Ranthambhor, Kanha, Pench, our national animal had eluded me in all these places. And so I decided to take refuge in Bandhavgarh, the Land of Tigers!

Evening safari of the previous day had proved tiger-less. A new day brought in new hope, and we embarked on our next safari with renewed vigour. Just minutes into the park, nothing could have primed us for the show that lay ahead. Completely hidden by the dry brown foliage was a young male tiger, resting peacefully. Had it not been for the keen sight of one of us, it would have completely escaped us. As our jeep retraced a few paces, he raised his head and looked at us.

And as if our hearts were not already full, we got another prodigious surprise – his young sister emanated from the tall grasses beyond, like a ‘dream walking true ahead of you’. She had emerged dutifully to check what was bothering her brother’s peace. The magnificent beauty walked towards us and sat at the edge of the road looking directly at the source of disturbance on such a pleasant morning.

Innocent and inquisitive, her eyes were judging all of us who were mounted on an engine that had been shut off for the time being. A 150–500 mm black camera lens that looked like a fat and long gun held her stare for seconds. The way her head moved slightly but quickly enough from one excited face to another, checking out for a possible unknown predator, was thrilling. For few wonderful moments, it seemed as if time stopped. Everything came to a standstill. Oblivious of the surroundings, we stood mesmerised. I was completely hypnotised by her eyes.

And I decided that it was humanly impossible to not fall in love with her at that moment. What a magical creature nature had bestowed the forests with! That was the only predominant thought in my mind. I could not shake my eyes off her. There she sat at the brink of the road, with an inquiring look that clearly conveyed – So, what makes you traverse this journey across states and stand at the threshold of my kingdom? And our unanimous answer was – Only You!

After both the parties recovered their senses slightly, recognising no trouble from the visitors to her or her brother she stood up, strode on to the road ahead. She was now interested in a domesticated elephant that had come from the opposite direction with its mahout. It was striping trees of its leaves and creating a din. More jeeps had reached the spot and aligned themselves behind ours. Concluding that none of the huge lot that had gathered meant any harm to them, she crossed the road to the other side and disappeared.

Now that she was not in sight, we started pouring our attention to her rather lazy brother who was still, until that moment, lying on the grass. Unable to find his sister near him, he stood up and in a few strides seated himself in a cat-like fashion at the top of a flat rock, so that he could have a view of all that was happening on the road below and also look beyond for signs of his sister. But he didn’t have to wait long. Just as she had vanished, she appeared from behind the bushes and much to our excitement, was on top of the rock with a huge leap.

The brother was settled. But the sister seemed restless. She cleaned herself, stood up, walked few paces down and then few steps up the rock, scratched and stretched herself and finally settled down in the vicinity of her brother. And so there were in front of us, siblings, cubs of Banbei female – Wakeeta tigress, each at the opposite ends of a small rock, facing each other, some centimetres apart and looking down at the congregated crowd.

It was a sight any wildlife photographer would dream of. All types of cameras and lenses where doing their job professionally in the limited time that their owners provided. For every soul present was keen to capture the moment not only with the man-made digital eyes but also, a larger portion of it, through the God-given natural ones.

A scintillating yawn showcased her firm set of canines, the reason that will, in some days, make her the most ferocious predator. After what seemed a lifetime’s worth for us, she rose again and this time was followed by her brother. Both of them crossed the road ahead of us. Judging by their steps, they had planned to walk down the road. But they stopped in their tracks and stood gazing intently at something that had caught their attention in the green beyond. At once we saw their concern. There was a third kind of intruder now (first being us and the second being elephants). These were the on-foot forest guards with long sticks marching towards the pair.

Having had enough interference and wondering what on earth did the humans want from two innocent and dozy tiger cubs on a lovely and lazy winter morning, they decided to leave this part and find another safe one inside the forest. There was a slight hint of fear on their faces as they glanced at the men and their sticks. They bounded right into the dense foliage, never to come back again at least that morning. They must have gone straight in search of their mother to tell her their disquieting morning rendezvous.

For us it was an affair hour-long that would be cherished life-long!

The whole scene had left us all spell bound. What a beast and what a sighting! Spotting a tiger in the wild, for those blissful seconds or in luckier circumstances minutes is a priceless memory for any wildlife enthusiast. The natural charm, the power, the royal persona, the glistening cover and the resonating aura that accompanies the animal makes it stunningly attractive. A striking exemplar of both beauty and the beast in one, the world is yet to see something of this magnificence walk its land. A tiger sighted in its natural habitat is always magical; even if it is the umpteenth time you see it. You will, each time, crave for it.

And that was my first full and proper sighting (unless only a tail or a foreleg or a belly was considered a sighting) of a Royal Bengal Tiger in her kingdom which came to be the beginning of a long and strong wild affair.

Her eyes had cast a spell and we were bound for life!