Bahadur: The Old Man of Jhalana

There are wildlife sightings. And then there are introductions!

Our introduction to Bahadur at Jhalana Leopard Reserve was very much the latter.

Jhalana is a bit of a revelation. A leopard reserve almost in the heart of Jaipur, barely 20 minutes from the airport, and yet once you enter, the city disappears. It is wild, green, and surprisingly intimate. Here, the leopard is very much the apex predator.

Everyone mostly look for Rana, the young, iconic leopard of Jhalana whose photographs have travelled far beyond the reserve. But Rana had apparently been invisible for almost a couple of weeks.

So, no Rana for us!

Instead, Bahadur decided to make an entrance.

First, tentatively! And then!

And what an entrance.

We were driving along when suddenly there he was, right in front of our Gypsy. No drama. No disappearing into the bushes. No looking over his shoulder and wondering whether we had spotted him.

He simply walked. And we followed. Or rather, he walked and we kept reversing.

For what felt like an extraordinarily long time, Bahadur kept following! Completely nonchalant about the four humans staring at him from the vehicle ahead.

It was my first proper leopard sighting up close and personal, and I was completely unprepared for just how unconcerned he would be about us. Perhaps that is what being the apex predator does to one’s confidence!

Bahadur is old. Really old.

His face carries the evidence of a life well lived, or, more accurately, a life well fought. The skin around his face has loosened, the features have become deeply lined, and there is something almost wonderfully weathered about him.

He has that unmistakable “been there, done that” look. He is the old patriarch of Jhalana, believed to have fathered much of the leopard population here, including Rana.

Our little safari group of Umang, Rajesh Bathija and Himanshu Khanna, with Atul joining us again after Sonkhaliya and our young driver Shakti could barely believe our luck.

Bahadur kept giving us one frame after another. Headshots. Side profiles.

And then, at one point, he stopped to chew on some grass! A leopard. Chewing grass… 

Apparently, even apex predators have their digestion to take care of! 🙂 Or may be … Bahadur simply felt like having a salad between photo sessions! 🙂 I prefer the last explanation!

And then came the flower.

For one fleeting moment, he stood amidst the greens, his weather-beaten face turning just so, looking almost as though he might lean forward and smell a flower.

Almost!! That would have been the ultimate frame. The apex predator of Jhalana, the old patriarch, the legendary Bahadur stopping to smell the flowers.

But no such luck. He had a reputation to maintain!!

The throne:  If there is one piece of real estate in Jhalana that seems to belong to Bahadur, it is the watchtower.

Photographs of him perched there, sitting almost like royalty on his elevated throne, have become part of the visual folklore of Jhalana. I had seen one such photograph by Kriti Walia before this trip. So when Bahadur eventually made his way towards the watchtower, you can imagine the anticipation.

He climbed. Up to the first floor.

We waited.

Surely this was it.

The legendary Bahadur. The watchtower. The throne-like pose.

And then…

He turned around.

No royal portrait for us! Clearly, Bahadur has been photographed enough times in his life and wasn’t interested in repeating himself for yet another group of tourists.

Fair enough. He had already given us 30 minutes. And what 30 minutes they were.

Finally, the Patriarch gave us that last look! He knew it was time for us to leave him!

Thanks, old guy!