The Untitled Story : Part 3

 

Simlipal National Park is situated in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha (formerly Orissa) in India. The total area of the park is 2,750 sq km with a core area of 850 km². The area is a plateau with various scenic peaks. Similipal remains open from 1 November to 15 June only.

This is the largest wildlife sanctuary in India. Popular inhabitants of the forest are tigers, antelope, deer, nilgai, leopards, bear, crocodile, and elephants. This park has many waterfalls and a crocodile sanctuary nearby.

One can enter Similipal through Pithabata (22 km from Baripada) or by Joshipur. 

The old guest house is in dilapidated condition as a consequence, a modern resort, Lulung Aranya Nivas has recently been developed in the middle of the park. Odisha Tourism has also prepared a number of Forest rest houses within the forest. Visitors can also stay at Baripada or Jashipur in private hotels.

Lulung Aranya Nivas has three differen rooms. The River Side Cottages are located by the river Palpala and also come with a balcony. The Executive Grand is the suit providing two king-size beds and ample living space. The Meadow Suites are luxury accommodations with a lawn at the front, a courtyard at the back, and an open-to-sky bath. In addition, there are the Wooden Cottages which provide a panoramic view of the resort and the surrounding areas.

On Friday, a group of five people checked in the resort. They have advanced booking. Rusha, the receptionist of the resort, was observing them. The group was led by someone known as Ganesh and he is from Kerala as per the ID submitted by him. The other two members are from Mumbai and the remaining two are from Bhubaneswar. The group is roaming here and there looking at the different facilities of the resort but using none of them. They have booked the Meadow suite in the Eastern fringe of the resort.

Although they are roaming here and there, communication between themselves seems to be minimum. They have booked the suite for five days. Another surprising activity of the group is they are not moving out of the resort nor thy are availing of any safaris or any other sightseeing services.

Above all, they are not at all behaving like a normal tourist. Rusha who was observing them from the entry of the group into the resort has been highly suspicious about the objective of the group for visiting Lulung. As is the customs of the resort, she has informed her manager about the group and their activity. The manager has noted her words but has taken no action in this regard to avoid any conundrums among the other boarders of the resort. This resort has suffered a lot during the Covid times and now that the stream of visitors is attaining the pre-covid level he will seldom do something which will disturb this trend. This hotel is his livelihood. After a long struggle he has finally acquired this job and he does not want to lose it by any means.

As usual, darkness engulfed Simplipar very quickly after the sunset. Boarders have started to take dinners in the lounge area and also in their respective cottages and suits. Ganesh and its group have just finished their daily dose of drinking and ordered chapattis and chicken for their supper.

As the resort is completely isolated from city life there is no noise even talking can be heard. The dinner time of the resort concludes at 10:00pm. After dinner, there is no predefined activity. So all the boarders leave the lounge or restaurant area and move to their respective rooms. So a pin drop silence was existing in the resort. 

Suddenly a large sound of thud was heard and after that tremendous commotion broke out in the hotel which was again engulfed by a gigantic roar from an animal none other than the Royal Bengal Tiger. The sound of Tiger roaring broke the tranquility of the resort. Rusha rushed out of the staff room. She was extremely tired from the day-to-day activities which have increased in the recent months and were taking a rest in her bed. But after coming out of her room and hearing the roar of the Tiger she was shocked to see the wide-scale chaos. 

The boarders were running here and there in their nightgowns. Nationality, Caste, Colour doesn't matter. Everyone is running. running from the beast which no one saw. But the terror of the unknown created a panic which resulted in the commotion in the resort. 

At that moment a large sound of a gunshot was heard and she rushed toward the location of the shot. Rusha is a very level-headed lady. Although she has not got the scope of higher studies. But she is studious, sincere, honest, and above all mature enough to manage any type of uncertainty that may plague the resort. She is a trained MBA and she knows how to manage difficult or chaotic situations. The sound of gunfire has come from the direction where the group led by Ganesh was staying. But the roar of the tiger seems to be coming from outside the resort but very near to the River Palala side.

Wait for the 4th Part.