The Bannerghatta National Park is about 45 minutes away from Bangalore city. Jump into an A/C bus and there you are, dropped right in front of the ticket counter outside the animal park. So many options to choose from, I had no idea which Safari I wanted to go to. There was Tiger and Lion Safari, Elephant Safari and finally something wonderful flashed right in front of me: GRAND SAFARI + ZOO at Rs. 65 per person! I felt like a two year old when my eyes grew wide. Friends of mine who came along have never seen me so excited, EVER! It was the first time I was stepping into a zoo. Anyway, coming back to the Grand Safari.. it was one BIG safari that included all of the above listed teeny weenie safaris; and it was inclusive of the ZOO too. So, we decided to go for Grand Safari option.
There it was, the ticket in my hand. I could not wait to jump into the bus and get the window seat. Wow! What a feeling! To think of it now, it just flashes back in your memory like it just happened a minute ago. We were 5 in number. We were waiting for the guy to open the gate so that we could board the bus. We were the last ones to wait in the line. In no time, the queue was filled with a minimum of 100 people behind us. This is why people say:
There it was, the ticket in my hand. I could not wait to jump into the bus and get the window seat. Wow! What a feeling! To think of it now, it just flashes back in your memory like it just happened a minute ago. We were 5 in number. We were waiting for the guy to open the gate so that we could board the bus. We were the last ones to wait in the line. In no time, the queue was filled with a minimum of 100 people behind us. This is why people say:
Even a minute matters.
Better late than never.
So finally, we boarded the bus. We got the last row for ourselves and I was super eager to see these lovely creations of nature in real life for the First time ever! As the bus started, I was so restless I wanted to get off the bus and probably walk down the forest and chat along with the big cats :).. I know that sounds juvenile but is exactly how I felt when the bus was moving worse than a star tortoise walking along the shore of the ocean. However, in no time we reached the first gate. Just imagine this. The gate was similar to the ones you found in the movie, Jurassic Park. It was a big fat gate with barbed wire all over it. It was so awesome to get into that area that was restricted for deer alone. The gate had a board - Deer Safari. There they were, the spot beauties. They looked gorgeous with those lovely long branched out antlers. Their eyes spoke so much. It was like having a conversation with them when you see their eyes – dancing around on all sides.
Then came the Bear Safari – my favorite of the lot. Trust me, never, mind you; never in my life have I seen a bear before. A minute after the bus entered the gate; there I saw a black spot. As we got closer, there it was.. A BEAR! He/she was actually looking lost – poor thing. A few yards away, was a pack of bears busy eating grass. Two of them in the middle started dancing. They were swaying left and right like they were jiving for tune. I had no idea why they did it but in a few seconds they were all dancing and it was synchronizing pretty well.. J
We left the Bear Safari and entered the Lion Safari. The big Cats’ area was quite scary and thrilling at the same time. However, I could not spot even a single Meow! I was quite disappointed, but there he was! The magnificent “King of the Jungle”! When was the last time I saw a lion? In a circus where the poor thing was lashed like a zillion times to do a trick! But here, I was looking at one that was let loose and we HUMANS were caged instead – what an irony. I guess he was fast asleep after a big fat meal. Also, he had two lionesses around him – lucky bum :P.
The bus finally entered to the last but the most exciting gate in the Safari – TIGER SAFARI! This area had a different feel to it. With the tigers almost extinct now, this zoo was actually preserving some of them safe and sound. Striped cats, that too white in color to me, are one of the most magnificent creatures created by the man above us. This one was walking around impatiently for some reason; although he looked pretty handsome. It was pretty evident there was some tension between the two tigers there. Their paws were in the size of my Face! They were so huge and cuddly. Only if we were allowed to have them at home.. Sigh..! There were lots of them as we went deep into the forest. A few of them were playing with each other. There was one rolling in the mud having his/her own kind of fun. This was when it occurred to me how harmless these cats actually are. It is us so-called sixth sensed creatures who instigate them to pounce on us.
And it was all over in no time L... although I was waiting to see the next bunch of animals at the zoo.
As we entered the zoo, the first thing that I spotted was the white fowl. She was looking gorgeous – almost like a peacock, she was cawing her way to glory. As we moved on, we saw umpteen number of snakes – some small some big. There were crocs – gharials and the snooty ones. Such arrogant reptiles I tell you. They just did not move or react to anything that was happening around them. Also, there were cute little chirpy birds that were going ballistic and chirping their way to glory. They looked so adorable you could actually take them home with you. Then, there were the dirty ducks. My god their pens were stinking! But, it was not all that bad. The zoo also had star tortoises – small and big. And these tortoises were exceptional. They were actually fast!
Then came the Bear Safari – my favorite of the lot. Trust me, never, mind you; never in my life have I seen a bear before. A minute after the bus entered the gate; there I saw a black spot. As we got closer, there it was.. A BEAR! He/she was actually looking lost – poor thing. A few yards away, was a pack of bears busy eating grass. Two of them in the middle started dancing. They were swaying left and right like they were jiving for tune. I had no idea why they did it but in a few seconds they were all dancing and it was synchronizing pretty well.. J
We left the Bear Safari and entered the Lion Safari. The big Cats’ area was quite scary and thrilling at the same time. However, I could not spot even a single Meow! I was quite disappointed, but there he was! The magnificent “King of the Jungle”! When was the last time I saw a lion? In a circus where the poor thing was lashed like a zillion times to do a trick! But here, I was looking at one that was let loose and we HUMANS were caged instead – what an irony. I guess he was fast asleep after a big fat meal. Also, he had two lionesses around him – lucky bum :P.
The bus finally entered to the last but the most exciting gate in the Safari – TIGER SAFARI! This area had a different feel to it. With the tigers almost extinct now, this zoo was actually preserving some of them safe and sound. Striped cats, that too white in color to me, are one of the most magnificent creatures created by the man above us. This one was walking around impatiently for some reason; although he looked pretty handsome. It was pretty evident there was some tension between the two tigers there. Their paws were in the size of my Face! They were so huge and cuddly. Only if we were allowed to have them at home.. Sigh..! There were lots of them as we went deep into the forest. A few of them were playing with each other. There was one rolling in the mud having his/her own kind of fun. This was when it occurred to me how harmless these cats actually are. It is us so-called sixth sensed creatures who instigate them to pounce on us.
And it was all over in no time L... although I was waiting to see the next bunch of animals at the zoo.
As we entered the zoo, the first thing that I spotted was the white fowl. She was looking gorgeous – almost like a peacock, she was cawing her way to glory. As we moved on, we saw umpteen number of snakes – some small some big. There were crocs – gharials and the snooty ones. Such arrogant reptiles I tell you. They just did not move or react to anything that was happening around them. Also, there were cute little chirpy birds that were going ballistic and chirping their way to glory. They looked so adorable you could actually take them home with you. Then, there were the dirty ducks. My god their pens were stinking! But, it was not all that bad. The zoo also had star tortoises – small and big. And these tortoises were exceptional. They were actually fast!
Slow and steady wins the race!
Monkeys are cute, but scary. Ever since I had an encounter with a baboon at Aurangazeb’s tomb when I was in my 7th grade, I have been petrified with them! There were so many different types of monkeys there. The best was the Hanuman Langur whose tail was almost 2 feet long! Also there was monkey that looked partially like a mini lion.
Now for the star of the evening – our National Bird J the peacock! It was almost raining and one of them had their feathers wide open. Although she/he was sitting right on top so we could not get a clear picture of the feathers. I have always been fascinated by the color of the peacock’s neck. But that day, I was almost in tears. It was so wonderful to see how blue-green her neck was. She was looking gorgeous. There were simply no other words to describe the scene. However, this bird had loads of attitude. She kept moving away from us.. I guess being so pretty makes them so haughty :P...
This zoo has been glorified all through the article. However, there were a few things that upsetted me the most. Rules and regulations, though specified by the authorities, were not followed by the zoo visitors. Misbehavior was the limit. It was highly annoying to se people chucking stones at the poor animals. The place where I got irritated was when my own Tamil speaking people were chucking things at a baby hippo sleeping on his mom deep under the water. Just to get the attention of the animal, they were doing all sorts of things to wake her up! Of course, there was nothing that I could do. There were no authorities around to charge them with a fine or probably punish them. It was so frustrating not to do anything as I had a control freak next to me telling me to keep quiet. After a while, I simply could not take it. I went ahead and yelled at the “family” who were performing the sacred task of chucking things at the poor animal. It did make a difference you know. They freaked out a little bit, which made me happy. But I was still mad at them! There was absolutely no need to do something so silly. I had to vent out my anger so I walked out of the hippo’s area. I needed some time to cool off. That was when I knew the best place to show all my irritation right here J. I wish I had the authority to walk over to people like these and tell them what they were doing was wrong simply not acceptable. Just imagine this:
Now for the star of the evening – our National Bird J the peacock! It was almost raining and one of them had their feathers wide open. Although she/he was sitting right on top so we could not get a clear picture of the feathers. I have always been fascinated by the color of the peacock’s neck. But that day, I was almost in tears. It was so wonderful to see how blue-green her neck was. She was looking gorgeous. There were simply no other words to describe the scene. However, this bird had loads of attitude. She kept moving away from us.. I guess being so pretty makes them so haughty :P...
This zoo has been glorified all through the article. However, there were a few things that upsetted me the most. Rules and regulations, though specified by the authorities, were not followed by the zoo visitors. Misbehavior was the limit. It was highly annoying to se people chucking stones at the poor animals. The place where I got irritated was when my own Tamil speaking people were chucking things at a baby hippo sleeping on his mom deep under the water. Just to get the attention of the animal, they were doing all sorts of things to wake her up! Of course, there was nothing that I could do. There were no authorities around to charge them with a fine or probably punish them. It was so frustrating not to do anything as I had a control freak next to me telling me to keep quiet. After a while, I simply could not take it. I went ahead and yelled at the “family” who were performing the sacred task of chucking things at the poor animal. It did make a difference you know. They freaked out a little bit, which made me happy. But I was still mad at them! There was absolutely no need to do something so silly. I had to vent out my anger so I walked out of the hippo’s area. I needed some time to cool off. That was when I knew the best place to show all my irritation right here J. I wish I had the authority to walk over to people like these and tell them what they were doing was wrong simply not acceptable. Just imagine this:
You were caged and people were throwing stones at you;Then you’ll know what it feels like!
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