Day 1

We reached Ranthambore in the morning by train. Had our bookings in a Resort Anuraga Palace. From the station to the resort was a fun drive in an open Canter. Once at the resort, we had time to relax and change and then had a sumptuous lunch. The evening was dedicated to site seeing which had us marvel over the Ranthambore fort, the old Shiv temple, and Trinetra Ganesh temple after which we were back to our resort.

We had a cultural program followed by watching a documentary on Ranthambore wildlife, which our minds captured throughout. The day ended with interaction and discussions with the students who gave us an insight into how much they had absorbed of the day.

Day 2

The first half of the day was dedicated to safari. The excitement was overwhelming. Ranthambore was declared one of the project tiger reserves in 1973 by the Govt. of India and it went on to become a national park in 1980. Now it is touted as one of the best national parks in the country for tiger sightings.

We were unlucky that particular day as we did not spot a tiger but we did get to see other animals such as the jungle cats, sambar deer, nilgai, common langurs, jackals, etc. We headed back to the resort for lunch. After lunch, we headed to the Tribal wild women’s craft village to explore the crafts and arts which are mostly handled by women.

Village women craft considers ‘craftsmanship’ as a cultural, social, and economic power and keeps the women empowered by making them financially independent. The children were inspired and encouraged to make the same toys from the rag and paintings of tigers with colors and charcoal which they tried with all their inner artistry. The day was called off after a reflection session with healthy discussions

Day 3

This day kick-started with a visit to Yash foundation which is a daycare cum school for mentally handicapped children. The children here are educated and nurtured by competent professionals to achieve physical, social, and financial independence. Our children got the opportunity to meet these children and interact with them.

Had a few playful sessions of reading and writing and free play with these children. Such interactions bring about a sense of completeness and gratitude among children. Then we headed to the Rajiv Gandhi museum. The last trip was to the Amreshwar temple which is right in the middle of the jungle.

The highlight of the day was when we got down from our canter and were climbing the steps of the temple we were greeted by a leopard. There was fear and thrill in the atmosphere and we all rushed into the temple.

We could hear the monkeys hooting and the birds chirping wildly and we knew it was a sign of a wild animal’s presence. The adrenalin rush was to the hilt. After getting back to the resort we ended the day with a meaningful discussion of the events.

Day 4

After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and had a complete plan for the day on hand. We first went to Surwal lake which captivates the heart of all nature lovers with its composed flora and fauna and is a splendor to view and visit. The lake is popular because it is visited by wildlife and migrating birds.

After soaking in the beauty of the lake our children were given the assignment to make a chart on ‘save the tiger’. They had to do it only by using tools from the surroundings as colors or textures. Be it charcoal or sand or mud or husk… our children had brilliant ideas and they worked on them beautifully.

Heading on we reached Dastkar Ranthambore which is an N.G.O that works to resettle communities that had lost access to wood, water, and other necessities due to the formation of the tiger reserve.

This N.G.O now works with more than 300 women artisans to make them financially independent. It produces fashion accessories like bags, scarves, pouches and also cushions, bedspreads, etc using skills in patchwork, hand embroidery, and block printing. Black pottery is done as well.

Our children had their hands on it and made sculptures from the clay and also did block printing on scarves which they got to carry with them. We took a train from Ranthambore at night and reached Vadodara in the morning and Ahmedabad by noon.

This was the end of our Ranthambore trip. This trip was not only recreational but on the whole a fulfilling experience of our traditions and our culture, of nature at its best, of learning through play and of emotions and gratitude. We and the children have innumerable memories of this tour stored in our hearts.

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