Maya, The Vanished Enchantress.


I have been visiting various parks and sanctuaries for almost 14 years now. And have observed different tigers in their natural habitats. I have realized that some tigers are destined to rule, dominate, and regal. Machali, the queen of Ranthambore, is a prime example. She was single-handedly responsible for bringing throngs of tourists and photographers.

A similar story is of Maya – the queen of Tadoba. She is the one who has redefined the experience of sighting a wild tiger in Tadoba. Tourists, enthusiasts, and photographers regularly visited Tadoba just to get a glimpse of her. One would be extremely lucky to see her casually zig-zagging her way through safari rides.  She would gladly oblige her admirers with regular photo sessions oozing with her lazy grace.

If we look at Maya’s biography and lineage, she is the daughter of Leela and Hilltop Male. The territory she controlled was left for her by her mother - Leela.
The original Empress of Tadoba, Mahua Khadda tigress transferred this territory to her fierce and royal tigress daughter, Katrina. Katrina ruled and then she transferred this whole territory to her diplomatic tigress daughter Leela, who throughout her life showed a diplomatic approach with few aggressive instances and left behind this beautiful territory to her favorite daughter tigress. Maya.

On October 22, I was on a full-day safari with one of my clients and I kept talking to them about the popular and beautiful tigress Maya. Our lady guide – Shehnaz was listening to me and then she insisted that the driver take us to Tadoba Lake Road. Since we were on a full-day safari the rest of the gypsies had left and It must have been 10 odd minutes, when we saw Her Majesty, Maya come out and walk on the road.  Her signature Royal Catwalk!  That 45-minute walk was just as mesmerizing as she was! Looking Eye-to-Eye with us…composed and alert head… yet, with that carefree approach soaked in her royal lineage, she walked past our gypsy. We all missed our heartbeats in awe of the royalty. No one could have imagined or wished for this incredible privilege!  

Maya’s behavior does throw light on the indomitable spirit of a tiger mother. She triumphed against all the odds and saved her litter. She showed remarkable presence of mind, boundless patience, and unmatched skill in managing the males  -three key traits that probably define a great Tiger mother along with her obvious ability of hunting regularly to feed the cubs!! She faced enormous challenges and her efforts to retain her queendom and survive amongst so many male tigers must have taken a toll on her! One of the reasons for her disappearance! She epitomizes the lines -“Of all gifts that Nature has to offer to living beings, Mother is the greatest of them all ”


Maya has today become famous globally. Sometime back her image hugging her cub was featured on a postal stamp on World Tiger Day. Tiger Anthem which was created by Nalla Muthu was like a tribute paid by Maya and cub not just to Tadoba but to the world!

Maya has been missing for a while now leaving everyone wondering if one will ever see her and her graceful walk. I have never seen a royal and beautiful tigress, and my heart sinks thinking that perhaps I will never see her again. Maya is an emotion that can only be felt deep within and I will continue to feel it ahead too!






 

Comments

  1. sanjay deshpande17 March 2024 at 04:21

    wonderful way to tribute all time gretest queen of tadoba.. keep writing!

    ReplyDelete

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