At Nature's Mercy

The drizzle was hardly going to deter the party of nine that set out on the jungle safari, enthusiastically hopeful of catching sight of one predator or the other. As we entered the jungles, the rain seemed more determined and forced us to pull down the flaps to keep the rain out of the open jeep.

I was in the last row with my point and shoot camera with my children and my big-camera hugging husband. We were in the jungle, for heaven's sake! If we pulled down all the flaps, what would we see? So just the back remained open.

Catching sight of a lone elephant drenched in the rain but peacefully munching food - being the first
one to spot it and being the only one to be able to see it thanks to the angle it was in! And, of course, being the only one to shoot a picture (I hope to put it up one day)! Oh my god, what cheap thrills we get from trivial things!

And then, the wheel got stuck in the slush within direct line of the elephant's vision. The whirring of wheels attracted the elephant's attention and I continued shooting, thinking even if we get killed by that elephant, at least the 'last' pictures will remain. But no such luck there as the elephant found the grass more exciting than a safari jeep making noise.

We escaped alright, only to be caught in the most nightmarish thunderstorm, and this time too, lucky me got to see all the fireworks. But this time, I didn't feel so lucky. The lighting streak just a few feet from my back was not what I had paid for. I nervously looked ahead, wondering if the jeep with its flaps covering it was a good or a bad conductor. And my back felt terribly exposed.

We were on a hill, near the peak, under several trees. And our human bodies are themselves good conductors. What about the elephant and the gaur that we saw earlier? Can I take comfort from the fact that if they survive such lightning and thunder - and did that thunder sound right above our heads? - then maybe we could too? But though I can be thick-skinned, I didn't think that was good enough.

And then, one straight line from the sky to the horizon which was not even a few feet away given our height, and an orange light at the end of it.

Now I was positively nervous and asked the driver if it was safe to be out. He remained silent and the others seemed not to want to worry. One quick prayer - He must have heard me quicker because of the height for the fury stopped almost immediately and only rain continued for some more time.

By now, I just wanted to get back safe. Though thunder and lightening stopped and I wondered how the animals dealt with such noise, continuing across the steep hillside looking for tigers no longer looked such a delectable prospect. If we skid, we would go down hill, maybe saved by the trees but without a vehicle and in tiger territory.

Well, the fact that I am writing the blog proves we returned without much incidence. We didn't spot the predators, but for once, it was enough to watch nature unleash her power.

We had after all gone to see her creatures in natural surroundings. And she showed us, oh boy she did, with lightning snapping right at our backs!