Ellellu Neene (ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲೂ ನೀನೆ ) Guitar Chords

 

ಚಿತ್ರ         : ಮಾಗಿಯ ಕನಸು (Maagiya Kanasu)

ಸಂಗೀತ    : ವಿಜಯ್ ಭಾಸ್ಕರ್(Vijay Bhaskar)            ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ : ಎಂ ಏನ್ ವ್ಯಾಸ ರಾವ್ (M N Vyasa Rao)

Dmadd9   G#      F7   Dm

ಆಹಾ         ಓಹೋ ಎಹೇ ಒಹೋ 

Dm       C / Csus4  Dm            Bb/Bbsus4  Dm                                        F/Fsus4

ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲೂ ನೀನೆ,          ಚೆಲ್ಲಿರುವೆ ಜಾಣೆ ,           ಕರುನಾಡ ಸಿರಿದೇವಿ ಐಸಿರಿಯ ಸೋನೇ 

Dm       C / Csus4  Dm           Bb/Bbsus4  Dm                                        

ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲೂ ನೀನೆ,          ಚೆಲ್ಲಿರುವೆ ಜಾಣೆ ,              ಕರುನಾಡ ಸಿರಿದೇವಿ ಐಸಿರಿಯ ಸೋನೆ 

 

Dm            C            F              Csus4                 Fm         F                   Dmadd9 Dm

ಹಸಿರೊಡೆದು ಉಸಿರಾಡಿ ನಗುತಿರುವ ಮಡಿಲಲ್ಲಿ, ಕಾವೇರಿ ಮೈದೋರಿ ಬೆಳೆದಿರುವಳು, ಆಹಾ       ಆಹಾ  

ಕವಲೊಡೆದ ಜವಳಿಗಳು ಒಡನಾಡಿ ಎಡೆಯಲ್ಲಿ, ತುಂಗೆ ಭದ್ರೆಯ ಸೇರಿ ನಲಿದಿರುವಳು

Fmaj7              Dm   Gm            G                          E             Dm

ನವರೂಪ ತಾಳಿದ ಕಾಳಿಗೆ ತಮರೆಂದು, ಗೋದಾವರಿ ಮನೆಯ ತುಂಬಿರುವಳು 

Dm       C / Csus4                Dm          Bb/Bbsus4       Dm                                         

ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲೂ ನೀನೆ (ಎ ಹೇ ಎ ಹೆ ),  ಚೆಲ್ಲಿರುವೆ ಜಾಣೆ(ಎ ಹೇ ಎ ಹೆ ), ಕರುನಾಡ ಸಿರಿದೇವಿ ಐಸಿರಿಯ ಸೋನೆ 

Dm          C            F                     Csus4    Fm        F                 Dmadd9 Dm

ಮುಗಿಲೇರಿ ಮುತ್ತಿಡುವ ಆಗಸದ ಆಚೆಗೆ, ಗಿರಿ ಸಾಲು ಸಾಲಾಗಿ ಮೆರೆದಾಡಿದೆ, ಆಹಾ         ಆಹಾ   

Dm          C            F                           Csus4  Fm             F            

ಕೋಗಿಲೆಯ ಇಂಚರದ ಇಂಪಾದ ಹಂಚುತ್ತಾ, ತಾನಾಗಿ ತರುಲತೆಯು ಕರೆಕೂಗಿದೆ

Fmaj7                 Dm       Gm        G                              E          Dm

ಚೆಲುವಿನ ರಾಶಿಯ, ಗೆಲುವನು ಸಾರಲು, ಮಲೆನಾಡ ಮೈಸಿರಿಯು ನೆಲೆ ನಿಂತಿದೆ 

 Dm           C / Csus4   Dm             Bb/Bbsus4       Dm                                        F/Fsus4 x2 

ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲೂ ನೀನೆ,                 ಚೆಲ್ಲಿರುವೆ ಜಾಣೆ ,                    ಕರುನಾಡ ಸಿರಿದೇವಿ ಐಸಿರಿಯ ಸೋನೇ 

Chords for Baadi Hoda Balliyinda - Guitar Chords

Song: Baadi Hoda Balliyinda
Movie: EraDu Kanasu   Year: 1974
Composer: Rajan-Nagendra

Am             F      Am        C                     Am       F      Am
   BaaDi hoda baLLiyinda hoovu araLa ballade
Am      F               Dm         G   Am
   Thanti harida veeneyinda naada hariyaballade
Am                       C                          E        E7     Am
   Manasu kanDa aaseyalla  Kanasinanthe karagithalla  Ullasa innellide
Am             F      Am        C                     Am       F      Am
   BaaDi hoda baLLiyinda hoovu araLa ballade

C                     Am            G
   Hanatheyalli deepa uriye beLakinalli baaLuve
C                     Am            G
   Hanatheyalli deepa uriye beLakinalli baaLuve
Am          Dm               Am    F     Am
   Dhareye hatthi uriyuvaaga badukalelli oDuve.
E          Am          E     Dm     G    Am
   Dhareye hatthi uriyuvaaga badukalelli oDuve.

Am             F      Am        C                     Am       F      Am
   BaaDihoda baLLiyinda hoovu araLaballade.


F                 Am     Dm          G   Am
  Neerinalli doni muLuge eeji daDava seruve
F                        Am   Dm     G   Am
  Neerinalli doni muLuge eeji daDava seruve.
E                   Am          F     Am
  SuLige doni silukidaga badukibaralu sadyave?
E        Am   Am     E   Dm           Dm G
  SuLige doni silukidaga badukibaralu sadyave?

Am     F    Am    C         Am   F   Am
  BaaLa pagade atadhalli bariya Kaayi ellaru
Am      F                   C            Am 

  Nadesuvaaththa bere avana ichche yaaru ballaru

Am      F       Am    C                 Am     F   Am

   ಬಾಡಿಹೋದ   ಬಳ್ಳಿಯಿಂದ ಹೂವು ಅರಳಬಲ್ಲದೆ

   ಬಾಡಿಹೋದ ಬಳ್ಳಿಯಿಂದ ಹೂವು ಅರಳಬಲ್ಲದೆ

Am      F                       Dm             G   Am

  ತಂತಿ ಹರಿದ ವೀಣೆಯಿಂದ ನಾದ ಹರಿಯಬಲ್ಲದೆ

Am                                G                 E          E7    Am

  ಮನಸು ಕಂಡ ಆಸೆಯೆಲ್ಲ ಕನಸಿನಂತೆ ಕರಗಿತಲ್ಲ  ಉಲ್ಲಾಸ ಇನ್ನೆಲ್ಲಿದೆ

ಬಾಡಿಹೋದ ಬಳ್ಳಿಯಿಂದ ಹೂವು ಅರಳಬಲ್ಲದೆ

C                         Am                 G

  ಹಣತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ದೀಪ ಉರಿಯೇ ಬೆಳಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬಾಳುವೆ

ಹಣತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ದೀಪ ಉರಿಯೆ ಬೆಳಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬಾಳುವೆ

Am      Dm                   Am   F     Am

  ಧರೆಯೆ ಹತ್ತಿ ಉರಿಯುವಾಗ ಬದುಕಲೆಲ್ಲಿ ಓಡುವೆ

E          Am                E     Dm G  Am

  ಧರೆಯೆ ಹತ್ತಿ ಉರಿಯುವಾಗ ಬದುಕಲೆಲ್ಲಿ ಓಡುವೆ

Am      F                       Dm             G   Am

  ತಂತಿ ಹರಿದ ವೀಣೆಯಿಂದ ನಾದ ಹರಿಯಬಲ್ಲದೆ

Am                                G                 E          E7    Am

  ಮನಸು ಕಂಡ ಆಸೆಯೆಲ್ಲ ಕನಸಿನಂತೆ ಕರಗಿತಲ್ಲ  ಉಲ್ಲಾಸ ಇನ್ನೆಲ್ಲಿದೆ

Am      F       Am    C                 Am     F   Am

   ಬಾಡಿಹೋದ   ಬಳ್ಳಿಯಿಂದ ಹೂವು ಅರಳಬಲ್ಲದೆ

     

F                         Am               Dm    G     Am

   ನೀರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ದೋಣಿ ಮುಳುಗೆ ಈಜಿ ದಡವ ಸೇರುವೆ 

F                                     Am Dm   G     Am

   ನೀರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ದೋಣಿ ಮುಳುಗೆ ಈಜಿ ದಡವ ಸೇರುವೆ

E                              Am           F        Am 

   ಸುಳಿಗೆ ದೊಣಿ ಸಿಲುಕಿದಾಗ ಬದುಕಿ ಬರಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವೆ

E          Am        Am   E      Dm              G    Am

   ಸುಳಿಗೆ ದೊಣಿ ಸಿಲುಕಿದಾಗ ಬದುಕಿ ಬರಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವೆ

Am     F       Am   C            Am   F    Am

   ಬಾಳ ಪಗಡೆ ಆಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರಿಯ ಕಾಯಿ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ

Am     F                        C                Am

  ನೆಡೆಸುವಾತ್ತ ಬೇರೆ ಅವನ ಇಚ್ಚೆ ಯಾರು ಬಲ್ಲರೂ

Chords for Baare Baare Chendada Cheluvina Taare ( ಬಾರೆ ಬಾರೆ ಚಂದದ ಚೆಲುವಿನ ತಾರೆ) - Film : Naagara Haavu (ನಾಗರ ಹಾವು )

This follows the video, and not the commonly available audio recordings- which strangely- have different interludes

ಇಲ್ಲಿಯ chords sequence youtube ನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಗುವ ವಿಡಿಯೋನ ಅನುಸರಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಆಡಿಯೋ ರೆಕಾರ್ಡಿಂಗ್ಸ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಬರುವ interlude ಗಳು ಬೇರೆ, ಇನ್ನೂ ಸರಳವಾಗಿ  ಇವೆ.  

B C#m  x  4

Flute piece

C#m                                  F#m

ಬಾರೆ ಬಾರೆ ಚೆಂದದ ಚೆಲುವಿನ ತಾರೆ

                 C#m                     E

ಬಾರೆ ಬಾರೆ ಒಲವಿನ ಚಿಲುಮೆಯ ಧಾರೆ ||  (C#m  E )- first time only flute piece 

G#m   F#m  C#m

Flute/Whistle  

C#m                       G#m        F#m

ಕಣ್ಣಿನ ಸನ್ನೆಯ ಸ್ವಾಗತ ಮರೆಯಲಾರೆ

E                                   C#m

ಚೆಂದುಟಿ  ಮೇಲಿನ ಹೂನಗೆ ಮರೆಯಲಾರೆ

B                  B      G#m   F#  E

ಅಂದದ ಹೆಣ್ಣಿನ ನಾಚಿಕೆ ಮರೆಯಲಾರೆ

C#m               E          B            C#m

ಮೌನ ಗೌರಿಯ ಮೋಹದ ಕೈ ಬಿಡಲಾರೆ ||

E   B    G#m  C#m

ಬಾರೇ   ಬಾ       ರೇ

                         F#m

ಚೆಂದದ ಚೆಲುವಿನ ತಾರೆ

C#m                      E

ಒಲವಿನ ಚಿಲುಮೆಯ ಧಾರೆ ||

C#m  A  C#m   C#m

Main  flute

ಬಾರೆ ಬಾರೆ ಚೆಂದದ ಚೆಲುವಿನ ತಾರೆ

ಬಾರೆ ಬಾರೆ ಒಲವಿನ ಚಿಲುಮೆಯ ಧಾರೆ ||

ಕೈಬಳೆ ನಾದದ ಗುಂಗನು ಅಳಿಸಲಾರೆ

ಮೈಮನ ಸೋಲುವ ಮತ್ತನು ಮರೆಯಲಾರೆ

ರೂಪಸಿ ರಂಭೆಯ ಸಂಗವ ತೊರೆಯಲಾರೆ

ಮೌನ ಗೌರಿಯ ಮೋಹದ ಕೈ ಬಿಡಲಾರೆ ||

ಬಾರೇ ಬಾರೇ

ಚೆಂದದ ಚೆಲುವಿನ ತಾರೆ

ಒಲವಿನ ಚಿಲುಮೆಯ ಧಾರೆ |

A barbershop experience

It started off as a nice non-sunny sunday. The tennis court wasn't crowded - we played best-of-3 singles games until only Saumil & I were left. We played a set that I (probably a first against him) won.
Tennis obviously doesn't allow for much talk, so we yakked like old women afterward - and finally ended up at the nearby Udupi place with hot vadas & dosas. I could open up shop selling dopamine from my brain right then.
Just as we were parting ways, he mentioned he was going onto a nearby barber shop for a cut.
It's not like I have specific styling preferences, but I've been going to the same barbershop since I was 12 years old. After the original barber drank himself to death, his son took the place and expanded it - so we know each other for 30 years now. 'Icon' has become 'Ikon-1' , 'Ikon-2' and 'Ikon-3' and is in multiple places now.
But lately, the place is pretty crowded - and sunday is the day of the metrosexual. It's filled with young guys getting facials, hair coloring, and what not.  For those of us whose only variation is 'medium-short' or 'short', the waiting and having to see all that is a little too much. 
"I too need a haircut" I said, which was an understatement. Saumil, the gentleman, just nodded firmly instead of "Yea, soon the dog catchers will be pulling you into their van".
"It's a simple place" he offered, " and they do a decent head massage. Now that it's almost noon, they're probably not crowded either"
That decided it, and we trudged along to 'Marshal Hair Salon'.

A seat was immediately available, and Saumil graciously insisted I take it. 
"Short" I said to the barber.
"Even the top saar?" he promptly asked.. noting the arid zone there.
"Medium-short at the top" I added hastily. He nodded and started.

Soon he started the conversation.
"First time, saar? "
I mentioned my usual place, and that I've been going there really long.
"They are relatives to the owner here" he said, consolingly. "Our owner's sister is married to the owner there". But also inquired softly "How come you are here, saar? Coming with friend? "
With his polite conversation on, I moved from apprehension to appreciation. He actually did a good job. Then finally, he took up the mirror to show his handiwork.
That's when I realized the value of my old barber.

You see, when you start losing hair at the top/back of the head, it rarely ever comes to your notice. When it started, a 'good friend' Ranjini took it upon herself to point it out - "Raj, I never noticed! You're losing hair on the top!" . Ungrateful me - I never ever thanked her for that.
But despite continual progress(?) up there, you fortunately don't see it unless you take up dancing in a place with mirrors all around. You go on with life thinking you're Anil Kapoor's long lost cousin. The day you've lost an easy tennis match, you might imagine a small coin sized spot.    
This here - a helicopter could have landed - safely avoiding the football team playing there.  And I didn't need to know that today. That dopamine shop just went out of stock right away. 

The barber went on with the head massage. In fact, the innovation he was displaying with the 'vibrating palm' (sorry, batman fans!) massage device was stunning. But like in a bad kannada movie, that football field and the mirror kept flashing back to me. I could even hear the sudden jarring synth chords in my head.
Maybe he noticed the look of horror in my eyes or maybe he wanted to show his shop was better - he went the extra distance with the massage.
"How did you like it, saar?" he asked when done - breathing slightly harder. I mentioned that I'd never encountered some of those moves before. He seemed pretty pleased.
The head thumping also probably did it's share to destroy some memory cells - I too was feeling better.

I got off the chair to see Saumil's guy still going at him with a steady 'snip snip snip'. These 'head full of hair' guys - barbers should charge them more. A sense of fairness is missing, clearly.

Our Ranthambore experience - Part II

So far ..

The Start

The morning came, and we all bundled out at 6, dressed warmly. Anu gallantly sacrificed coming - she wanted her cubs' allergies/asthma not to kick up. I carried an extra blanket as suggested by our hotel manager. Surendra, Chandra and their kids were out earlier than me. It was cold, and very misty. There were dying embers in a conical metal basket by the pool, and seeing Savi (Surendra's daughter) sticking her nose dangerously close to it, I rushed to her aid. In the process of blowing air on the embers, ended up putting my nose even closer. Soon, we both had a nice film of ash on our faces - ready for the tigers.

Our ride finally came directly to our resort - the resort staff had collected our application forms, our IDs and submitted them the night before. If we thought we were cold while waiting, it went to another level once the open vehicle started moving. Since I was the only wise one amongst us that got a blanket, we shared it trying to keep Manyu ( the 1.5 year old) warm. But he didn't like that prickly feeling on his nose, and kept pushing it down - getting all of us cold. Savi was braving it out with her dad in the front seat.
The other downside of a canter is that it spends more time going around (to other resorts) filling all the reserved seats. A Bengali bunch got onto at the next resort. I've had a run of bad luck with them lately, have been encountering only the talkative sort.
Two months back at 6am in Binsar National forest - the guide was whispering to us to keep silent so we could hear a few birds.But there was this rather talkative Bengali bunch that was treating this like a walk in the city park. Even at the view point while we were watching the himalayan peaks, the banter went on unabated. My attempts at shushing our kids for no reason, still didn't convey the message.
This experience was no different - a dad and son sat behind us. And he was repeating his son's cute questions so the rest of us heard, and answering them in even cuter ways. I just hoped they'd learn to pipe down once we got into the forest.
Soon the mom generously relieved the dad - she evidently needed the exercise. One of her first lines to her son "Monuuu!! thees ees not the sambar you eat with idlis in Ban-gaa-lore. Thees ees a big dee-yar that you'll see in thees forest!"
I started fantasizing her repeating something like this later on. The shyest tiger would feel duty bound to come shut her up.
Needless to say, this cuteness went on and we were glad for the cold drawing our attention away from this.

In the Zone!

Our guide first started talking then. He wished us all a good morning, briefly recapped the zonal structure at Ranthambore. He then made THE announcement. "You have been assigned zone 4". He probably said more things, but I'd already gone on a tangent in my head. Zone 4!! Machli !!

Ajay Ranwar was the name of our guide. He mentioned that zone 4 has T16 - aka Machli. Machli, he said has had five litters - each bearing an average of 3 cubs. Counting grandchildren, she was pretty much responsible for half the population of Ranthambore, he said.
He also gave the layout of the park - saying zones 1-5 used the same branch off point in the park. Ranthambore NP is named after the Ranthambore fort - built in the 10th century AD. It has a 3 eyed Ganesha which is considered holy by many, and is visited often.

We soon hit the entrance of the park, and got in. The canter was now going slower, trees blocked the wind, the sun was coming out ..and we were feeling more comfortable. The mother-son heart-to-heart was still on. She was stressing on the fact there will be 'aneemaals', 'treeees', etc. in the forest.

The Forest

At the start, we saw our first treepies and babblers. The treepies were almost posing. Going inward, we saw some sambars and spotted deer. They didn't interest us much - apart from fleeting thoughts on their utility as bait.

The scenery was more green than zone 8, had varied trees, and breathtaking.
Our vehicle - we discovered - had problems, and we had to dismount a couple of times to allow it to get up steep paths.

We came upon a water body, and saw several spotted deer, sambar and even a wild boar family. Obelix would fit right in.



There were cranes and several other birds around the lake, but the driver & guide were hurrying us now. They were trying to get to the spot Machli had been spotted the previous evening. It seemed like all the guides were planning to hit that area. One more dismount, and we finally got to that spot.

Just Miss!

There were 3 more vehicles there all trying to watch for something in the bush. "We saw it!" said one smiling lady in the nearest vehicle. The rest of the faces were also smiling. The remaining vehicles also nodded in happy assent. They pointed into the bushes, "We saw her there, and then she went in deeper there. You guys just missed it!"
We waited there, alongwith the vehicles for a while. Trying to listen to any animal calls that might betray the direction of the tiger. Couple of other vehicles that were trying to circle round the zone for another glimpse also came by.
"She - Machli's sitting down someplace.. can't see her now". They said. Our driver started pontificating on the time we wasted clicking photos of deer. He seemed to have forgotten conveniently about the times all the men got down and walked up the slopes, and the canter trying repeatedly before managing it.
After a few more minutes, all the vehicles started moving out. Even we moved out. My disappointment couldn't be soothed with any ointment now. We drove up to a forest guesthouse kind of place with a toilet. While some used restrooms, others gleefully fed treepies and few others talked about the tigress they saw. The guide from the vehicle was consoling one of our guys - " Your guide is very experienced! He can figure out best where the tiger would come! Just today you were unlucky!"


Since we were the last ones there.. the women from our vehicle were the last in the toilet line. So, we finally set out from the forest house back to the area were Machli was last lying down. We go there and we were again greeted by two more vehicles with smiling faces. "We just saw her!" a woman said, her smile could not possibly get any wider on that face, "You guys just missed her!".
A collective groan went up in our vehicle. That disappointment I mentioned earlier - I found a new low now. While the people were discussing their missed chance, I almost wanted to say out loud "It's me. It's just that I'm not destined to see a tiger in the wild, and my bad luck has clouded your chances too!"
After a few more minutes, vehicles started to move out. Most guys had seen their tiger, and were already weaving their stories they'd bore their significant and insignificant others with.
Just then, we heard some high pitched squealing - almost like that of a zebra. "That's the spotted deer call" said our guide " Machli is moving again!". The remaining vehicles moved towards the call of the deer. Our guide asked the driver to move to the other side. "That stream we saw on the other side of the path" he explained " Machli is most likely moving to that - that's her usual route. The spotted deer are mostly behind her". We all stood there confused - doubting his logic but at the same time craning our necks in the weaving vehicle - our favourite colours in the world then were orange & black.

Machlii!

And then suddenly everybody and I were rushing to one end of the canter - eyes trying to telescope into the direction our guide was pointing. And there she was - drinking water from the stream in the relative darkness. She raised her head as I zoomed my miserable 18-105 to its max. I shot my first tiger!! A few more seconds of savouring that beauty, and then I came to my senses. I called out to Chandra - giving space and letting them come out to see. Who knew how many more moments we had?
She vanished out of sight for a few moments.. and suddenly, she was out in the open! The collective breath was audible. One guy just wasn't taking his finger off his clicker.


I realized after my first shot that my camera settings were wrong for the light and adjusted quickly, as she walked comfortably across our path. The deer were right behind her.. calling out, and turning to look at her. She turned back a couple of times, but the deer kinda knew she'd given up. They continued their calling.

She paused for a couple of moments, bent her head down and roared. "VAA VOOOM! VAA VOOOM!!" it sounded. The sound reverberated in the jungle, and dazed us. She was probably hungry, and frustrated.
Manyu (Surendra's 18 month old) started giggling at the sound. He started waving his hand, trying to reach out.
Machli went in a couple of times into the brush, but finally started walking down the mud road ahead of us, while we followed her ten-fifteen feet away. We clicked pictures, took videos .. smiled, laughed, pointed, giggled and did all these things over again. Khalid's words came back to me as I observed our grumpy driver shooting a video on his tiny mobile phone. How many times had he seen a tiger in his tenure? And it was still as exciting the N+1th time?
Machli seemed to have enough of us after a few more minutes. She paused, gave us a glance and then walked into the forest.. turning into an orange spot in no time.

Coda

The vehicle erupted in happy talk soon after. The guide looked relieved, the driver was mouthing "I told you so"s, the mother-father-son's extended discussions began again. But now everything sounded good, and light - no irritation whatsoever. Though the hungry Machli was in the back of our minds, our happiness couldn't be contained.
I even asked the now-famous idli-sambar family where they lived in Bangalore.

The Bengali babu's eyebrows went up in surprise "Haw deed you guess we leeve in Bang-a-lore?". I just smiled more.

So long, Machli. And thanks for all the fish.

Our Ranthambore experience - Part I

Our Ranthambore experience - Part II

Getting to Ranthambore

When we planned our trip to Rajasthan, we fit in Ranthambore despite a tight schedule. I'd been to wildlife sanctuaries for the past 30 years, but never have seen a tiger. I've encountered a freshly killed leopard (by wild dogs), and don't fail to add that detail whenever I discuss my failings on the tiger-sighting side (like I just did). I also don't fail to describe the still encrusting blood that was flowing out of it's throat's puncture wounds, and the colorful butterflies that were sitting on the blood (like I just did, again). :)  
But the fact still remained - no tiger in the wild.
 
Ranthambore forest tours can be booked online, and booking almost 2 months in advance - we could get only the 20 seater canter vehicles.

On the flight to Jaipur, while I was exercising my fingers swiping at colorful fruits on my phone, my neighbour was busy watching photography videos. The kind that show you a 100 ways to shoot a waterfall. So, a quick bathroom break later, I chatted him up - a very pleasant gentleman named Shashi. He started showing me his awesome wildlife photos from Kenya.
He was on his way to Bharatpur bird sanctuary. My tone did have a touch of "while you're shooting itty bitty birds, we'll be looking for tigers" as I told him we were going to Ranthambore. He nodded, and gracefully opened his Ranthambore album.
There he introduced me to 'Machli' ( translates to 'Fish' in Hindi) - one of the most famous tigers in probably the world. "She's 17 years old, and has been filmed by lots of folks including the BBC" he said "it isn't expected that she'll survive past 2013. She's not able to catch prey easily, and has been now displaced by her daughter from her regular area - a lake.Machli is now in zone 4 - while she previously was in zone 3 before her daughter chased her out of there".

Day 1: Ranthambore Zone 8

After a day at Jaipur, our friends Surendra, Chandra, their two kids & us went down to Ranthambore. Due to the inevitable delays in eating/feeding our little tigers, we ended up being late to Ranthambore - past 2 pm at the forest office counter.
Our online booking was invalid now. We ended up joining the last minute tour bookers at the counter begging for a space on one of the 6 seater Maruti Gypsy's or the 20 seater Mitsubishi Canters.
We finally got a Gypsy, and were given zone 8.  While we waited for Khalid - our driver - we were accosted by some private looking guys who offered to take us to zone 9.
"Zone 8 is all mountain sir. Lot of birds, no tiger - sir. If you want Tiger, go to zone 9. 5000 Rupees, I take you to zone 9, sir"
But Khalid said zone 9 was more than 1.5 hours away to the entrance, and we could try it the next day.

Khalid explained on the way - Ranthambore originally had 5 zones.. and now with the increase in tigers, they've expanded into 9 zones. But, he said - the guides in the zones past 5 weren't really experienced, knowledgeable, nor could speak english. They were just guys given jobs by the govt. to make up for the loss of grazing land for their animals.
True to Khalid's words, the guide we picked up was good for the space he occupied and the money we paid him. He also is mandatory - in case you're wondering why we took him along.
The jungle wasn't the typical Indian jungle we see in the south - there literally was no vegetation other than one kind of shrubby tree and grassland. He was also giving us hopes.. the forest ranger saw a tiger the previous evening.. and it might still be around.

We saw plenty of spotted deer, and a few great looking Sambar deer. We did spot a paw print or two, but no tiger. There were babblers, and treepies and us babbling about no tiger.
Khalid, however - was quite informative and naturally funny - and kept us in good humor. He mentioned that the Sambar deer was the tiger's favorite. As we started wondering about how it's meat might taste different, he added that it had poor eyesight. It made up for it by better than normal hearing and sense of smell, he said. But the tiger could counter those by approaching downwind and being silent.Anu(my dear wife) then suggested to Khalid we could catch a sambar deer, and then use it to attract a tiger.
He also mentioned that monkeys and spotted deer all have special calls they use to warn each other when they spot a tiger. We paused in silence for minutes at a time to see if we could hear any such calls.

Khalid - born and brought up at Ranthambore - told us tales of his tiger sightings. And Machli came up again.
Once - when she had 3 kids - she had killed near a water body. When she went to fetch her cubs, a crocodile started dragging the kill to the water. The angered Machli came up behind the crocodile and tore up his neck starting behind the jaw. This is unusual for tigers because crocodiles have a very tough hide, and that damages the tigers' canines. And loss of canines is a sure-sign path to starvation for a tiger. But, the anger at losing food for the cubs probably overruled caution in this case. Although tigers operate differently from us, it felt almost like hearing a bollywood movie story - mom/dad gives up everything for the kids' safety, and the kid later on kicks the same person out - Machli's daughter now has moved her out of her once-plentiful hunting grounds.
Sure enough, over the next year, Machli's canines fell out. She's left with only one canine, or none- depending on whom you talk to.
Khalid clearly loved tigers.He mentioned how despite having seen them so many times, he still doesn't get bored looking at a tiger however long he gets the chance to. He contrasted it against a lion- "looks like it's been in the mud all the time, lazy.., colorless "  he trailed off. True or false, it got us laughing.

Finally, the excursion ended without seeing any tigers. The way back was pretty cold.. with the temperature already being close to zero and adding the windchill travelling in an open gypsy.

On the way back, Khalid also made an offer to take us the next day to zone 9. The biggest male tiger in Ranthambore is in zone 9, and we could go there - for money given directly to him. We had a prior online booking and he told us to ignore that. I agreed and we said our goodbyes.
He asked us to really keep warm coz it was going to be very very cold - and we'd be heading out at 6am.
At our hotel - Sanctuary Resort - a very basic, but clean & cheap hotel - the manager discouraged us from that. He said since we'd booked it online, we'd get an allocation in zones 1-5 and we should not chuck that away for zone 9. After some back and forth, we called Khalid and cancelled our trip with him the next day. He tried to dissuade us - saying we had a better chance in a gypsy in zone 9, than in a big noisy canter.
It was a tough decision, but I finally said 'no' to him.
The night was cold, and we had to nebulize our kids coz their asthma acted up. Anu decided she & the kids won't come the next morning.
Surendra, Chandra were bravely game on bringing their whole troop in the morning.

Our Ranthambore experience - Part II

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All the Maya about Mayans and 21st December

"The TV says the world is going to end today" asked our maid "is that  true, Anna?"
We were walking to my office - she cleans it on alternate days. I answered while dodging some unmentionable stuff on the pavement "Let's get the office cleaned anyway. What if it doesn't end tomorrow?"

She smiled and nodded. Soon as I walked in, I did the first thing any productive person does - check facebook.
And it was replete with 21st December jokes, hoakes, and everything in between. And I decided .. I also needed to come up with a theory.

There was once a Mayan.
Handsome he sure was,
and his wife - cute as a button.
She adored his mane and calves
and made him feel like a lion

This amazing and wonderful life
was one day cut short
when her play with some shrooms and a knife
resulted in her last snort
and there he was, suddenly without a wife

Deep in his despondency
he heard this voice "Build a calendar"
It may have been a friend calling
"Hi there Wagendar"
but debating that today would be heresy

So, the calendar became his life
Till the day he died
even then without a wife
When that was, we cannot guess the number
but last day on his artifact was the 21st of December