The trip to Puri was followed by a visit to the historic site of the Khandagiri caves and the Nandankanan National Park. The day kick started with an over excited bunch of young students...eager to set out and explore the rest of the city. The blazing sun could not lessen the enthusiasm of the students as they set forth for the adventure. On reaching the Khandagiri Caves...we were stormed by hawkers selling peanuts for the troop of monkeys that we were to encounter inside. After a refreshing drink of "nariyal paani" we entered the gates of the caves. The sight inside was mind boggling. The architecture of the place was a feast to the eyes. Something worth all the energy the increasing heat was draining out of us. As we trekked along the short path..among laughter and jokes from the guys and a photo session in between, many of us were exhausted. The faculty accompanying us were engrossed in narrating incidents from past experiences. The entire place was filled with a serenity that left us speechless.
We then headed on to the Nandankanan National Park, though honestly we were a bit less enthusiastic than before. The bus ride to the place was dull as most of us had unintentionally taken a short nap.
Once we reached, the park seemed quite appealing. It had a lot of natural beauty to offer, with its wide range of fauna. As soon as we entered, we noticed animals like deer, zebras and the likes. The terrific add-on to the thrill was when we were informed that there was a jungle safari in store for us...to look out for the greatest beasts of the jungle, the tiger and the lion...the only difference being that we were hunting for the white tiger..a rare species.
The guide did promise us that he would provide us with a splendid view of the beasts. True to his word, it was not even ten minutes into the safari when we spotted the gigantic white tiger, prowling freely in the open forest, hoping to get himself a drink of water. Commotion spread out in the bus as we were struggling to get glimpses and perfect shots of the tiger. I remember someone even commented "oh!!what a handsome tiger", truly, in my opinion no one had seen such a beautiful sight in their life.
With the impression of the tiger (and mind you...thats still imprinted on my mind...even as I type..I can feel the goosebumps..) still in our heads we went on to hunt for the "king of the jungle". Again, with our good luck, it did not take us long to spot the pair of lions eyeing us from behind a shrub. The amazement blew over all of us...adding on all the fun was the continuous chatter of the Guide who proved to be very informative.
Once out of the safari..we went on for a packed lunch and then continued to examine the rest of the place where we saw orangutans...caged lions..tigers...gorillas...monkeys..and a stream of a lot of other rare and common animals and birds. The interesting fact was that all the animals had been assigned names and birthdays. Names given were mostly Indian ( one tigress was named Rakhi Sawant as well...and she was a bombshell, i tell you..). A great effort was put in by the officials to make them as comfortable as they would be in their natural habitats. We left the park with little energy but a great experience.
We were also taken to visit the malls of the city...for which very less time was given..as we were told that these places could be visited every week..
To sum up..the entire day was a great one..with the memories of it still fresh in our minds.
We returned to the campus...exhausted and yet excited.
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