It was a very beautiful sight. Three male peacocks were in the same flock. A little further away from the peacocks, the antelope species Laguna and Chital were grazing in their own tune. It was very pleasant to see these creatures enjoying themselves in one place under the cover of a small tree. At that moment, a pheasant was seen flying in the sky.

The people in the jungle safari jeep started counting the deer, 1, 2, 3, 4... . Conservationist and nature guide DB Chaudhary said, ‘Yes, earlier, up to 26 deer were counted at once  We were near the grassland of the Model Intermediate Community Forest under Kawasoti Municipality in Nawalparasi (East of Bardaghat Susta).

In this intermediate forest grassland managed by the community, next to the Chitwan National Park, the Laguna grazes along with a herd of deer. The slightly larger Sambar Deer is also there. When the deer called, all three peacocks responded. The Chitbal and Laguna ran towards the bush as if alert. DB's face was bright.

'When the Sambar Deer calls, it means that a tiger is somewhere. Come on, the chances of seeing a tiger today are very high,' DB said this with complete confidence, and my mind started to race. I am a person who has never seen a tiger in my life. I am the only one and Ishwar Joshi Dai, the BBC Nepali Service's Chitwan correspondent, who is sitting next to me, has not seen a tiger in the forest till this age.

It has been more than 25 years since I started going to Chitwan National Park. We saw many animals, big and small, living there, but no tiger, not even a glimpse of it. We waited for hours to see a tiger in the remote west area of ​​the park, up to Devital. We went even further than that. We also wandered in the Tiger Tops area and waited. We also wandered around the intermediate community forest where tigers can be seen.

We have not gone to many places in the east and west of Chitwan National Park. We have not crossed the park from north to south through Sauraha Madi and Kasara Madi. According to the latest census, there are 355 tigers in Nepal. The largest number of tigers, 128, are in the Chitwan National Park. But we have to say that we have not seen a tiger even after visiting the park three hundred times. What else can be an irony like this?

We have seen injured tigers who have entered the settlement, or who have suddenly come to the settlement and are rescued by being chased. But the hope of meeting a tiger in its own habitat, the forest, was full of hope.

Many people have said many times that it is possible to see a tiger like DB. But in the end, we had to say, 'The tiger saw us, we could not see it.' Tigers are shy, they hide as soon as they get a signal from humans. That is why we were satisfied that the tiger hid after seeing us.

After Sambar sounded the ‘alarm’, DB outlined the rules of conduct to be followed to see a tiger. ‘Let’s go there and wait and listen for some clear signal. Don’t make any noise,’ DB warned. And our safari jeep headed east and turned right after reaching a little further. The Narayani River is about four to five hundred meters beyond there. Across the river is Chitwan National Park.

The jeep headed south and stopped. After a while, DB signaled that the tiger was roaring quietly. But I didn’t hear the tiger roar. After a while, I also heard the tiger roar. Then DB signaled the jeep to move forward. After going a little lower, the road leading east came. The jeep turned towards that direction. After going a little further, he signaled to stop the jeep. He also asked to turn off the start. On the left, there is a wide grassy field of the model central community forest. The small grass has dried up and is the color of a tiger. There is no sign of movement in it. No matter how much I stand and look, I cannot see a tiger in a place where the grass is almost up to the waist. How can I see a tiger? My mind began to wander. The sun looking west has become very dim. I was worried that the sun would not set today. But at that moment, the tiger roared, making my heart tremble. Immediately, the DB gestured to the jeep driver, 'Quickly back up, back up.' The jeep came and sat down. DB said slowly, ‘Look ahead, after a while the tiger will come down this road.’ We were just waiting for this moment when the tiger came out of the grassy field towards the road.’

A tiger caught my eye. For the first time in my life, I could see a tiger so close, in its own habitat, when it was completely in its own rhythm. This year, on the 10th of Poush, 2082, as the sun was setting, I could see a tiger for the first time in the forest. The moment I had been waiting for for years. The color of the grass and the color of the tiger were the same. But the light coming from the west was mixed with the dust of the road, and the tiger was bright because that light hit my body. The tiger walked away for a while. The tiger, which was in front of my eyes for the first time, turned around to meet my eyes.

At this time, my heart sank. The tiger crossed the road and went down. DB said again slowly, ‘Let’s wait a bit, the tiger will return.’ We waited by moving the jeep a little further. There was a little grass on the road. The tiger was seen in the grass. After a while, the tiger came out of the lower part and came onto the road and walked forward. After walking a little, it entered the main grassland area to the north.

We were able to see the tiger with a deadpan. We thanked DB. He added, ‘Shall we see it again?’ The sun was setting, so the jeep picked up its natural speed after saying that what we had seen was enough. After a little while, it crossed the grassland and went to the fireline.

When we reached there, the tiger was seen right in the fireline. For the first time in my life, I saw the same tiger three times. Our story is an example of how difficult it is to see a tiger in a forest where tigers live. But DB Chaudhary's insight and guidance showed how experienced a guide must be to see a tiger. Without DB Chaudhary, we would hardly have been able to see a tiger.