Meeting the Leopards of Jawai Bandh

Jawai or Jawai Bandh has been a well-known name to wildlife enthusiasts worldwide since being featured in the Discovery Channel programme. The documentary showed the peaceful coexistence of humans and Leopards in the rocky expanse of Jawai Bandh. Jawai Bandh or Jawai Dam is a dam built on the Jawai River, a tributary of the Luni River in the Pali district of Rajasthan. Jawai Bandh offers the opportunity for Leopard sighting and soothes the eyes and soul with the view of the serene landscape. ‘Footlooseinme’ shares her incredible story of Jawai Bandh here.

The Jawai Bandh tour plan happened suddenly and any sudden plan is always fascinating. I was on my solo trip to Udaipur and Jawai Band this time. I will cover the Udaipur story in my next post. Although Jodhpur would have been the nearest airport connectivity I chose to visit Jawai Bandh from Udaipur adding a few kilometres to my distance travelled (which I do not mind.) My story of the Jawai Band will be more about the people I met than that of the Leopards I met.

Let me begin from the time I started my planning. As I decided on my destination the first thing I had to do was book my stay. Selecting and booking a stay in the city is never a challenge but the same thing can not be said for a village within the (assumed) forest area. After a lot of research and multiple mind-boggling sessions on the hotel booking sites, I finally decided to stay in a hotel with very good reviews. The only thing concerning was the reviews were pretty old. I had to be doubly sure about everything as I was travelling solo. 

After making the reservation, I received a phone call from the hotel’s owner. He introduced himself and described the property as his ancestral property and the home where he stays with his family. This conversation sounded very reassuring. My fears gradually faded as I reached Jawai through the bad roads (probably a new road will come soon.) The old yet well-maintained house had tastefully decorated gardens and greenery all around. It soothed all my apprehension. Meeting the Lady of the house and eventually the Owner, made me feel safe.

This is not a paid promotion or anything similar. I desired to share my thoughts which I know many other solo travellers will love to hear. Many may also resonate with my thoughts. The lovely Lord and Lady of the house were my hosts for the next two days. This homestay experience turned out to be amazing. The Galthani (as goes the name of the village and their surname) couple gave me company during my meals and were ready to help me with whatever I needed. The lady shared with me stories of the culture and tradition in practice in the village. She is the ‘Sarpanch’ of the village and proudly boasted about her village having the first pipeline gas in the whole of Rajasthan.

There was a subtle warmth in the behaviour of the hosts and the staff. The young, energetic and most favourite sought-after staff of the property was the star of the show. ‘Hitesh’ managed everything from cooking delicious traditional recipes to taking care of the guests. I was offered various local foods in every meal. This may sound more like a hotel review than any travel document. But any travel is not just the destination but a combination of the journey, the place and the people. I experienced all these to the fullest in my visit to Jawai Bandh.

I had my prerequisite to have Rajeshwari as my Safari guide. I came to know of this lady from the many reviews that I went through before visiting here. Mr Galthani provided me with her cell number, I called her but she was unavailable as she was new in her job in some faraway village. Later Mr Galthani arranged for Rajeshwari’s father to be my safari guide. He arrived on time to pick me up in the Gypsy for my first evening safari here.

Mr Udai Singh (Rajeswari’s father) was another adorable gentleman probably in his sixties. Seeing my camera he stopped en route and got me a bean bag for the lens support. He drove me to the relatively far-off Sena village for the Leopard sighting. Mr Singh stays in this village. He narrated many stories of Jawai and how it became popular. He was a prominent member of the initial group who worked to bring the Jawai Bandh into the tourist map for Leopard sightings. He said that in his early days, he worked with the forest department.

His youngest daughter among the four, Rajeshwari inherited her father’s traits and became a safari guide driving the four-wheel through the rough terrain. Mr Singh proudly boasts of her daughter’s achievements. He says his daughter had been awarded multiple times to be the first woman in this field. He says he educated all his girls to become self-dependent. 

In a remote village in Rajasthan where there is a trend and tradition of marrying off girls at an early age, he set forth an example. All his girls completed their Masters in education. Among all of them, Rajeswari seemed to be his favourite. He said that he raised her like a boy and she has grown up to be bold and fearless leaving behind the boys.

I was highly impressed by the thoughts of this elderly man who probably paved the way for many other parents in his village to raise their girl child adequately. Rajeswari is an example of women’s empowerment. After listening to all these stories, I felt that I missed the opportunity to meet this strong lady. I may have to visit Jawai Bandh again, (not to meet the Leopards that time but) to meet Rajeshwari.

Mr Udai Singh showed fatherly affection and care towards me as he drove through the thorny forests on the rough terrain. He always held his hand up to signal me to lower my head as he kept the thorny branches away from me. This gesture shows how affectionate a father he must be to his daughters. 

You must have noticed that I have repeated the word rough terrain multiple times. I have been to many safaris before and have also been on bone-rattling rough terrains but this one is of a different level. This is off-roading to an extreme level, an adventure ride in itself. The smoothest part of the drive was when we were driving through highly uneven thick thorny forest areas. Sometimes I was driven through slippery gravel, sometimes on loose rocks, and sometimes on the craggy hillocks. My words may feel short to explain the unevenness of the base of these rocky hillocks.

Numerous Gypsies ascended these terrains like beasts. At times the ascends were extremely steep. Receiving the call of the sighting at a specific location the drivers took fast turns and sped up the Gypsies like experts. I apologise, I cannot share the picture of the same as I hold tight to the handrails in one hand and my camera in the other. But I wished I could capture the video of the same. 

The worst part of the whole thing was when the vehicle was kept on hold in a descent of about sixty-five degrees. With high seats in the middle seating area of the Gypsy, it was impossible to rest the back on the seat without slipping off. It became exercise time with long sessions of ‘Squat-holds’. At this point, the steep bumpy ascend looked like a piece of cake, in front of fast, sharp turns and bumpy steep downhill drive. 

My first evening sighting was very fruitful where I was taken to the dry riverbed near the hillock in Jivda village overlooking Sena village. The mother of two adolescent cubs was relaxing behind the cactus shrubs high up on the hillock. The distance was far enough to spot the Leopard. It was called ‘Jivda female’ (named by the village.) The sighting was from a distance. 

Later I was taken to the top of the hillock where my Gypsy along with many other Gypsies were patiently waiting for the stars to arrive. Now Mr Singh was joined by his nephew who works as a guide in some other resort. He took the wheels now while Mr Singh sat beside him with the binoculars. 

In some time one of the cubs arrived in full grace. The cub was very near to the vehicles and looked fearless as he moved around and posed for the numerous paparazzi waiting for the moment. The cool wind was blowing through and the panoramic view of the surroundings was astounding. As the sun was gradually gliding down it lent a golden aura all around. The leopard cub was coated in this warm glow sitting in front of the vibrant ‘Palash’ or ‘Flame of the forest.’ The meandering river was a golden snake winding through the green fields below.

It was a moment to cherish where on one side you are gifted with such a surreal view and on the other side you have your prize catch of the day. Gently the Sun went down and the darkness took over. The sky was bejewelled with twinkling stars. Rarely have I seen such a clear sky. I wished to do some astrophotography from this location but I left my wide-angled lens and my tripod at my stay. It was also the initial days of the waxing phase of the moon so the moon-rise was early and the Milky Way was below the horizon.

Early in the next morning, I was taken to Bera village. It was still dark when we started and the sky was clear and the moon had set. An appropriate time to catch the Milky Way as it was above the horizon but we had no time. We have to reach the spot early so that we don’t miss the show. Again up on a hillock during the sunrise I was blessed with the Bear sighting. On one side there was the Indian Black Bear slowly walking to its cave where she has her cubs while on the other side, the sun silently climbed up the horizon to say peek-e-boo to the orange forest painted by the flame of the forest.

Read my post on Palash.

Later on the Safari, I spotted a few Bar-headed Geese, other waders and a few crocodiles. Mr Singh and his driver ‘Heera Ram’ took me to the dam this time. Mr Singh brought some biscuits and a jumbo-sized nutritious homemade laddoo from home. We had coffee and snacks overlooking the reservoir of the dam. Mr Singh told me about the fishery business going on in the lake. He also talked about his love for fish. I mean, he loves to eat fish. He says that he eats fish daily and this is the reason he stays away from the hospitals 😀 .

The evening safari that day was too crowded. A large number of tourists in numerous vehicles were romping the area in search of the Leopard. I had the sighting of a Black-tipped Mongoose and a couple of Indian Eagle Owls. Ending my safari with this great man Mr Singh I returned back to my stay.

Very early next morning in the silence of the darkness I dared to climb up the dark terrace of my room alone. I set up my camera on the tripod and took some shots of the Milky Way. It being the village area the sky was not as dark as the hillock and there was light pollution. I too could not compose my photo well as there was nothing in the foreground. But I did not want to miss this opportunity to capture the Milky Way though. It’s a very rare opportunity for me. I have missed this opportunity in many definite places due to various circumstances.

Read my experience in Hanle.

Read about my first astrophotography experience in Dubare.

I share my humble shot with my readers, knowing that they are not even worthy to be shared. Even though it is the Milky Way and I braved the darkness in an unknown place all alone, it is worthy to be shared 😀 . (I hope you can understand.) With the lovely and interesting memories of Jawai Bandh, I end my post. Hope to be again in Jawai Bandh and meet the lovely people, especially Rajeswari.