Tyger Tyger burning bright

Tyger tyger burning bright

in the forest of the night

What immortal hand or eye

Could frame that fearful symmetry?

Willaim Blake's Poem , whenever i read it brings out something new about the mystery and magic called life. Travel is also like that. People say you keep going back to forts and jungles and mountains, they all seem same. But no.. every place is different, rather visit to same place every time is different. Ranthambore like William Blake's poem is famous for Tiger, but its much more than that. Its marvellous jungle and magnificent fort. Both are beautiful, mysterious, full of stories of love and war, of royalty and betrayal. 

Tyger and its creator are symbolic in Blake's poem to talk about the spiritual and creative revolution of human soul. The feirce force of the soul which does not get subdued by the societal falsities. Creator on one side creates the colors of peacock and spots and stripes of deers and tigers, it also creates the cycle of life, where to survive one needs to kill the other, where to get the best one has to fight one another.

The safaris through jungle leaves you with the feeling of being awestruck by the beauty and ferocity of Tiger and peculiar flore and fauna.

Sometimes its all dry decidous, and suddenly you see this flash of green and splash of color by the flower called 'Fire of jungle', it literally gives that feeling, no leaves at all and trees and trees laden with this bright orange flower.  

Tyger tyger.. someone you can just see from far, someone so feirce and fascinating, dont want to miss even a blink of his frame! When Tiger is around the struggle is whether to see it and devour it with ur naked eye or capture every flinch of its muscle with your camera. Tiger is a territorial animal, it marks its territory, owns it, fights it. It fearlessly walk around on roads and water bodies, unperturbed by the jeeps and cameras of the safaris. 

Jungle and animals merge in each other

Almost four generations of tigers and tigresses have lived in glory here. The famous Machhali , who is the most photographed tigress in world and has many more stories about her, her grand daughter is now the Queen of Jungle. As guides and safari would tell, she is following footsteps of her grand mother and taking control of major areas of jungle, which earlier belonged to her mother and other tigers.

The sunset and sunrise is when animals kingdom is at its best, mornings have cool breeze, birds chirping, deers and peacocks in their delicate beauty, walking and jumping around, evenings see nocturnals waking up from their slumber and deers taking final round of their grazing and being alert as its the time when tiger steps out for his hunt!

Ranthambore fort is the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its the infalliable fort, with majestic walls overlooking the whole national park. 

There are theories about who made it, stories of its rulers, and folk tales and legends about love and war, no one could rule it, no one got settled here..it been the abandoned fort. So majestic, and such sadness about it. 

It has Mosque

And the temples, jain temple, the hidden shiva temple and the only trinetrya Ganesh temple of India.  The irony of this fort is such that no one is settled here but people come from far places to worship, asking for happiness and progress and everything thats life!

Piles of prayers and wishes

They say the first Johar happened in this fort by Rani Padmani, when she found the enemy flag fluttering from battle field.  Although that was act of betrayal by the Raja Hammir's own men to defeat him. They say all is fair in love and war. Raja Hammir did all that he could to reach his Rani in time, but it was too late. She along with all women in fort has already stepped in Jauhar.

This is what is fearful symmetry.. Who can frame this irony.. This beauty and this ruin.

Cows and bulls can be seen only in fort. But very rare.

The local Pandit

And Waterbearer, Along with matkas , he had cola and pepsi bottles too! This is called tourism pollution. 

Savouring the last view of jungle from the fort.. you know the feeling just one last glimpse. We had the guided tour of fort,  not to have more information, because much can be read about fort's history and facts on google and wikipedia, but no one can match the storytelling by the local guide. Stories that start like 'ek tha raja...'

Our safari guide, driver and My co-travellers! Travel is about journey, stories, people, new bonds made, old barriers being broken, learning and unlearning, going beyond the known, rediscovering. And behind all this is the one who is not in frame, source behind 'One Life To Travel', curator of the trip.