A One Hour Television documentary and Digital Cinema Surround Sound 5.1 Production
Carol Amore, Executive Producer
Tiger Worship
High in the Hills of Bandhavgarh National Park, where the sacred waters emerge from the earth, there is an ancient place of pilgrimage, hallowed ground for more than 2000 years. With spiritual grace, a Sadhu or holyman, wades into the water cupping his hands and raising the water as an offering to the sun. Glistening drops fall as he chants, "Ommmm" spreading ripples through the water catching the sun's rays like a morphing of the tiger's black and orange stripes blending into the landscape. Tigers have a special place deep in the heart of Indian culture by inspiring fear, fascination and even devotion.
Bachhi The Tigress
In the splendid isolation of this Indian jungle, Bachhi, a 6 year old Bengal tigress whose name means "young girl", raises her two young cubs. But their forest home is a place of danger, we will watch her cubs face their greatest challenges - learning to live and survive the jungle's threats - leopards, sloth bears, snakes, and other male tigers. At 5 months of age, the two cubs are still nursing and completely dependent onm their mother.
Badi & Choti, Cubs at Play
Over the next 3 months, each cub will develop individual affection and aggression body gestures combined with unique sound communication styles that mimic their mother as they grow rapidly. Presently, the 2 female cubs display very different personalities. Badi - whose name is Hindi for "big" - is the larger of the 2, and the more aggressive. Her little sister Choti - whose name means "smalll" is more timid and more affectionate, clinging to her mother whenever she can. For a young predator, growing up fast can determine life and death survival especially in finding food from the hunt. With no permanent home, she moves her cubs to another shelter every 2 to 3 days adding to the challenge of tracking them.
Elephant Puja
And in the tiger's struggle to survive, they have found important allies: Man and Elephant - tracking the tigers in order to save them. Theirs is an urgent mission... a race against time... to preserve these legendary creatures and their wild world. Today, like everyday, Man, Elephant and Tiger join in a strange and wonderful partnership - one upon which their mutual survival depends. Once the private hunting grounds of Maharajahs, India's Tiger reserves have become havens not only fo the Tiger and thousands of other forest creatures, but also for a 5000-year-old alliance between Man and Beast - the mightiest and one of the most intelligent land creatures.
Dayaram and Lalu, Tiger Trackers
Dayaram, an elephant mahavat and forest guard, is carried by Wanraj, his trusted elephant, through the forest daily to keep an eye on 8 of the 30 or so tigers dispersed throughout the park - Bachhi and her cubs are under his protection. In parallel lives, Dayaram brings along his own young cub, Lalu, so he can experience for himself a mahavat's life. Riding 10 feet above the foret floor, they look for Bachhi's tracks or pugmarks in the thick dust of the road which are distinctly rectangular. They find the tigress and her cubs at play and unalarmed by the presence of the elephant. Even with tigers accustomed to elephants approaching is still risky.
Charger, Noble Monarch
Charger, a 17 year old male tiger, is Bachhi's father and he's also the father of her cubs. Such inbreeding is not unusual in a small tiger population like that of Bandhavgarh. Charger has dominated this territory for most of a decade. But now he is part his prime. No longer the undisputed master of his range, he's being challenged by a younger, stronger male.
Charger's rival is his own son, Banda. Banda feels no loyalty to his father. In fact, he's claimed part of Charger's range as his own. Three years old, Banda is already a masterful hunter, at the top of his game. But like any adult male, he poses a real threat to Bachhi's young cubs.
Ek Khahani Sher Ki
In India, the Tiger carries the warrior goddess Durga. Together Tiger and Goddess embody the invincible power of the Earth Mother. Together, they slay demons, but they also insure fertility - a role this tigress has taken to heart. For Bachhi, as she raises her tiger cubs she is a fierce defender and a loving mother. Under the protective eyes of Mahavat and Elephant - it is their great skill in tracking that wins us access into the intimate dramas of this wild tiger family.