Lion Darshan

Gir Lions

Garden Loins

The two ‘loins’ of the club will not be on the trip to Gir Forest next month. Shekhawat’s wife has refused him permission as they are already booked for their village in Rajasthan. And Bijoy Gupta, who had initiated the idea of a jungle safari, cannot change the date of the wedding he must attend. “If only you people had told me one day earlier, I would not have booked my air tickets to Kolkata,” he said this morning.
Most of the others have signed up for a darshan of the Asiatic lion in the wilds of Sasan Gir in Gujarat.

The majestic Asiatic lion

Following a joint decision yesterday, they have booked (or are in the process of booking) their rail tickets individually to Junagadh for March 18, as well as their return to Mumbai for March 22.
These are the only dates when ‘confirmed’ tickets to and fro are available before March 31 (ref post of February 4) so as to benefit from the ‘off-season discount’ being offered by a jungle resort.
As part of the deal, the resort shall take care of all meals during our stay and arrange for pick-up from Junagadh Station (and drop back) followed by lunch en route to our place of stay. (The location of the resort is said to be contiguous with the forested area, abutting the wildlife sanctuary.)

Taking stock of the ticket situation for rail booking

The jungle safari shall have to be paid for and vary according to the mode of transport and duration of ride.
Evidently, this promises to be a unique experience for all members (even Gupta) as none of them has ever ventured out ‘lion sighting’ in the jungles of Gir. Most of them are ladies. The conversations among them are on the following lines: “When we were little, nobody cared to take us around to such places. When we got married our husbands did not care, as we were supposed to look after home and children. Now that we are free from all that, this is our last chance to venture out and see the world.”
Little wonder, Nahid Khan kick-started her scootie and booked her tickets pronto at the counter in Andheri Station. Zarina Khan, with all her BP problems and having just returned from the Andamans and Alibaug recently, is defying her family on Gir. A third cancelled her Lucknow trip and booked her tickets for Junagadh instead...
Only Lt Col Angad Singh (rtd) is facing a stiff road block. His family is dissuading him from taking the trip to Gir for reasons of age.