It was almost evening and sun was about to hide behind the hills. We all had lost our watches to the man who offloaded his rickety motorboat to us and so the ability to tell the exact time. I steered the motorboat to the shallow bank where it could be easily dragged to the shore and save it from being washed away in the current. Neena was animated at the sight and wanted to explore the place; she was the first one to jump of the boat followed by Joe. I picked up my bag which had the stuff I picked up in Delhi - they were to come handy now.
The sight was growing more beautiful as the sun went behind the hills. The gentle gurgling sound of the river current and odd chirps of birds added to the eerie quality of the place.
'Let's check those huts there and see if we could find a safe place to stay the night', I was concerned about the safety of the group. The huts seem to be well maintained but had not been used for quite some time. We choose the biggest of the three huts, it could fit all three and it even had a fireplace of its own and some odd utensils and cooking items and 'masalas'. I was relieved to secure a place to stay the night with food but apprehensive at the same time.
We all had questions but decided not to express them until we had our dinner. I cooked some rice and plucked some tubers and herbs from behind the hut to make a medley of vegetables in the dim light of the candle. We ravished the simple meal and felt satisfied. If someone would have asked us then which was the best and the most satisfying meal of our lives we all would mentioned this one.
Panna Reserve had tigers and other animals in abundance. We made sure the hut was fenced well and the door was secured from inside. The cooking fire had made the hut warm and the shouldering amber would see us through the chilly night. It was pitch dark and the quietness of the night was interrupted by the howling of the hyenas and foxes. Each time we hear their shrill cry chill ran up our spine. I kept my knife next to my resting place just in case.
Our purpose to be in the middle of the hostile conditions was to look for the 'baba'. Whatever information we had gathered was trivial in the hunt of the elusive and the mystic 'baba'. Who was this 'baba'? and why was he on our challenge list? Is there any connection between the 'baba' and The Big Race? Who do these huts belong to? etc. We tried to put our heads together and were able to come up with some pointers which would help us scour for the 'baba' the next day. Once this was done Neena and Joe slept off while I decided to do the vigil for a while.
The next morning we started early as decided. We headed for the highest peak to do a survey of the place. The view was panoramic and awe inspiring, I had never experience a morning so beautiful. In a distance far away beyond the meadow we could see another group of huts, our eyes lit up. We walked through the rough and wet ground crossed the beautiful meadow to find some men enjoying their morning tea. We were happy to see them but they didn’t seem to be too glad too and surprised to find us there. They all came to alert and pointed their weapons at us. I calmed them down by assuring them that we were regular travelers and were their looking for the 'baba' and we had no other business there.
[SHARK IN A POND]
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