That’s when the driver of our 4x4 Jeep kills the engine in the heart of the dense wilderness.

“We are just listening,” my guide, Batti, says from the front seat.

“No walkie talkies, but we do have monkeys.”

A tigeress with her two juvenile cubs (Bengal tigers, also called “Royal Tiger”, Panthera tigris tigris) walking on a road in the green jungle. In the background a car with tourists and photographers is visible

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At this point, anything will do.

Word has it two tiger cubs were spotted in the vicinity before vanishing into the brush like phantom cats.

Now, amidst a sea of camouflaged tourists and telephoto lenses, again, we wait.

The Oberoi Vanyavilas Wildlife Resort aerial view in Ranthambhore

Courtesy of The Oberoi Vanyavilas Wildlife Resort

At nine months old, they’remuchbigger than my mind imagined the cubs to be.

“It gives the feel of the ‘Jungle Book,'” Sachin says.

It does in fact, the jungles of India were the muse for Rudyard Kipling’s famous 19th-century tome.

Indian wild royal bengal tigers on hunt at dhikala zone of Corbett national park or tiger reserve india - panthera tigris tigris

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Children playing cricket in dirt fields.

Honking tuk-tuks and morning prayers aired over loudspeakers.

The aromas of cardamom and incense and marigolds at the local market.

Wild male leopard or panther portrait at jhalana forest reserve jaipur rajasthan india - panthera pardus fusca

Sourabh Bharti/Getty Images

Wild, Wild East

Dreaming of a safari?

These can’t-miss Indian destinations showcase a swath of unique wildlife.

Corbett Tiger Reserve

Come for the tigers, stay for the wild elephants.

Asiatic Lion in Gir Forest at Sasan Gir, Gujarat, India

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