July, 2019

Maasai Mara

The Masai Mara is one of the world’s most famous wildlife frontiers, where massive herds of wildebeest, carry through the process of Great Migration and lions retain their ancient post at the top of the animal food chain. The Maasai Mara, Africa’s best known and the most celebrated Wildlife favourites is no less than a palace of wonders to the lovers of the wild. I happened to visit this fairyland in the month of September, with my world, my father and my joys knew no limits.

The journey to Maasai Mara was a rather long one and the freshness in the aura of the woods revived and rejuvenated our spirits. Needless to say, it was all in the flora and fauna. The vegetation, the wetlands, the hilly terrains, the muddy paths deep into the woods, the wildlife which happens to freely roam about, royally so, the whole of Mara has something mystic about it, which enticed all of us. The trees all green and bushy, reaching up to the skies on one side, while on the other hand, I witnessed the plain grasslands, elongated and stretched till where my eye could maximum take me. This contrast is what Mara is known for. The depth of learning which the jungles bestowed upon us is unparallel to any other life lesson. Each day in Maasai Mara held an infinite array of opportunities in front of us. The safaris, the birdwatching, and we would do it all, just to get every essence of Mara, the magical land.

Whilst on this heart filling journey, we were lucky to have gotten a few exotic sightings of the wilderness, early on in the venture. One of the finest sightings during the entire journey was that of the pride of lions on the second day of our travel. Considering Maasai Mara is recognised for its abundance in the lion population, we were sure shot of spotting them,but this picture was a stroke of genius. In fact, that too would be an understatement.

The second day of our adventure began on a positive note with us being excited to capturethe marvels of Mara. It seemed like the gods had cast their fortune on us and hence we got an absolute genius shot of a lioness leading her cub. It is when I captured this I realised, how these kings of the jungle had so much more to offer. We were the stunned spectators of a group of fifteen to twenty lions marching past us, in a profound fashion with all the pride in the world, staying true to its name. Lesser known facts about the these jungle warriors is that a group of fifteen or more lions is termed as a ‘Pride’ which provides total justice to the beasts themselves. In this pride of lions which we spotted at the break of dawn, the most enchanting ones were the lioness and her cub, lost in their own playful world.

Pictures speak a thousand words they said, and I wouldn’t believe it until I capturedthis perfection lied out in a picture. The picture conveys very emotion there is, and maybe even lets me experience the unknown. There is boldness yet there is grace. There is bravery and there is also absolute vulnerability. It is tough though equally tender. The picture says it all. The highlight about these lions though for me, is the eyes. Like they say, Its always ALWAYS in the eyes. Looking closely, I always tend to comprehend the layers of abstract emotions and look beyond the lens. There is passion seen in the eyes of the lioness that she might go to any magnitude to protect her cub. She stands strong in keeping her pack safe and together, just like any of our mothers would.

There is royalty and somehow I can even sense the refinement. Considering the fact that it is the lioness who hunts and is the meat earner to the family, she knows what is at stake. Her eyes seem to be firmly set on her goal and every obstacle on the way is mentally destroyed. She leads like a true queen and is victorious in doing so. She stands there with all that she has got, playing multiple roles, touching many lives through her polished lure. She is a protective mother, a loving wife, a merciless killer to her prey and more importantly a strong symbol of feminism everywhere across. She’ll take the world on and lets you know how it is all done at such an ease.

Just glaring at this scene, of a mother and her child, engrossed in the moment and living it to the fullest, a sudden sense of nostalgia hit me. I remembered vividly how my mother is just a mirror image of the lioness.In fact, every mother is. I could instantly relate to the cub and how vulnerable its life could be. In fact, lion cubs mostly wander off to new kingdoms and the unexplored woods to annex their territory and they are trained to do so, by the mothers. From knowing nothing about the nature laws to ruling over them, this is what the cubs are taught.

Just watching the pride, moving around the Savannah and have hearty moments within themselves made me wonder how all are lives are connected on every dimension of life. The significanceof having similar parent figures guide us to our paths of glory is something I could never imagine if not for this sighting in Mara. To witness all of this right next to my father, my source of support is a moment deeply etched in my heart. We looked at each other and we knew what exactly the other one had to convey. We shared a moment of silence and a thousand worlds flowed across. That second of my life is when I realised how everything works. This is what interconnectedness means, that if one of them is harmed, all of us are defenceless too. The picture, the pride of lions had an unimaginable impact on my heart and all this in just the 2 hours of sighting.

This is where I earned a new found respect to the kings. The heavy roars still echo in my ears, guiding me to achieve magnificence just like the wildcats. Each time I recollect this sighting I have chills in my body due to the enormity of their impact. As the journey to Maasai Mara ended with a brilliant note of watching the Great Migration, the lions still seemed to have an unwashed impression made in my soul. In a nutshell, the stories of safaris, the memories of Mara, the anecdotes of the aesthetic pride of lions, we came in with just a camera bag and we had a lot of memories and life lessons to carry back.

Lions, quintessentially royal, quintessentially Mara.