August, 2020
Leaping into the eyes of the Leopard
The Maasai Mara of the Africa, is a land of miracles and every wildlife lover will unarguably agree so. Nestled in southwestern Kenya and sharing its borders with that of Tanzania, the Maasai is a synonym of harmony where one can breathe in eternal enchantments.
As we set out to this dreamland, we were on our toes to experience this richness of the forest. To closely observe the beasts in their forte, to be the innocent witnesses to the miracles of Mara, and probably, also get used to it, considering it’s the daily affair there. To sum it all up, we just needed to BE THERE!
As overwhelmed as we were to just be in Mara, the place is truly several notches above the materialistic worldly beauties. All the fancy adjectives would fall short in expressing the emotions we felt in Mara. Mara has offered me with more than what I seem to expect and even though I have the highest hopes from this natural paradise, it always astonishes me as to how the nature and Mara ALWAYS give me more. A lot more than I can possibly imagine. Maybe this is why, the place is proclaimed to be mystic and beyond imagination. Each time I walk into this beauty, I learn. I experience the unexplored as I fall into the naïve laps of mother nature. Most vitally, I live.This is what Maasai does, we learn to live, love and laugh. We magically turn into more humane souls and this transformation is achievable only in the silent echoes of nature’s teachings.
Having said this, we had planned our stay minute by minute in the African wild, owing to the infinite sensations the place had to provide us with. The first day of safari was refreshing, making us all anticipative about the rest of the days, which seemed promising too.
The second day was when we actually witnessed the true marvels of Mara. The day began with an optimistic start at as early as the 4am. The forest had subtle sounds when paid keen attention to, but was remarkably dark and quiet, which facilitates good shots. Amidst the course of this dawn to dusk safari, what took us by amazement is the pride of lions. To have the kings of the jungle walking past you, roaring and playing around in the vast greens isn’t an every day sight. A pride of 27 lions it was. The pride, true to its name marched like they own the place and amidst this, there was a sense of comfort we experienced. The depths of royalty reflected by them remains hard for the right literary expressions.
Spotting the pride of 27 lions was rare. As content and satisfied as we were, heart seemed to long for more such phenomenal sightings. Hence, to quench the urge, we set out again, this time in the look-out for the sevral cats, an exotic beast typical to African wildlife. The day further was planned, but it looked like destiny had small little plans and surprises of its own. I vividly remember, it was after lunch and we began the safari again in search of the sevral cats. It was around 2am in the noon where there were some pleasant golden rays of the sun, dancing its way to reach the ground. A pleasant day, a pleasant sighting in the golden hours of sunlight. With a positive vibe, we moved on.
Amidst the still green patches, the motionless trees and leaves, there suddenly seemed to be a subtle yet noticeable movement in one of the bushes. As curious and eager as we were to recognise the beast, we secretly prayed for it to be the one we were in the look-out for, the sevral cat. But, as nature has its way, the beast turned out to be even better. Yes, our guest for the day, was the AFRICAN LEOPARDESS. Any amount of detailed description about this outlandish, glamourous queen would just not seem sufficient. As we saw this spotted beauty, we thanked our stars for this extraordinary cat and an even better predator. Fortunes truly did smile at us, as we were the only safari jeep to have gotten to see this. The leopardess moved in and out of its normal resting place, restlessly so, maybe looking for its afternoon kill. Considering the pace at which it runs, most animals in the forests, aren’t quite immune from the treacherous claws of this highness. Every leopardess has a unique marking of spots which helps distinguish her from the others. The spots and her scars define her and her battles in the jungles, where she’s been running a gauntlet of death every day, since day one. The eyes too depicted the wisdom gained in the wild, for wisdom is just survived wounds. And yet, she carried herself with such great dignity, with a niche walk and a rebellious roar.
The picture effortlessly conveys a thousand stories, but most importantly that of the leopardess’s. This is her story. The one which has victory and glory but also the scars and lost battles. The one with the cries but even louder growls that followed after. This is the story about Maasai too, the place where she needs to etch her boundaries, make space for herself and defend the territory like her own dignity put to stake. The eyes seem like a reflection of her life in here having her own moments of the past vulnerabilities, battling between life and death scenarios almost every day and the knowledge gained after.
The leopardess seems to the epitome of confidence and power with overpowering spree of mixed emotions felt during the safari. Like the legend has it, it is fine to lose petty battles to win the ultimate war and the leopard has done exactly that. She has won the war of life. She survives. With awe-inspiring emotions like compassion, love, strength, dignity and confidence, this picture bridges the gap between our emotions and reality, which is why the gravitas of the image seeps down to beyond humans and humanity. This safari to Mara and our interaction with the leopard has made me realise how little I know of the impact of the wild in our lives and how much more there is, waiting to be explored and touched upon. This feeling, I believe is the true essence of life, in the paths of self-discovery.
Mind you, as you leave, make sure you just wait and turn back towards the forests again, and you will see glimpses of your own life connecting with its true roots of mother nature, with tiny lightened wires which will all glow in a harmonious mental image and THAT is truly the beginning and ending of every creature. More and more of you need to experience that, because here’s where humans transform and ultimately humanity wins. Lastly, WAIT. LOOK BACK!
