Pench, Madhya Pradesh:
After lending his voice to Abhishek Bachchan and Shahid Kapoor, award-winning playback singer Mohit Chauhan is now singing for the cause of the disappearing tigers. In fact he has penned down a special song for the tigers. It's called 'jeene de' and is part of his album Fitoor.
This soulful rendition seemed to come alive in the jungles of the Pench National Park, situated in Seoni and Chhindwara districts of Madhya Pradesh, after Chauhan's first visit to the Pench Tiger Reserve - that's home to over 30 tigers.
It is also a melancholic reminder of the biggest crisis of the wild. At the turn of the last century, there were 40,000 tigers in Indian forests, and today, only an estimated 1,400 remain.
As a new tiger census gets underway, Mohit Chauhan is here to contribute through his music, lending his voice to the cause of saving the tiger.
Mohit says the song was penned a few years ago when he was travelling in the wilderness with his friend. He also insists that it is not a song that is out to preach to people but he hopes it will encourage others to do their bit to save this beautiful creature. He added, "I think it's absolutely important to make sure that they have a safe haven to live amongst us.''
As we travelled in the jungles, braving the biting cold and the chilly early morning winds, one sight took our breath away. We were lucky to spot a family of five tigers relaxing after a hearty meal. The mother and her four cubs looked magnificent - strikingly beautiful creatures who combined both ferocity and grace. Mohit's first association at the sight of the family was his song, "One thing that made this experience of Pench is that for the first time I sighted a tiger family. They were sitting by the side of a kill they had made which is exactly what I am talking about in my song ''chal raha tha caravan" and in my head it's actually a family. It's not a lone tiger, that's all powerful."
It was indeed a rare sight, aware that poaching and depleting forests may take this away forever. But what Julian Matthews, founder of a voluntary body called Travel Operators for Tigers (TOFT) told us was shocking. Matthews said, ''There is some evidence that poachers are now knocking down tigers unconscious. They are skinning them while they are still conscious. They say the fur is better that has more lustre and can get them more money in the market. This is the most terrifying news that this is happening.''
As we left the tigers to enjoy their nap, Julian words are more than just an alarm bell. They were a grim reminder that so long as the demand for tiger products doesn't stop, the supply won't. But Julian also feels that there is a way in which people's participation in tiger conservation can be increased.
"The whole basis of conserving is not about nature, it is about people. If we don't look after the people surrounding the place, and if they don't have the value of preserving it in their pockets then, they are not going to preserve it. We need to turn wildlife tourism sector to their advantage and make sure the benefits are also going to them. My own experience suggests that where there is tourism there are tigers. And that's the reality", he says.
Rudyard Kipling, who wrote the famous 'Jungle Book', took his inspiration from these jungles of Pench. He also said - the jungle talks to me because I know how to listen.
Perhaps it's time we start listening as well.