My love for mankind is limited when comparing to the four-legged lovely creatures. Whether a docile one or a wild one my love for these species is enormous.

We (my friends and family – a team of 8) set off for the Gir forest at Sasan Gir village of Gujarat, which is a haven for Lions. The place has around 900 lions (lioness and cubs including) The total forest area is 1800 sq kms

The booking has to be done only online through the Gujarat tourism website. We had made a booking well in advance so that it does not clash with either the temple visits or the train timings for the next destination. We did google and found all the pre requisites for a noon slot forest visitor

We had to present there at 2 o clock for the slot which was from 3 to 6. The forest guards and the guides who are present there insist on being there upfront since they brief us on procedures before they take us into the forest.

We carefully chose our English- speaking guide. He arranged for a few bottles of water and also educated us on the norms when you enter the forest.  The first instruction was that we should not panic or raise a voice when we see the Lion in the vicinity. The second instruction was to be seated and not move if a lion comes close by also. The third and biggest one was to keep silent and be alert with the binoculars so that we can spot them for a distance too. He told us that we could see deer antelope some rare kind of bird’s owls etc. Our excitement was boundless.

The open Mahindra jeeps did accommodate the 8 of us including the driver and the guide also. We were even more excited since we expected that we would be split in one or two vehicles.

There are still some tribals living there inside the forest and we could spot a few of them. The deer happens to be the main food for the Lions and there are around 40000 deer in that forest

The guide showed us the markings made by the Lions to indicate their territory. Also we kept looking for them in all places where there was water since these places are visited by them regularly

We did spot many deer monitor lizards owls sambar deer langar peacocks and other smaller animals but the sight of the lion and lioness seemed to be evading. Though we were hopeful of seeing one the guide told us that the noon slots are the ones when visitors go disappointed because the lions would be resting after their food and will not come out in the hot sun. He also told us that there were some tourists who would go into the forest for twice a day during different timings for at least a couple of days to spot one lion.

A couple of us had started enjoying the breeze and cold weather since it was 5.30 in the evening then forgetting that we had not still sighted the lion

Suddenly a few guards came in front of us on bikes and they asked us to be silent. They could hear their prowl nearby. We were suddenly hopeful and attentive. They asked us to wait there and then guided us to a valley from where we could see the King of the jungle basing in the evening sun with his partner.

Their golden mane glistened in the evening sun and they were enjoying each other company. We were holding our breath and suddenly I realized why the Lion is the called the King of the jungle. It is mighty powerful yet relaxed and chose to stay silent and calm. What a big lesson to humanity.

Coming back to my senses I quickly used a double camera to take a picture of us in one frame and the lion and lioness together in another frame. It is a keepsake for life

Our thrill knew no bounds and we returned lauding our luck since some travelers do not spot a lion even after visiting for a few days in a stretch. We thanked our guide immensely for his friendly approach and imparting his knowledge to us