- Sehwag was making the Kiwis escort the leather to the boundary ropes. Was he really? Nah, our unorthodox and flamboyant Nawab of Najafgarh is too humble, he would not want even the opponents put so much efforts, so he was taking the aerial route more often than not. I stand corrected.
- Though very unusual for the month of March, sun was scorching, and would be at its brightest if I were to hit the road after my brunch.
- And above all, Sheet was working, which meant I would be going alone, and if I did happen to see the antelopes, I would need to schedule next appointment with them real soon.
I gave Viru some time to create yet another record, fastest ODI ton by an Indian, under the excuse of camera needing a charge, and finally turned on the ignition of my Black Beauty (BB), still undecided, but rolling. It was 1 PM already. I did what I did, less to see the Chinkara
s, and more to justify my claim that 'I want to travel more'. How could I let an off day go when I had an option? This is what you call pressure, desirable pressure....
BB is usually quite, only time she would complaint is when I am being less careful. She had been warning me for refueling for last 2 days, which I ignored, nonetheless she was insistent, and now I had no option but to obey her. On the way to Roshni's on North Main Road, I prepared a pitch, to sell Chinkaras and Mayureshwar to Ritom.. tring tring tring.. but he would not pick..damn, the sales pitch going waste..called up Ketan, and he answered, and agreed, so I steered BB towards Karve Nagar, his pickup point. On the way Sheet called up, to pleasantly surprise me that she was done and I should pick up her as well. ROI was already 3 times of what I had started with :), and that was not the end. Ritom returned the call, and agreed to meet us on the way. It was almost 'Main akela hi chala tha jaanibe manzil magar...' So, by 3 PM BB was opt
imally loaded not to complain of underutilization, and we were on the Solapur Highway.
Ride could have been more enjoyable if we had cared to refuel ourselves before starting. Most part of the journey, before taking turn at Chowphula, was spending in finding a place to eat. Last 12-15 kilometers after the turn was a bumpy ride, which none of us, BB included, liked. Amidst a lot of discussions, that I am believing the subjective description on the blog more that the quantified data, we continued till Supe, and a little beyond, after confirmation from a rustic lasses.
To my surprise there was a visitor's center for the Sanctuary, and unsurprisingly it was closed (I hope for Holi and not permanently). It did not take Watchman long to shatter the confidence I have on Marathi Comprehension, and then on, I let Ketan continue the discussions with him. He pointed in direction of a hillock to help us locate the Watch Tower and we nodded. I don't know for Ketan, but I did it to cut short the conversation.
Back on wheel, less than a kilometer, and we took a detour on to un-tarred road. Everything felt just right, despite the fact that it was dry and hot, and it seemed next to impossible to expect wildlife in small arid stretch surrounded by villages on three sides. I was hoping that BB could be quitter, and just then, as always, Sheet sounded an alarm that she saw something, wh
ere something would be the most sought after specie of the region being visited. As always, I mocked her by saying that it was a false alarm. Come on, who would expect to see something in the first five minutes, when we drove almost 2 hours to get there. But, as luck would have it, she indeed had spotted one, far away under a tree. It for sure is not coincidental that she is the first one to spot what all of us are trying to find.
Before moving on, we reshuffled, Sheet would drive. It was a win-win situation, she got to brush up her driving, and I got to see more of beautiful surroundings. Not sure what Ritom and Ketan would have felt when we took a couple of stops in short duration to spot avian species and identify them, but they definitely did not look bored. Sheet's excitement was already into top gear and she had started Bird Watching 101 for the two first timers.
We had not driven more than few hundred meters, when we saw many buff colored antelopes, The Indian Gazelle or Chinkara, grazing calmly at a distance of less th
an 200 meters. As we drew closure, they sprinted in different directions, with speed that would embarass likes on Mr Usain Bolt. Some ran into the bushes, turned around, stared us in our eyes and ran again, while others crossed the road only to make us gasp that they could cross the road in a single stride. Beautiful animal indeed, I wonder what would go through the minds of people who kill them for game, beyond my comprehension is all I can say. The herd we saw possibly had 15-20 antelope, possibly it was a social gathering for evening tea that we barged into, apologies. For some reason I always felt Chinkaras are shy and not gregarious, I think they showed up in a grow to prove a point, that I was wrong. It would have been much better for the four-legged as well as the two-legged if we had walked instead of driving.
The thirst was quenched by now. so with zero expectations we (at least I was not expecting anything more) drove further towards the watch tower. The green frame was distinctly visible, on the way we spotted a few more pairs of Chinkaras, before finalizing on a spot to park and start walking towards the watch tower. 
Short hike to the tower, a few pics clicked, couple of more sightings of Chinkaras (all pairs, I think I was right about they not being gregarious) from the top, and we began the down-hill stroll. Saw a lot of birds during the walk, of which a flying Black-Winged Kite, and an Barn Owl caught our attention. Ketan observed an interesting pattern formation on the soil, which would teach a lesson on optimization. Chinkaras would pluck berries from the sh
rubs, lots and lots of them, then they would sit and eat the berries, and spit the seeds. I wonder if they care to taste the berries before collecting them in the mouth. Taste would matter to them I guess, may be not. That is an attribute significant to a sub-set of privileged species like us, most eat for survival.
To get out of the sanctuary, we took a different route, only to give us the last, and the closest sight of the antelopes for this trip. Driver change once again, a joy-ride through the village which did not have to pay for, a few scratches on BB, and
we were back on state highway before it got dark. Mission accomplished...
Getting there,
- A75 Km from Pune, near Moregaon
- Take Solapur highway, till Chophule (~55KM)
- Right turn towards Supe, Moregaon
- Santuary's visitor center is just after Supe on Right side.
Highlights,
- Chinkara or Indian Gazelle
