance power) & two, the beauty of right is even if thousands or millions say so, yet it doesn’t change unless you change the sides, which till now I haven’t, so be it! Ok, enough of philosophy or Gyan. com & subject of sharing is already enough frustrating i.e. RERA, real estate regulatory act & it also has Development in it i.e. Real Estate regulation & Development Act 2016, which most people (including Mai-Baap govt) conveniently forget. Yesterday only I came across an article about the decade of RERA i.e. ten years of its implementation & things happening on the front of real estate which is triggering this sharing. I really sometimes wonder as penning down such thoughts, does it really matter anymore, especially the way things are moving around on social, religious & communal fronts, who has time for logic, yet I feel is, I can think,so I must write & share! The article was sceptical as usual & blamed authorities as well to the builders (what else) for not being effectively implementing provisions of RERA rather said it’s just official gateway for builders to cheat customers (in subtle way) & it’s in Times on 8^th / 9^th Sept26, you can verify is feel I am wrong. And I am not counter arguing or supporting that article but just putting forward my version about it because it directly affects my profession or business or say bread-butter i.e. real estate.

Ok, we all know why RERA came into existence but the point is how much it has been effective & who has actually done any survey for the same. And do mind, it was always painted that RERA came to straighten up the builders & in favour of the home buyers who were usually shown as poor good guys put up against bad guys i.e. builders. It may be true in some States & with few builders. But nobody asked how the builders could create such a monopoly that in a market which is usually governed by the buyer, real estate remained always the seller's market? As there lies the answer of success (or failure) of RERA is what I always think.  The system which makes homes i.e. real estate was so cumbersome (it still is) that only a select few could buy land & give finished product i.e. homes & that’s why they could govern the market. No more that scene remains as nearly a decade back (2014 exactly) I am not referring to any political party but the govt changed & so did the policies related to real estate & today there is enough supply of FSI which is raw material for homes & this is no more for select few. Any moneyed person can become a builder & make home, technology is there & so are professional hands, & suddenly it’s no more seller’s market. Agreed unlike any other product real estate still has certain limitations & advantages yet with more supply & competition now the buyer has choice & even at prime locations the builder has to wait for clients & it’s a good sign for the industry actually! But on this background RERA frankly has become a hurdle for the developers as today go to RERA website & try doing anything online from your end right from registration to change in any specification or date of possession even for valid reasons, and share your experience. This has given rise to RERA consultants, which itself is a defeat of the RERA as why you need such layers when the act is for easing the real estate at large & both sides of it, is the question we must ask to the authorities!

And then RERA has always painted as a tool (read as weapon) against the builder which wasn’t the case, it was supposed to be a set of rules or a system to ease out dealings of real estate, has it achieved the purpose or done any extraordinary change in the industry? Well, barring in every advertisement you have to mention RERA registration number nothing as changed, the builders who used to deliver homes on time, always used to post all the information in their broutures & on websites, I am doing it since my first project as that’s what a right business house does! If I want to sell my homes, I must give a fair product is simple law of any business & real estate also is no exception to this law, so why we need RERA & if we need it then why it’s not user friendly for both sides of the deal, is the question I want to ask to the authorities! There are delays in everything related to RERA registration is a fact & I am not just blaming for the sake of blaming as I respect RERA & its purpose but does RERA understand my difficulties & is open to improve, in time, is the question!  And then the way Rights of Information has become a pain for all seriously working govt people, same way RERA has become a pain for genuine developers because those who want to cheat, they will cheat anyways is the scene. And for that the biggest culprit is the govt itself & I am doing this statement in my full senses! Because who is the enemy of a developer who follows every rule & has RERA registration, well it is the illegal homes & makers as well buyers of them & govt keeps on regularising these illegal homes making people doesn’t fear or believe in laws like RERA, is my point of objection!

And then the very same govt justifies regularizing illegal homes under the name of accommodating poor or needy or innocent home buyers while the very same govt appeals through its advertisements, not to buy a home without RERA registration, isn’t this a two-faced stand by the govt itself?

On the top of it, RERA overlooks responsibility of the major stakeholder in real estate i.e. govt as from every rupee a home generates govt (local bodies like PMC & such) are also beneficiary of the home sale but when it comes to giving infrastructure the govt puts on the builder which RERA doesn’t take any objection rather forces builder to accept such unjust, why? RERA holds responsible even to the agents selling these homes who gets merely 2% commission but don’t do anything to warn the govt or civic bodies which takes nearly 15% to 20% of the project revenues under various heads from the projects approved by RERA, why? If this is about revenue sharing then the very govt makes weird policies such as inclusive housing by which govt asks the builder to build 20% area of construction for urban poor & hand over to the local authority without giving any clarity about making cost of such homes, their allotments or maintenance post possession just because govt wants to give home to urban poor but doesn’t have any mean to build them! The govt changes overnight policies related to housing & even cancels Development Plans putting crores of rupees investment of the builders in dark but RERA keeps mum, why?   Just because developers supposedly have made sins in the past & now, they must pay for their past, does this way justice is delivered? And then even for genuine reasons such as war if RERA issues a blanket NOC for postponing possession date by mere four months, it's painted as working under pressure of builder’s lobby & against common home buyers, which isn’t true but, who cares! First, understand that for no other industry such special law or any authority has been created even DGCA (Body governing Aviation Industry) which is for airlines can’t do anything about the monopoly of few airlines & where end user’s (read as clients) life safety is directly involved in industry like aviation! Yet builders accepted RERA while the so-called Ease of Doing Business remains just an imaginary term for real estate which RERA must look into!

Here, I want to share a story (sarcastic joke actually), “On a busy morning a businessman dressed UpToDate, rushes in Deccan Queen (a prestigious train connecting Mumbai Pune) & as he is late, he just jumps in without a ticket in the train. When TC comes, he finds the businessman doesn’t have a ticket & asks him to pay a fine as well get down from the train on the next station as in Deccan Queen you can only travel with reservation. Ove this the businessman told the TC about him rushing & sorry for being unable to buy a ticket as he was rushing & is ready to pay the fine & let him travel to Mumbai. The TC said fine anyway you have to pay but sorry, he has to get down at the next station, is the rule! The businessman’s eyes caught a beggar sitting in the passageway of bogie & he pointed towards the beggar & asked the TC, the begger surely doesn’t have a ticket or reservation, how you have allowed him to travel in this train? On that, the TC calmly replied, you dress up like him & sit here, I will allow you also to travel! Presently, this is the situation of a builder with RERA, who is doing everything legally, is my subject of sharing! As I mention, high-time for the authorities (read as govt) as well organizations like Credai, MBVA, NARDECO to make a survey & get data of exactly how many proposals registered under RERA has got through to possession & how many proposals are incomplete & why & what RERA has done about them & publish report about it as then only we can make improvement! As I repeat, I am not against RERA or any governing law but it should not become just one more tick in the box for the govt & a hurdle for the industry & a toothless-clawless tiger for the real needy home buyers! Last but not least, I have never understood the logic of appointing an Ex (rtd) senior officer such as Chief Secretary post which is the topmost post of bureaucracy as head of Maha-RERA (State rera authority! Because RERA comes under State’s housing dept & working head of that dept is Additional Chief Secretary or Principal Secretary & actually has worked as a junior under the present RERA Chief, so how he or she can act something against his own Ex Boss, in case any side of RERA i.e. builder or customer has any issue with RERA authority in itself. Or even anybody suggest any changes or wants improvement in RERA rules or systems, if the acting RERA boss is Ex boss of working authority, how we expect the govt to be neutral in case of dispute & this is why on no such authority any Ex senior bureaucrat should be appointed which govt royally ignores! If you want to respect knowledge & experience & to use it then make such Ex-bosses as advisors but not head of some working body which deals directly with industries, is my personal view!

 Agreed, a home may be built by some individual builder but there are many agencies are involved in its making and also are beneficiaries & all of them must be answerable to RERA, is what I want to put forward as that will be some positive outcome of making analysis on the occasion of completing ten years to this law which was supposed to be “Sim Sim” key for wellness of the real estate at large than becoming just one more lock itself, adios with this request (not warning)!

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 Sanjay Deshpande 

smd156812@gmail.com

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about finding a Right Home/ Office in Pune, at YouTube link below & share if liked...

 

https://youtu.be/27j3I3rwGPQ?si=-ODYBxVI2Dl_C345

 

Please do visit my blog links below to read about real estate & home buying! 

https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2025/12/pune-real-estate-in-2026.html

https://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2024/12/2025.html

https://jeevnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2026/08/
Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below) 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

www.punecorporation.org

Think Green, Think Life

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Junabai, Rains, Patience & School of Tadoba!

 

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 “The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter.”

― Paulo Coelho

“Trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.”
― Moliere

"A tiger doesn't lose sleep over the opinion of sheep." — Chinese proverb

“I have observed a tiger a hundred times & along with the excitement, every single time I have learned something new by observing it’… Me

No need to introduce the writer of the first quote as he is probably the most talked about in our genre (Gen X i.e. forty plus in 2026) though many think he is overhyped but ok. Moliere is a French thinker & Chinese proverbs themselves are a book when depth is the aspect & then my own outcome of these people & the experience I had recently! Yes, it’s in tadoba & about tiger but then of late for me forest is lot more than clicking photos of tigers (well, it is indeed important aspect in some way) but it’s about studying the way this animal is adopting with changing circumstances & trust me, it has helped me a lot to adopt myself in right way, in the concrete jungle of ours! And then this was peak monsoon trip though this year rains have been very less in Tadoba region, the day we entered in tadoba rains started & didn’t stop till we left & frankly I don’t like rains in forest, yet they are very much important for the forests is a fact! We have chosen Madnapur gate, especially for Junabai & her cubs in Madnapur range & with the kind of rains I knew the chances are pretty less yet when in forest, just keep fingers crossed (read as patience). And we were to visit Keslaghat gate also, which I haven’t visited as well, forest in monsoons look totally different in Tadoba! As well there was training also of buffer guides about which I have already shared. The day we entered in tadoba it was warm-sunny & on first safari in morning, our guide said, “sir, is saal monsoon safari ki jagaha summer safari jaisa lag raha hai” i.e. sir, this year’s monsoon safaris are giving feel of summer safaris, such is the less rainfall. And the rain god must have heard his words, from the very noon, the typical tadoba rains started & it was pouring till we left tadoba! If they washed away our chances of Junabai & cubs, yet they gave us some wonderful landscapes of tadoba & yes, the patience lesson!

Junabai is a veteran tigress of buffers of madanapur which is exterior part of Kolara core area & some part of Kolsa also. She is around for nearly a decade & I have already covered her in Super Moms of tadoba & though she is a buffer zone tigress where deer & such prey base is less yet she has very rarely killed cattle, is her speciality. At the same time, she is known to move around humans without bothering them but this time she has four cubs of ten months to manage & feed & it’s a tough job. This is a very vulnerable age of cubs & two of them are male, which means their size is bigger already & to keep all of them in discipline is a tough job for any mom, even a veteran like Junabai! Though on one rain-soaked morning safari we saw Junabai along with her cubs yet when we came to know she has killed a stag spotted deer & kept on a bund near entrance, & alongside of road we were thrilled, thinking she will definitely be getting her cubs here as she can’t drag such big kill for long & cubs are big enough to bring them to kill. So, we entered first at noon safari & waited near kill. Now have a look at this situation, we were on the main road, on the left side of the road, its foliage of shrubs & slope ascends up in the form of a hill. On the right side of the road there is one trail used by villagers & their cattle towards the lake & beyond this trail there is a bund on which kill was laying. We were told that Junabai has killed the stag (few said it’s already been killed by domestic dogs, which I found difficult to believe) in morning by 9 am, & has ate very little & gone to get her cubs at the kill, & has returned & is resting in the thickset on our left-hand side with cubs. The kill seems intact & the family must be hungry & kill was in the open & waiting, so all we thought is, it's just a matter of time for the tigers to come on the kill & start feasting, but I underestimated Junabai!

I forgot, Junabai is a tigress who has lived around humans more than a decade & she won’t take chances with humans especially, when she has four teenage cubs (analogy is same when compared with human kids) to manage. As the lake is frequently inhabited by residents of the village nearby, we also could hear their voices & their cattle’s. It was five pm now & the cattle along with villagers started to get out of the forest very slowly, testing our patience, as now I was sure unless every single of them leaves the area, Junabai won’t come out on the kill. It was six pm & she was in shrubs looking at us & the villagers & their cattle but not coming out. It was now past 6 pm & end of our safari time still no Junabai on kill & I know why she has been so successful in surviving even living along with humans, patience for right timing & this is what she was teaching to her cubs also. Imagine the tigress was hunting entire yesterday as I have seen her running behind a hare (jungle rabbit) showing her desperation for hunger & she has made this kill in the morning & so it’s nearly 30 odd hours with empty stomach & yet here she is, silently waiting till the humans move away from her zone. As Junabai knows, with kill so close to path of humans & their domestic animals, five tigers feasting in open would have created mayhem & her cubs would have got distracted with movement of cattle & their guarding dogs & anything could have gone wrong causing confrontation with humans, means danger for her & cubs, instead she chose the right path i.e. patience! I knew only after darkness fell & we also left, she would come to kill & feed her cubs, though she wasn’t having any issue with tourists in the gypsy but villagers & their animals she didn’t want to take chance with. Next day morning, we came back at 6 am, & as I expected the kill was gone, a lone cub was sitting on the very same place where last evening the kill was laying & its siblings were playing in the grass behind & Junabai was peacefully resting in the shrubs on the same side of road where she was last evening but definitely with full stomach now! Again, the morning ritual of villages with their cattle started going inside the forest from the same trail but now the cubs were well fed & in the grass away from the trail & I saw Junabai looking at my camera lens from the bushes she was sitting (hiding) in! What’s more important, she has avoided the temptation also to attack any cattle which was passing just at paw’s (read as hand’s) distance from her, even on an earlier day when she was hungry!  As killing cattle means war with humans, & though around tadoba there are tigers like Cm & Mama who do kill cattle, yet for a mother of four cubs its risk as usually the cubs will also start chasing cattle if they see their mom killing the cattle. But Junabai is getting old & soon she will have to kill cattle for survival as killing a deer or wild boar needs a lot more energy & strength than killing a domestic animal, yet she is wise (and tough enough) to prolong cattle killing for survival! Junabai has given me (once more) the lesson of patience & controlling temptation in the forest & its importance for survival! I love watching movies & in one such named Karate Kid (Jacky Chan one) where his pupil asks him, which is the best fight, on that Jacky replies, the one which you can avoid! Today Junabai has given me the living example of this quote by keeping patience & avoiding a probable fight with humans, this is how tadoba’s tigers also have learned coexistence. We do know, to sight a tiger you need patience but even a tiger has to keep patience if it wants to survive, I have seen living example of it! At the same time, I admired the courage of villagers also, who know a tiger is sitting right in the vicinity of ten feet from where they walk every day but they respect tiger’s privacy & they believe in tiger’s patience & control on temptation! So much to learn from this, and look at us, we Punekar’s who don’t wait to turn the red signal green & jump it endangering our own as well other’s lives! This is why I love forest & tadoba more with every hour spent here!

If this was about patience lessons in the forest then rest safaris was eyeful joy & with tormenting rain accompanying all the time, the forest was at its wildest best! I have never been to keshlaghat gate, which is on other side of Kolara & the forest is green with thick vegetation, something you don’t get to experience much in tadoba habitat. With nonstop rains all the water bodies, streams were flowing full & everywhere the music of water was on background. There is a myth about no tiger sightings during rains & this is the reason many gates were having very less tourist flow. This is something which forest dept must do about as online booking shows full but on gates like Somnath, Pangdi & keshlaghat, there were hardly two or three vehicles actually entering in the park. And if someone directly comes to the gate at such a time that tourists aren't allowed to book the available gypsy, I think with the help of technology we must tackle this issue. As why waste safaris & more importantly can’t the gate take online booking via connectivity with head office, surely it will be a great help for on-gate tourists & empty hands of guides & gypsy driver’s waiting at gates, right? About sightings of tigers in rains, they don’t mind much about rain as hunting doesn’t stop in rains as well territory marking also but only if there is a bug break or gap in rain or else there is no point in making markings in the rains as it gets easily washed away wasting time & energy! So, do mind this aspect while monsoon safaris as well when at kill tiger need water post meal but in rains water bodies are available everywhere so the tiger doesn’t need to come in open for cooling in water after meal, is one more reason of lesser sightings during rains!

At keshlaghat we were accompanied by a young guide Atish & driver Vijay, who were a bit shy at start as they thought we were to see a tiger (as usual) & tiger sighting was a bit low presently (which we knew)! But as we started moving in the forest & they knew we undertook training of guides also then they were enthu & started showing us places like local god (bhibhishan) & traditions followed around. They were thrilled when Vinod (bartakke) asked them to stop at a wildflower plant named Agnishikha, a beautiful flower which has tips of petal red & lighter colour down. This I have only seen in photographs, incidentally there is a postal stamp of this flower & waiting to admire this flower, we saw a pair of spotted owlets, again a reminder, when you stop at any place & remain silent then many hidden things in the forest you can see! Atish & Vijay, were overwhelmed as even without sighting of tiger we have enjoyed the safari so much & they said, sir first time we came across tourists who asked us about our god & wildflowers & trees, this is where we need to train our guides more as a dialogue makes all the difference, I told them this!

On the way back from Keshlghat to Madnapur, the drive is nearly 40 km & one of the best drives as it encircles half of tadoba & full of wildlife activities, especially after sunset! We came across jackals searching for food, jungle cat & a barn owl. This road cuts through a few villages & as usual traffic chaos delays travel time, I think we must get this road bypass these villages maintaining peace for the drivers, wildlife as well the villagers too! Special mention of an Innova driver named Suraj who was very sharp to spot slightest movement of wildlife around in the darkness also & showed us the same by stopping the car!

With rains accompanying us till we left tadoba, I said thanks to Junabai & villagers residing around tadoba for making my trip so much fun even without much of tigers (a rare thing) as I may not have seen many tigers but I was going back rich with lesson named patience, what more tadoba could have gifted me than this…!

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Sanjay Deshpande 

smd156812@gmail.com

Sanjeevani Dev.

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