Last night we watched the cricket on a big screen in the rooftop restaurant of our excellent Sagram Sadan hotel. India won easily against Pakistan to the delight of 1,400 million people. Interesting to note that, while the opposing captains glared at each other and refused to shake hands when the cameras were on them, they were allegedly chatting amiably to each other in the green room before the game.
This morning Mukesh drove us to Ranakpur, a small town in the Aravalli mountains north of Udaipur. The brown hills are dotted with drought-resistant trees and there is a reserve with 9 leopards and pools with crocodiles. Mukesh’s friend Mohinder took us in one of the safari jeeps to see the leopards in a hair-raising ride up and down 60-degree slopes. We saw a crocodile sunning itself on a rock and eventually Mohinder pointed out a tiny yellow spot on a rock high up a mountain side. We could see through his ultra-powerful camera that it was a magnificent leopard, but it was disappointing that it would not get within eating distance of us. Another jeep drew up and the tourists looked through a telescope at the yellow dot until the jeep drove off. Mohinder said we should wait another ten minutes while it was getting dark, and then we set off slowly just as the leopard appeared behind a bush 10 metres away. It then sauntered nonchalantly across the track in front of us no more than 5 metres away. It looked straight at me and I swear it licked its lips. I said to the leopard “Please don’t eat me. I’ve got a partner. Eat her”. Then it walked slowly away. I think Mohinder knew exactly when the leopard would come off the mountain and where it would go. We were so lucky. Then we drove back to where the safari jeeps assemble and he bought us a masala tea in a special clay cup.
Irrigation waterwheel at our Ranai hotel
Mountain where the leopard was sleeping
Our leopard through Mohinder’s camera
