ATR Diaries
-
January2, 2024
January 2, 2024 - ATR – Day 94: Clicked some more LTMs before arriving at Annamalai Tiger Reserve
January 2, 2024 Tuesday, 11:30 PM Hotel Bel Visto, Cooperative Colony Road, Valparai, Taluk Valparai, District Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India Got up and went straight to get some more pictures of LTMs. And we did find the LTMs, but they were not interested in doing much. They kept sitting and looking around and we...
-
January1, 2024
January 1, 2024 - ATR – Day 93: Came to Valparai looking for Lion-tailed Macaques (LTMs) and found many
January 1, 2024 Monday, 11:30 PM Puthutotam Estate, Tourism Division of Tea Estates India Ltd., Valparai, Taluk Valparai, District Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India We left Pollachi today for Valparai. Ever since I have entered the South of India, the thought of clicking Lion-tailed Macaques (LTMs) has never left my mind. With that thought in...
-
December31, 2023
December 31, 2023 - ATR – Day 92: Change of homestay, hunting for BSNL SIM, addressing our data problem and a new year away from home
December 31, 2023 Sunday, 11:30 PM Vetri Residency, Panchayat Office road, Village Malumichampatti, Taluk Coimbatore-South, District Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India Today, we all got up late and were feeling particularly lazy for the reason for having been very tired yesterday. And we realized that we had to change our current homestay because our homestay owner...
-
December30, 2023
December 30, 2023 - ATR – Day 91: We made our own food, went to Annamalai Tiger Reserve but failed to land a bus safari
December 30, 2023 Saturday, 11:30 PM Thulasi Avenue, Rathnasabapathy Puram – 3, KKG Mandapam (Backside), Palladam Road, Pollachi, District Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India We are at an Airbnb place at Pollachi, so we have the option of cooking our own meal rather than purchasing on the go. On travel, one should try to eat as...
-
December29, 2023
December 29, 2023 - ATR – Day 90: Visited Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, almost sighted a tiger. Came to Pollachi
December 29, 2023 Friday, 11:30 PM Thulasi Avenue, Rathnasabapathy Puram – 3, KKG Mandapam (Backside), Palladam Road, Pollachi, District Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India Since the gate of Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve was about an hour’s drive from where we were staying, we left early at around 5:00 AM for the morning safari, but the problem was...
-
December28, 2023
December 28, 2023 - ATR – Day 89: Came to Hasanur from Ooty to visit Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve
December 28, 2023 Thursday, 11:30 PM Balaji Cottage, Hasanur, Tamil Nadu, India Our next tiger reserve is Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in District Erode of Tamil Nadu, and with that we’ll be taking ATR to Tamil Nadu from Karnataka. So we left Ooty for Hasanur, which is where we are staying on our visit to Sathyamangalam...
-
December27, 2023
December 27, 2023 - ATR – Day 88: Did some hiking, explored Ooty with its amazing tea estates and got some excellent drone shots
December 27, 2023 Wednesday, 11:30 PM Littlearth’s Destiny Farm Resort, City Ooty (Ootacamund), District Nilgiris, Karnataka, India For today, we had planned to go hiking on a mountain near the property. So we got up really early in the morning while it was still dark and stepped our to test our stamina as well as...
-
December26, 2023
December 26, 2023 - ATR – Day 87: Shifted to Littlearth’s Destiny Farm Resort, an amazing property, and re-charted the itinerary
December 26, 2023 Tuesday, 11:30 PM Littlearth’s Destiny Farm Resort, City Ooty (Ootacamund), District Nilgiris, Karnataka, India Today, we checked out from the Derby Green Resort of Club Mahindra and checked into another property in Ooty itself — Littlearth’s Destiny Farm Resort. And this is an amazing property to stay in. We have an unpaved...
-
December25, 2023
December 25, 2023 - ATR – Day 86: Did my first bus safari in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve
December 25, 2023 Monday, 11:30 PM Club Mahindra Derby Green Resort, Fern Hill, City Ooty (Ootacamund), District Nilgiris, Karnataka, India Mudumalai Tiger Reserve is not big on tourist activity, so there are limited permits and for some reason a lot of people have been visiting tiger reserves and wildlife sanctuaries for the holidays, which is...
-
December24, 2023
December 24, 2023 - ATR – Day 85: Another trip to Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, reached Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, problems with stay
December 24, 2023 Sunday, 11:30 PM Safari Land Villa Resort, Village Masinagudi, District Nilgiris, Karnataka, India In the morning, I decided to pay another visit to the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary because I had not been able to spend as much time at the sanctuary as I would have liked yesterday evening because it was getting...
-
December23, 2023
December 23, 2023 - ATR – Day 84: Clicked some wonderful pictures at the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, pushed the plan to leave for Mudumalai to tomorrow
December 23, 2023 Saturday, 11:30 PM Parklane Hotel, Mandi Mohalla, City Mysore, District Mysore, Karnataka, India I spent the first half of today writing and recording voiceover for today’s daily vlog (Kali Tiger Reserve) and also for the ATR Destinations videos to be uploaded in the next couple of days. In the...
-
December22, 2023
December 22, 2023 - ATR – Day 83: Left Hampi for Coorg but diverted to Mysore as Coorg hotels were fully booked
December 22, 2023 Friday, 11:30 PM Parklane Hotel, Mandi Mohalla, City Mysore, District Mysore, Karnataka, India For most of the morning I was sleeping today, tired from all the traveling and work. But we did shoot some eagles and owls here and there. Before I got up, Sanket, our editor, and Irshad went...
-
December21, 2023
December 21, 2023 - ATR – Day 82: Saw bears up-close in Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary, and also a few shy owls in the evening
December 21, 2023 Thursday, 11:30 PM Pompayya Malemath Homestay, Town Kamalapura, District Vijayanagara, Karnataka, India We went to the Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary and dedicated today’s entire day to the slot bears, sitting in the bear hides made of iron cage, from where one can shoot the bears in their natural habitat up-close without disturbing...
-
- ATR – Day 81: Spent some time with Great Indian Hornbills, left for Hampi to visit the Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary
December 20, 2023 Wednesday, 11:30 PM Pompayya Malemath Homestay, Town Kamalapura, District Vijayanagara, Karnataka, India In the morning, we went to the same place as we did yesterday to shoot Oriental pied hornbills, and this time it was in the light of the day, so we good some good pictures and footage of the hornbills....
-
December19, 2023
December 19, 2023 - ATR – Day 80: Clicked some colourful birds followed by hornbills and then the Indian giant flying squirrel at night
December 19, 2023 Tuesday, 11:30 PM Hornbill River Resort, Village Ambeli, Taluka Supa, District Uttara Kannada, Karnataka, India Today, we checked out from Kali Adventure Camp and went to Old Magazine House Resort in Ganeshgudi town of Taluk Dandeli in District Uttara Kannada of Karnataka. Old Magazine House is known for birding opportunities. So we...
-
December18, 2023
December 18, 2023 - ATR – Day 79: Eventless safari at Kali Tiger Reserve. Changes in ATR content upload strategy, going forward
December 18, 2023 Monday, 11:30 PM Kali Adventure Camp, Village Kogilban, Taluka Haliyal, District Uttara Kannada, Karnataka, India Today was dedicated to Kali Tiger Reserve, but there was nothing much to be found. No tigers and no worthwhile sightings of any other creature that could be picture-worthy. So the safari both in the morning as...
-
December17, 2023
December 17, 2023 - ATR – Day 78: After morning birding in South Goa, we came to Kali Tiger Reserve
December 17, 2023 Sunday, 11:30 PM Kali Adventure Camp, Village Kogilban, Taluka Haliyal, District Uttara Kannada, Karnataka, India Today morning, we did some birding in South Goa, and found several feathery friends perched on the branches of different trees, some flying away and some resting their wings. We also found the only parrot found in...
-
December16, 2023
December 16, 2023 - ATR – Day 77: Went exploring wildlife of Goa, looking for Sri Lanka frogmouth and slender loris
December 16, 2023 Saturday, 11:30 PM Nature’s Nest, Village Sancordem, Taluka Sanguem, District South Goa, Goa, India After very long today, I had a good sleep, and got up fresher than I normally have on ATR. We had planned to look for Sri Lanka frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger), a small bird found in the Western Ghats of...
-
December15, 2023
December 15, 2023 - ATR – Day 76: Watched and photographed Geminid Meteor Shower, went to see a church and shot some stars over the Morjim Beach
December 15, 2023 Friday, 11:30 PM Silver Wood Apartments, Village Siolim, Taluka Bardez, District North Goa, State of Goa, India I left to witness Geminid meteor shower soon after the midnight today, as I had indicated in yesterday’s newsletter. I had not planned for it and for that reason we did not have enough warm...
-
December14, 2023
December 14, 2023 - ATR – Day 75: Friends and Mummy Khurana left, found blue-eared kingfisher in South Goa, hope to see Geminid meteor shower
December 14, 2023 Thursday, 11:30 PM Nature’s Nest, Village Sancordem, Taluka Sanguem, District South Goa, Goa, India Friends who had been visiting me from Delhi as well as Mummy Khurana and her friends had to leave for Delhi today, so I saw them off, and moved to a different location in Goa because we did...
-
December13, 2023
December 13, 2023 - ATR – Day 74: Enjoyed the Morjim Beach in the evening after an early morning quality time at Uptown Restaurant in Candolim
December 13, 2023 Wednesday, 11:30 PM Joie de Vivre Goa, Boutique Villa Resort, Candolim, Taluka Bardez, District North Goa, Goa, India We followed the plan I talked about in yesterday’s post/newsletter, and left our place of stay to explore Goa a little after midnight, which means in the very early hours of today. The original...
-
December12, 2023
December 12, 2023 - ATR – Day 73: Did some photography on the Calangute Beach in Goa and made a video about backlit beach photography for the Vlog
December 12, 2023 Tuesday, 11:30 PM Joie de Vivre Goa, Boutique Villa Resort, Candolim, Taluka Bardez, District North Goa, Goa, India I decided to do some beach photography today and make a video about how to click better pictures of the available subjects on the beach to be included in the Vlog for today. Beach...
-
December11, 2023
December 11, 2023 - ATR – Day 72: Went to a flea market in Goa and talked about tigers with friends
December 11, 2023 Monday, 11:30 PM Joie de Vivre Goa, Boutique Villa Resort, Candolim, Taluka Bardez, District North Goa, Goa, India Since we had returned home late at night, we got up late in the day, which was also because we didn’t have to get up early for our usual morning safari. These few days...
-
December10, 2023
December 10, 2023 - ATR – Day 71: A relaxed day in Goa with nothing much to report
December 10, 2023 Sunday, 11:30 PM Joie de Vivre Goa, Boutique Villa Resort, Candolim, Taluka Bardez, District North Goa, Goa, India There is nothing much to report today. We had to shift from one location to another in the morning for our stay in Goa, which is what we did in the early hours of...
-
December9, 2023
December 9, 2023 - ATR – Day 70: After morning safari in Sahyadri, we come to Goa to regroup with the off-site Team ATR
December 09, 2023 Saturday, 11:30 PM Undisclosed Location, Candolim, Taluka Bardez, District North Goa, Goa, India The morning safari at Sahyadri Tiger Reserve was different even though it wasn’t as exciting in terms of tiger sighting, but it is also a good thing in some ways because when you don’t have tigers around and have...
-
December8, 2023
December 8, 2023 - ATR – Day 69: Came to Koyna to visit Sahyadri Tiger Reserve from Aurangabad
December 08, 2023 Friday, 11:30 PM Forest Escapes Koyna Resort, Koynanagar, District Satara, Maharashtra, India Today’s entire day was spent traveling from Aurangabad to Koyna after we saw off Papa Khurana, who left to see the Ellora Caves in Aurangabad before he left for Delhi the same day in the evening. It took us a...
-
December7, 2023
December 7, 2023 - ATR – Day 68: Dry morning safari at Melghat and Mummy Khurana’s anniversary surprise
December 07, 2023 Thursday, 11:30 PM Click Hotel, N11, Cidco, Phulambri-Sillod Road, Hudco, Yadav Nagar, Aurangabad City, District Aurangabad. Maharashtra, India The morning safari at Melghat Tiger Reserve today was completely dry in terms of tiger sighting as well as any kind of good pictures, for I could not find a good wildlife visual to...
-
December6, 2023
December 6, 2023 - ATR – Day 67: Explored Melghat Tiger Reserve thoroughly; tasted tribal cuisine and met Korku people
December 06, 2023 Wednesday, 11:30 PM Shahnoor Tourist Sankul, Village Popatkhed, Tehsil Akot, District Akola, Maharashtra India Today, we went exploring Melghat Tiger Reserve once again, and dedicated the safari to have a thorough look at the jungle more than tracking tigers. Not that we did not look for tigers at all; we certainly did,...
-
December5, 2023
December 5, 2023 - ATR – Day 66: Found the endangered Forest Owlet at Melghat Tiger Reserve
December 05, 2023 Tuesday, 11:30 PM Shahnoor Tourist Sankul, Village Popatkhed, Tehsil Akot, District Akola, Maharashtra India The highlight of today was spotting a Forest Owlet (Athene blewitti (formerly, Heteroglaux blewitti), which is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species since August 6, 2018. It is reported to have been found...
-
December4, 2023
December 4, 2023 - ATR – Day 65: Left Nagpur for Melghat Tiger Reserve; arrived at Shahnoor; little to no connectivity here
December 04, 2023 Monday, 11:30 PM Shahnoor Tourist Sankul, Village Popatkhed, Tehsil Akot, District Akola, Maharashtra India Today was, once again, a travel day as we had to leave Nagpur for Melghat Tiger Reserve, our next destination that is spread across the three districts of Amravati, Akola and Buldhana in the State of Maharashtra. Like...
-
December3, 2023
December 3, 2023 - ATR – Day 64: First safari in Bor Tiger Reserve goes without many good pictures
December 03, 2023 Sunday, 11:30 PM Undisclosed Location, Nagpur City, District Nagpur, Maharashtra India Today was a slightly relaxed day with all of us getting up a little late in the morning because we had safari only in the evening. For our evening safari, we visited Bor Tiger Reserve, which is relatively small tiger reserve...
-
December2, 2023
December 2, 2023 - ATR – Day 63: No safari today, attended a gathering in the evening and an exciting Vlog, featuring Bubbly with cubs
December 02, 2023 Saturday, 11:30 PM Undisclosed Location, Nagpur City, District Nagpur, Maharashtra India Today, everybody got up late because there was no safari in the morning. And since we did not have to hurriedly get on a gypsy and go circling the jungle, looking for wonderful sights, we decided to catch up on our...
-
December1, 2023
December 1, 2023 - ATR – Day 62: Found Bubbly with her three cubs; arrived in Nagpur today evening
December 01, 2023 Friday, 11:30 PM Undisclosed Location, Nagpur City, District Nagpur, Maharashtra India We started our morning safari looking for Bubbly, who has been reported to be shifting her three cubs. I wanted to click and record her with the cubs, shifting them or just playing with them or, even with the little ones...
-
November30, 2023
November 30, 2023 - ATR – Day 61: Waiting for Bubbly in action, meet-up at Tadoba and Irshad’s birthday
November 30, 2023 Thursday, 11:30 PM Tadoba Jungle Camp, Near Moharli Gate, Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, District Chandrapur, Maharashtra India Much of today’s morning safari was spent looking for a female tiger called Bubbly (or Bubblee), who is a known tigress of the area. So we spent a chunk of our morning in Bubbly’s area in...
-
November29, 2023
November 29, 2023 - ATR – Day 60: Saw Chhota Dadhiyal, and had a very informative interaction with an official
November 29, 2023 Wednesday, 11:30 PM Tadoba Jungle Camp, Near Moharli Gate, Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, District Chandrapur, Maharashtra India We went into the Moharli Zone of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve today morning, and got to know of another aggressive tiger called Chhota Dadhiyal. He is Chhota Dadhiyal simply because his dad was the original Dadhiyal, and...
-
November28, 2023
November 28, 2023 - ATR – Day 59: Saw Shambhu and Chhoti Madhu separately. Here is a story of Shambhu’s shocking aggressiveness
November 28, 2023 Tuesday, 11:30 PM Tadoba Jungle Camp, Near Moharli Gate, Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, District Chandrapur, Maharashtra India Today morning, we entered Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve through the Adegaon Safari Gate and travelled within the Adegaon Zone, which is a buffer zone of the reserve, and we were not hugely hopeful because it was raining...
-
November27, 2023
November 27, 2023 - ATR – Day 58: No sighting today. But do watch today’s Vlog for the littlest tiger cub so far!
November 27, 2023 Monday, 11:30 PM Tadoba Jungle Camp, Near Moharli Gate, Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, District Chandrapur, Maharashtra India In the morning safari today, we once again decided to look for the little tiger cubs on the buffer side of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, but to no avail. We did not find them, or the mother...
-
November26, 2023
November 26, 2023 - ATR – Day 57: Rare sighting of a month and half old tiger cub — the youngest I have ever seen
November 26, 2023 Sunday, 11:30 PM Government Rest House, Mul, District Chandrapur, Maharashtra, India Today morning, we explored the buffer side of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, having entered the reserve through the Somnath Safari Gate. This area does not see much tourist footfall but there is a female tiger with little cubs. And as I have...
-
November25, 2023
November 25, 2023 - ATR – Day 56: Tiger sighting at Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary. Today’s Vlog features my best leopard sighting till date
November 25, 2023 Saturday, 11:30 PM Government Rest House, Mul, District Chandrapur, Maharashtra, India Today’s morning safari at Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary (not a tiger reserve, this one) was very fruitful in that we got to see two tigers, one of them male and very shy. But somehow the shy tiger was much less shy...
-
November24, 2023
November 24, 2023 - ATR – Day 55: The unusually bold Leopard at Nawegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve and traveling to Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary
November 24, 2023 Friday, 11:30 PM Undisclosed Location Gothangaon, Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary, Maharashtra, India On our morning safari at Nawegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve today, we came across an amazingly bold leopard, who was so fearless and confident that he kept walking on the path for over an hour, providing us a great opportunity to photograph...
-
November23, 2023
November 23, 2023 - ATR – Day 54: A Day of travel to Nawegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve and not much else
November 23, 2023 Thursday, 11:30 PM Private Residence, Chorkhamara Gate, Nawegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve, Districts Gondia & Shandara, Maharashtra, India Today we got up late because there was no safari scheduled for the morning, as we were to check out and leave for Nawegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve, and the checkout day is best to catch up on...
-
November22, 2023
November 22, 2023 - ATR – Day 53: Watch Baras with her cubs in today’s Vlog, and let me say nothing more for today
November 22, 2023 Wednesday, 11:30 PM Pench Jungle Camp, Tehsil Kurai, District Seoni, Madhya Pradesh India In this newsletter, let me talk about the Vlog I made today because nothing that I did today was quite as interesting as today’s Vlog, featuring Bara with her little cubs. As I have said before, cubs...
-
November21, 2023
November 21, 2023 - ATR – Day 52: A good day in the wild but a way better one by the night
November 21, 2023 Tuesday, 11:30 PM Pench Jungle Camp, Tehsil Kurai, District Seoni, Madhya Pradesh India The day today was good, again. We went to a different zone of Pench, and tried to find tiger there, too. Had no luck with that even though I got a few passable pictures of other things...
-
November20, 2023
November 20, 2023 - ATR – Day 51: Baras and her cubs again, but this time way better! And also saw Bindu with her cub
November 20, 2023 Monday, 11:30 PM Pench Jungle Camp, Tehsil Kurai, District Seoni, Madhya Pradesh India Let me just say, the day today was fabulous! There have been a lot of low days of no sighting, but today was one of the best days in that regard. In the morning, we got to see Baras...
-
November19, 2023
November 19, 2023 - ATR – Day 50: Saw Baras with her cubs on both morning and evening safaris; no Vlog today
November 19, 2023 Sunday, 11:30 PM Pench Jungle Camp, Tehsil Kurai, District Seoni, Madhya Pradesh India We were looking for Baras with her cubs yesterday, and had indeed found Baras but not the cubs to our utter disappointment, which was completely undone and replaced with delight when we finally got to see Baras with her...
-
November18, 2023
November 18, 2023 - ATR – Day 49: A tiring all-day safari with reasonably good sighting
November 18, 2023 Saturday, 11:30 PM Manthan – A Boutique Resort, Kohoka Road, Near Village Touria, District Seoni, Madhya Pradesh India The day today was better than the last few days for two reasons. One, I could pull myself up to go on a safari and it was an all-day safari. Two, we did manage...
-
November17, 2023
November 17, 2023 - ATR – Day 48: Reached Pench Tiger Reserve, checked into Manthan Boutique Resort
November 17, 2023 Friday, 11:30 PM Manthan – A Boutique Resort, Kohoka Road, Near Village Touria, District Seoni, Madhya Pradesh India Today, we reached Pench Tiger Reserve and checked into Manthan – A Boutique Resort in the evening. Much of the day, like all travel days, was spent on packing and traveling. And that means...
-
November16, 2023
November 16, 2023 - ATR – Day 47: No sighting in the safari this morning; down with viral
November 16, 2023 Thursday, 11:30 PM Chitvan Jungle Lodge, Village Samnapur, Tehsil Baihar, District Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh India Although I wasn’t feeling well today morning, I decided to go on safari anyway in the hope that I might encounter something today despite there not being many reports of tiger sighting. Even if there is no...
-
November15, 2023
November 15, 2023 - ATR – Day 46: No safari today for want of permit, reviewed the 70-200 mm lens and rested
November 15, 2023 Wednesday, 11:30 PM Chitvan Jungle Lodge, Village Samnapur, Tehsil Baihar, District Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh India Today morning, I was feeling pretty unwell, so I was not in a position to go to the jungle in the cold weather of the morning, but even the safari permits were not available, which was just...
-
November14, 2023
November 14, 2023 - ATR – Day 45: Another day of no sighting at Kanha Tiger Reserve
November 14, 2023 Tuesday, 11:30 PM Chitvan Jungle Lodge, Village Samnapur, Tehsil Baihar, District Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh India Of late, I seem to be looking for newer ways of saying that the safari did not produce any notable sighting and I have no good pictures or interesting footage to show for the day. Yesterday was...
-
November13, 2023
November 13, 2023 - ATR – Day 44: No sighting on the safari and video editing with parents around
November 13, 2023 Monday, 11:30 PM Chitvan Jungle Lodge, Village Samnapur, Tehsil Baihar, District Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh India In the morning, I went on a safari in Kanha Tiger Reserve, and once again it was extremely disappointing in terms of sighting. There was absolutely nothing in what I saw to evoke my interest to point...
-
November12, 2023
November 12, 2023 - ATR – Day 43: A no-safari day of editing and celebration
November 12, 2023 Sunday, 11:30 PM Chitvan Jungle Lodge, Village Samnapur, Tehsil Baihar, District Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh India Since the jungle is closed for Diwali and there were no safaris, much of the day today was spent in front of the computer, editing today’s Vlog, but it was still very different from usual days because,...
-
November11, 2023
November 11, 2023 - ATR – Day 42: Left Bandhavgarh for our next stop — Kanha Tiger Reserve
November 11, 2023 Saturday, 11:30 PM Chitvan Jungle Lodge, Village Samnapur, Tehsil Baihar, District Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh India There were no safaris today because we had to leave Bandhavgarh for Chitvan Jungle Lodge, where we are staying on our visit to Kanha Tiger Reserve. So much of the time in the morning was spent packing...
-
November10, 2023
November 10, 2023 - ATR – Day 41: A day of no good sighting, and the two-part Daily Vlog, whose second part goes live today
November 10, 2023 Friday, 11:30 PM Bandhav Vilas, Village Kuchwahi, Tehsil Manpur, District Umaria, Madhya Pradesh, India The morning safari today was again one of those days when you get nothing or close to nothing. And such days are bad and very bad. Today fell in the very bad variety in terms of worthwhile sightings,...
-
November9, 2023
November 9, 2023 - ATR – Day 40: Three tigers, one kill and the debate around who left; launching ATR Funnies tomorrow
November 9, 2023 Thursday, 8:30 PM Bandhav Vilas, Village Kuchwahi, Tehsil Manpur, District Umaria, Madhya Pradesh, India In the morning safari in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, we did not find any tiger or any other creature worth pointing the camera at for a long time. Although we had an idea that the cow the two tigers...
-
November8, 2023
November 8, 2023 - ATR – Day 39: A sudden and unexpected tiger sighting in the Tala Zone of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve
November 8, 2023 Tuesday, 10:30 PM Bandhav Vilas, Village Kuchwahi, Tehsil Manpur, District Umaria, Madhya Pradesh, India We did our morning safari in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve’s Tala Zone, which is not exactly renowned for tiger sighting, which meant that we had no reasons to get our hopes high. So with duller than modest expectations, we...
-
November7, 2023
November 7, 2023 - ATR – Day 38: Tiger couple make a kill of the cow and another climbs the tree
November 7, 2023 Tuesday, 10:30 PM Bandhav Vilas, Village Kuchwahi, Tehsil Manpur, District Umaria, Madhya Pradesh, India Yesterday, despite trying as best as I could, there was no Internet to be found by the time I was ready to send the newsletter off even though the video upload was on time and at that time...
-
November6, 2023
November 6, 2023 - ATR – Day 37: The strange mating game of the tigers at Bandhavgarh
November 6, 2023 Monday, 10:30 PM Bandhav Vilas, Village Kuchwahi, Tehsil Manpur, District Umaria, Madhya Pradesh, India The morning safari today at Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve turned out to be quite eventful with a sprinkling of bizarre with four tigers spotted, two males and two females, at different locations, engaged in a kind of complex mating...
-
November5, 2023
November 5, 2023 - ATR – Day 36: The incredible tale of Maasi Maa (T-28) of Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve; no luck at Sanjay Dubri; now at Bandhavgarh
November 5, 2023 Sunday, 11:30 PM Bandhav Vilas, Village Kuchwahi, Tehsil Manpur, District Umaria, Madhya Pradesh, India We did our morning safari in Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve, which was my first safari ever in Sanjay Dubri, and we almost instantly ran into the pugmarks of a tiger with what seemed like drops of water...
-
November4, 2023
November 4, 2023 - ATR – Day 35: A day of no sighting, an interview full of wildlife stories, and travel to Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve
November 4, 2023 Saturday, 11:30 PM Sanjay Resort Baghela Heritage, Village Nebhua, District Sidhi, Madhya Pradesh, India The morning safari got us a good, fat nothing. Except for a few random shots that I could manage, there was nothing that I could click. No tigers of course. So all we did was go round and...
-
November3, 2023
November 3, 2023 - ATR – Day 34: Saw P-151 today and that was all; also seem to have lost an entire day’s data
November 3, 2023 Friday, 11:00 PM Naahar Bagh Rajbagh, Panna District, Madhya Pradesh, India The upload yesterday got very, very late solely because the internet was way too slow for timely upload and then the videos we export also happen to be pretty heavy, which makes the network creak under its load. Add to it...
-
November2, 2023
November 2, 2023 - ATR – Day 33: A particularly shy tiger; and then another not-so-shy one in the evening
November 2, 2023 Thursday, 11:00 PM Naahar Bagh Rajbagh, Panna District, Madhya Pradesh, India The morning was beautiful today in terms of light conditions, and when we entered Panna Tiger Reserve for the morning safari, we saw the pugmarks that looked fresh even though there was no tiger in sight for a long time. We...
-
November1, 2023
November 1, 2023 - ATR – Day 32: No tiger, no good pictures today but home-style food in the evening
November 1, 2023 Wednesday, 11:45 PM Naahar Bagh Rajbagh, Panna District, Madhya Pradesh, India This newsletter is going very late, I know. And it is certainly the first time that I am sending it as late, which is because it is only now that I have found some time to write something, besides the day...
-
October31, 2023
October 31, 2023 - ATR – Day 31: Saw all four tiger cubs and also their mother in Panna
October 31, 2023 Tuesday, 11:00 PM Naahar Bagh Rajbagh, Panna District, Madhya Pradesh, India The morning safari was pretty much fruitless because despite all efforts to track tiger, we didn’t find any. I did get a few good pictures of other things, but no luck with tiger sighting. I came back quickly and dedicated a...
-
October30, 2023
October 30, 2023 - ATR – Day 30: Came across a new female tiger in Panna and also saw the mother of the cubs from yesterday
October 30, 2023 Sunday, 11:00 PM Naahar Bagh Rajbagh, Panna District, Madhya Pradesh, India Yesterday, we had found four cubs, who were splashing around in the water, like all babies do. And we did get some good pictures, but we would have gotten some more and better pictures, for we had the best angle to...
-
October29, 2023
October 29, 2023 - ATR – Day 29: Another day of wonderful tiger sighting at Panna
October 29, 2023 Sunday, 11:00 PM Naahar Bagh Rajbagh, Panna District, Madhya Pradesh, India The morning safari in Panna Tiger Reserve was quite eventful, so much so that the events started lining up even before the safari had properly started, even though the first of the events was distressing. We saw a dead deer on...
-
- ATR – Day 28: Tiger sighting on the evening safari in Panna Tiger Reserve
October 28, 2023 Saturday, 11:00 PM Naahar Bagh Rajbagh, Panna District, Madhya Pradesh, India As I was saying yesterday, the male tiger that we met yesterday as well as the day before is the son of Fireline tigress and R1 (also called Ra 1 or Raavan). R1 is a very famous tiger, a massive and...
-
October27, 2023
October 27, 2023 - ATR – Day 27: Yesterday’s tale of two hunts by two different tigers; unusually good tiger sighting at Satpura; came to Panna in the evening
October 27, 2023 Friday, 11:00 PM Naahar Bagh Rajbagh, Panna District, Madhya Pradesh, India Starting where I left yesterday. The female tiger decided to pursue this herd of Indian bisons, and they pushed back on the attack. And to some extent the tiger retreated. However, encouraged by the success of pushing back a mighty carnivore,...
-
October26.2023
October 26.2023 - ATR – Day 26: Two hunts, two preys and two tigers
October 26, 2023 Thursday, 08:00 PM Greenscape Satpura Jungle Retreat, Madhai, Madhya Pradesh, India The safari today opened to pugmarks and pugmarks everywhere as we entered Satpura Tiger Reserve, and so the search for the tiger began. But the thing with tigers is that one can find pugmarks all the time, raising one’s hope and...
-
October25, 2023
October 25, 2023 - ATR – Day 25: Great tiger sighting at Satpura Tiger Reserve today, and another timely upload, second in a row
October 25, 2023 Wednesday, 11:00 PM Greenscape Satpura Jungle Retreat, Madhai, Madhya Pradesh, India There are highs and there are lows. Yesterday was the latter. But today I got a few excellent pictures of two tigers, brother and sister in the Madhai Zone of Satpura Tiger Reserve, which is not known for frequent tiger sightings;...
-
October24, 2023
October 24, 2023 - ATR – Day 24: Safari in Satpura Tiger Reserve did not get us much but we managed to get today’s Vlog uploaded on time
October 24, 2023 Tuesday, 11:00 PM Greenscape Satpura Jungle Retreat, Madhai, Madhya Pradesh, India It was a tough and tiring day, and also quite disappointing in terms of sighting. Not many good pictures today. That’s what I often tell my students and other people who ask about wildlife photography — that a lot of time...
-
October23, 2023
October 23, 2023 - ATR – Day 23: Safari at Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve, the newest to be officially notified
October 23, 2023 Monday, 11:00 PM Hotel Savitri Signature, Narsinghpur, Madhya Pradesh, India Today was mostly about safari, travel, and having tough time finding a decent place to stay, and since I wasn’t feeling all that well today, the day felt harder than it was. I am writing this pretty late in the day for...
-
October22, 2023
October 22, 2023 - ATR – Day 22: The mythological tale of Jyotirlingams; visited the Great Stupa at Sanchi, a very well maintained UNESCO World Heritage Site, and also met a little girl there
October 22, 2023 Sunday, 10:30 PM The Heritage Conventions, Amet, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India As promised yesterday, here is the tale of the Jyotirlingams as I know and understand. You might feel that there are minor deviations from the tale as you know it and for that reason you might consider them...
-
October21, 2023
October 21, 2023 - ATR – Day 21: Mythological tales about river Kshipra and Ujjain; about liquor prasadam at Kaal Bhairav Temple; and today’s visit to the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlingam
October 21, 2023 Saturday, 11:00 PM Fairyland Clarks Inn, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India Picking from where I left yesterday — the story of Ujjain, river Kshipra and how an angry Lord Shiva drew Lord Vishnu’s blood, creating river Kshipra, on the banks of which Ujjain grew over time. The tale was narrated to me yesterday...
-
October20, 2023
October 20, 2023 - ATR – Day 20: Went to Ramghat, the location of Ujjain’s Kumbh Mela; and heard mythological tales associated with Ujjain from pujariji
October 20, 2023 Friday, 11:00 PM Imperial Grand, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India Much of today we spent editing the video for the evening upload. So after getting the video almost ready for upload, I stepped out in the evening at around 3:30-4:00 PM, and went straight to the market to shop for some clothes because...
-
October19, 2023
October 19, 2023 - ATR – Day 19: Did a safari in Mukandra Hills Tiger Reserve, came to Ujjain and got today’s Vlog uploaded on time
October 19, 2023 Thursday, 11:00 PM Imperial Grand, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India The newsletter yesterday went out pretty late — as late as 12:13 AM today (October 19, 2023) — which was because I was answering questions, lots and lots of them, of a journalist, who wanted to know all about my journey as a...
-
October18, 2023
October 18, 2023 - ATR – Day 18: Yesterday, twisted my ankle, got a few bruises, saw rare kingfisher and not-so-rare eagle; today, had a meet-up, met lots of wildlife enthusiasts and a journalist
October 18, 2023 Wednesday, 11:00 PM Kota, Rajasthan About yesterday first, before we get into what happened today because yesterday was eventful in multiple ways, one of which was the wrong way of my putting my foot on the ground in the darkness of early morning, resulting in a bad ankle-twist, which made me see...
-
October17, 2023
October 17, 2023 - ATR – Day 17: Went to the ghariyal sanctuary and did some boating; met a group that had come to meet us and also saw and clicked the Indian eagle owl
October 17, 2023 Tuesday, 11:00 PM Zostel, Bundi, Rajasthan Right in the morning, the first thing we did was go to the Chambal Barrage, which is part of the National Chambal Ghariyal Sanctuary that we talked about earlier when I went to it the first time in Palighat. But back then boating had not started....
-
October16, 2023
October 16, 2023 - ATR – Day 16: Did some pottery, it was fun; visited Kota, ate a sandwich (no good); and got the Vlog uploaded on time!
October 16, 2023 Monday, 10:30 PM Zostel, Bundi, Rajasthan Today’s day was dedicated to pottery, and I did quite a lot of it. So after stuffing myself with poha and aloo parathas, we went to a pottery village, where I learnt how to make big and small earthen pitchers of different sizes even though I...
-
October15, 2023
October 15, 2023 - ATR – Day 15: The underwhelming tour of Bundi, a talk with a Danish fellow, some good drone shots, some birding, and a delayed upload, again!
October 15, 2023 Sunday, 10:30 PM Zostel, Bundi, Rajasthan As planned, I decided to take a leisurely tour of Bundi today. There are lots of Mahals and forts of historical importance here, but not much else. To be honest, it was pretty boring to see these forts even though they are historical places and have...
-
- ATR – Day 14: Visiting the Ramgarh Vishadri Tiger Reserve and redrawing the travel itinerary
October 14, 2023 Friday, 10:30 PM Zostel, Bundi, Rajasthan Today morning, we went to the Ramgarh Vishadri Tiger Reserve in District Bundi of Rajasthan. The Ramgarh Vishadri is the 52nd Tiger Reserve and was notified as a tiger reserve just a little over a year ago on May 16, 2022. So it’s among the youngest...
-
- ATR – Day 13: Left Sawai Madhopur and arrived at Bundi after a chance roadside encounter with a stretching tiger
October 13, 2023 Friday, 09:30 PM Zostel, Bundi, Rajasthan Wasn’t feeling all that well in the morning today, so got up slightly late. I squeezed in a little bit of extra rest to be better rested than usual. Today was a travel day, involving traveling within Rajasthan from Sawai Madhopur to Bundi, which are about...
-
October12, 2023
October 12, 2023 - ATR – Day 12: Some more about the ghariyals; visited a temple in the core zone and struggled with video editing, again
October 12, 2023 Thursday, 10:30 PM Ranthambore Regency, Sawai Madhopur, Ranthambore, Rajasthan We talked about the ghariyals yesterday; let’s talk about them some more before we get to what happened today because ghariyals (Gavialis gangeticus) are now found mostly in three tributaries of the Ganges — the Chambal and the Girwa Rivers — in India,...
-
October11, 2023
October 11, 2023 - ATR – Day 11: Had a ghariyali morning at the National Chambal Ghariyal Sanctuary; interviewed the DFO; and met the Chief Conservator of Forests
October 11, 2023 Wednesday, 09:30 PM Ranthambore Regency, Sawai Madhopur, Ranthambore, Rajasthan Got up early in the morning, as usual on the trips, and felt like the same tired me I have been feeling for the last few mornings on account of sleeping late and getting up with a lot on my mind. With all...
-
October10, 2023
October 10, 2023 - ATR – Day 10: Missed Riddhi, got some editing done, had an infuriating video conference and met a wonderful local couple!
October 10, 2023 Tuesday, 10:30 PM Ranthambore Regency, Sawai Madhopur, Ranthambore, Rajasthan I had thought of having a slightly relaxed day because the constant travel and shooting is getting tough and has to be brought into a sustainable rhythm because ATR is not a sprint but a marathon, which is going to a last a...
-
October9, 2023
October 9, 2023 - ATR – Day 9: Now in Ranthambore; Red Panda, our large red vehicle, introduced on camera
October 9, 2023 Monday, 10:30 PM Ranthambore Regency, Sawai Madhopur, Ranthambore, Rajasthan The day was light today, and much of it was spent on the road and doing things that one has to do during a trip. So we got up late, having slept late as the video editing and other related stuff took a...
-
October8, 2023
October 8, 2023 - ATR – Day 8: Meeting the DFO of the the Dholpur-Karauli Tiger Reserve
October 8, 2023 Sunday, 10:45 PM Dholpur-Karauli Tiger Reserve Dholpur, Rajasthan Today morning, we went to check the Karauli area of Dholpur-Karauli, as half of the Karauli area has been taken into the Dholpur-Karauli district while the other half of the Karauli area now falls under the RTR 2 (Ranthambore Tiger Reserve – 2). The...
-
October7, 2023
October 7, 2023 - ATR – Day 7: Visiting Dholpur-Karauli Tiger Reserve, the second youngest baby on the block
October 7, 2023 Thursday, 11:10 PM Dholpur-Karauli Tiger Reserve Dholpur, Rajasthan We are currently in the Dholpur-Karauli Tiger Reserves, which came into being very recently in August 2023, raising the official count to 54, but there is another Tiger Reserve that has been even more recently notified as such — the Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve...
-
October6, 2023
October 6, 2023 - ATR – Day 6: Jhalana Leopard Reserve, the first of its kind in India; Jaipur soon to be the Leopard Capital of India
October 6, 2023 Wednesday, 11:10 PM Dholpur, Rajasthan Today was a travel day mostly. In the first half of the day, I was in Jaipur, where I met Sh. Sangram Singh Katiyar, Deputy Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), Jaipur, who is the in-charge of the Jhalana Leopard Reserve (also called Jhalana Safari Park, which is unique...
-
October5, 2023
October 5, 2023 - ATR – Day 5: Yesterday’s video mess-up took a loooong clean-up, and meeting a shy Bagheera shying a little less today
October 5, 2023 Tuesday, 11:10 PM Sariska Tiger Reserve Alwar, Rajasthan Due to a minor error in the VLOG yesterday, it had to be deleted after the upload, which was when the error came to light, and then it took a lot of time to correct the error and reprocess the video to get it...
-
October4, 2023
October 4, 2023 - ATR – Day 4: Today was mostly eventless, but here is what I found at Paanidhaal yesterday
October 4, 2023 Wednesday, 10:00 PM Sariska Tiger Reserve Alwar, Rajasthan If you are wildlife photographer, or want to be one, be prepared for such days as I had today — actually, be prepared for much, much worse because I did get to see a tiger at the end, even though for a very brief...
-
October3, 2023
October 3, 2023 - ATR – Day 3: An Interesting Day of Discovery and Interaction At Sariska
October 3, 2023 Tuesday, 10:06 PM Sariska Tiger Reserve Alwar, Rajasthan Today was an interesting day, beginning with the morning safari, during which we found a good number of fresh tiger paw marks, and from the incessant calls we kept hearing, it was clear that there was some tiger movement. Our guide, Ajay, was quite...
-
October2, 2023
October 2, 2023 - ATR – Day 2: After flag-off from Delhi, reaching Sariska Tiger Reserve in the evening, safaris from tomorrow
October 2, 2023 Monday, 10:50 PM Sariska Tiger Reserve Alwar, Rajasthan Finally, we are on the road for Project ATR and have reached our first Tiger Reserve destination — Sariska Tiger Reserve, Alwar, Rajasthan. The day started with our scheduled flag-off from Atrio by Devam, and my mother (Monika Khurana) did the honours of flagging...
-
October01, 2023
October 01, 2023 - ATR – Day 1: Takes longer (as expected), but ATR takes off!
This is the first newsletter of the ATR Newsletter series, which will be sent to you on a daily basis and would serve as real-time update of everyday happenings in addition to the daily VLOGs.
Back to
Top