The adrenaline rush of anticipating a face-off with a tiger in the scorching mid-March heat at Jim Corbett National Park, is unparalleled. As the sun rose that morning, we drove into jungle with our trusted lieutenant, Kunwar Singh Rawat, an accomplished naturalist. The excitement was palpable, when he alerted us after spotting the pugmarks of a tiger.

"Keep looking around, he is here," he said in a hushed tone. Rawat instructed our driver to stop the engine of our gypsy and asked us to stay calm. With our eyes popping out in expectation, each one of us scanned every corner of the jungle, for the magic to unfold. We had our heart set on every move and every voice in the bushes. While our pulses raced in the hope of witnessing the wild cat in its home territory, the chirping birds in different sizes and colours made for a soothing sight.