Ram Milan -Driver and Friend

This is the wonderful Ram Milan. He was our driver in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reservation. He was named after Lord Rama, the legendary prince sent by the gods to show men how to behave.

In the story of the Ramayana, Lord Rama, his wife Sita and his brother Lakshman are exiled from his kingdom for fourteen years. During all that time they lived in the forest. And where was that forest? Bandhavgarh! The very same forest where we had come to see tigers.

Rama, Sita and Lakshman wandered about the forest on foot. Some Indian tourists we met told us that they had seen the imprint of Lord Rama's foot in the forest the previous day.

Lord Rama and his wife Sita

Our Ram drove a jeep on unpaved forest tracks, full of bumps and gullies. From time to time a couple of monkeys, the occasional deer, a peacock or a tiger would cross in front of us. Ram carefully avoided all the animals and as many bumps and gullies as possible. That kind of driving is difficult, it demands focus and skill but, with Ram at the wheel, we felt totally safe.

The forest road, some wildlife and and our shadows

When you book a safari in Bandhavgarh you must take a Forest Service guide with you. We took five different forays into the forest and had five different guides. Some were better than others. Ram is a driver, not an official guide but he was a better guide than all of them.

Forest traffic

Once he realised that we were interested in all the wildlife and not just the tigers, he took great delight in spotting animals and birds that we would have definitely missed. His knowledge of the flora and fauna was extraordinary. He could listen for alarm calls, spot leopard tracks, tiger scatt, elephant damage, small animals, snakes, birds, and drive immaculately all at the same time! He has what he called "forest eyes."

Since we've come home to Ireland Ram has continued to send us photos and videos of Bandhavgarh wildlife. So if ever you get the chance to go there ask for Ram as your driver.

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