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Recommended Books!
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Saturday, January 14, 2006 "…the night was silent, except for the sounds of the (kitchen) fire, which hissed and cackled as we fed the flames. Then the still air broke. 'aaaaaummm, aaaaaummm -' a soft moan rolling over the hills and through the forest. It was a tigress calling for her mate. Continual. Persistent. Desperate. We listened, unable to delight in the sign of the animal, distressed by the doomed fate of Betla's only tigress, Rani. She was the queen of her forest, but her kingdom was an island. There were no males to woo, tease, tantalize and mate …" Continual. Persistent. Desperate. The call, the cry, of Rani; and of this amazing, beautiful, frightening book, The King and I: Travels in Tigerland, by Prerna Singh Bindra. Who amongst us has not dreamt or fantasised about seeing a tiger in the wild? And how many of us have actually lived out that moment, that first sighting of the tiger's majesty: "an experience so profound that it is deeply etched in my mind and heart, forever"? And this book, this cry, arises directly from that first sighting: "… should I have been scared, hemmed in on all sides by nature's most powerful predator? I wasn't. I just felt blessed. And touched by the trust shown in us humans, even when we had persecuted them ruthlessly. I wanted the moment to last forever, but good times rarely do, and I went away, a firm tiger addict." The big cats - tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard - these are the wonders that Bindra pursues throughout the vanishing forests of India. Pursues with a passion, a love, a fear that fill the "paper forests" of this book, just as the big cats once filled the real forests. Ranthambore, Rajaji, Sundarbans, Gir, Kaziranga, Corbett, Sariska, Manas - the names of the last remaining homes of the big cats echo down the pages of the book like those of famous freedom fighters. Which, truly, they are, for only around 2,000 tigers are alive in today's India; as for lions, there are less than 350 of them left; at least one leopard is killed everyday, and the "fate of the snow leopard is unknown." But - and herein lies the beauty of this book - lamentation is not the true colour, the true echo, of Bindra's cry. It is a cry, above all, of wonder and awe; of pleasure and deep, personal joy; of commitment and care. As you walk the wilds with Bindra, as you feel the chill of the mornings and the velvet fear of the nights, as you sense and hear the sounds of the forest, as you suddenly know for certain that a tiger is close, close at hand, you fall in love with the big cats forever. That is what Bindra does so well in this book, for once you love the tiger forever, you'll want to save it forever. My favourite chapter is the one on the Sunderbans, where the tiger is feared and revered, god and ghost, phantom and fantasy; where water and land are one, where yesterday and today are hand in hand, where "tigers are stuff legends and myths are made of"; and yet, where tomorrow fo r the tiger is the greatest challenge of all. To live in the Sunderbans is to know that the tiger is everywhere; to survive, you must worship the tiger, and understand the tiger. In this land where the common laws of man have almost no meaning, the tiger rules… There is a deep lesson in this for all of us: the tiger must be worshipped and understood; and then be left alone. That is the only way their majesty will survive. As Bindra says again and again in her book, the tiger must be given space and time - to be itself, to grow, to reproduce, to flourish. It is the very least we can do for an animal which is the true 'King of India'. Shed a silent tear It is the need of the hour to employ the concern and anger of the common man and engage society at large in the battle to conserve India's big cats. - Ashok Kumar THE KING AND I: TRAVELS IN TIGERLAND, BY PRERNA SINGH BINDRA, RUPA & CO, RS 495 I must admit to being a little reluctant to review this book, I have known the author for some years and she has, herself, acknowledged that I was mainly responsible for igniting, and then sustaining her interest in wildlife. When I see the finished book, I can justifiably claim that my efforts were not in vain, for she has truly produced one of the most evocative works on the Indian jungles and its denizens, one that reminds very strongly of EP Gee's pathbreaking Wildlife of India, published first in 1964. The aura of the tiger, and the current crisis, has given birth to a spate of books on this magnificent feline, two of them by the acknowledged expert Valmik Thapar. The recently-published Tigers in Red Weather by Ruth Padel has also added to the rich lore now available. Bindra's book differs on two accounts. Her work covers not only the tiger, but takes in its lesser-known, and equally endangered, cousins the leopard, the snow leopard and the Asiatic lion. An Obituary, the chapter on the extinct cheet ah, is one of the finest pieces I have read in recent times on the now-extinct cat. I am glad for its grim presence, for it serves as a reminder that unless we act now, the other felines will join the cheetah in its passage to the netherworld. But what endears the book to me, and I am sure to other readers, is that it targets the lay person - student, lawyer, teacher, housewife, accountant - who have no more than a passing interest in wildlife, who may feel just that tiny pang when they read in the morning newspaper about a bereft Sariska, before getting on with their lives. It draws them into the world of wildlife, weaving an evocative web of words, till they become embroiled in the rich, beautiful kingdom of the tiger. It leaves them with an urgent des ire to visit the big cats' lair, a sense of poignancy at their fragile tomorrow, rage at our ineptness and a commitment to protect them. The book races through many forests across the country and brings them alive to the reader. The author's love for big cats is evident in the writing and takes her to Kanha, Corbett, Ranthambhore, Gir and the lesser known reserves, Namdapha, Manas. Her travelogues have a fresh perspective - she traverses Corbett country, visiting jungles where legendary hunter Jim Corbett had shot man-eaters. Kanha and Pench in Central India are Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book country. The Grey Ghost is the story of an almost unknown, beautiful big cat found in the cold climes of Ladakh. The author builds up the suspense, follows myths, ho pe, legends as she searches for the elusive cat. I shed a silent tear when I read of the fate of the only tiger in Betla in Palamau, a forest under siege by Maoists. I remember a different, richer Palamau that I had last visited two decades ago. My favourite chapter takes us to Chilla in Rajaji, recording with lyrical prose the return of the tiger after a gap of 20 years. She writes, "A little deeper in the jungle, I saw other signs, pugmarks. Bigger than the leopard, smaller than the tiger. One big depression framed by four smaller ones. Not squarish like the male but tapering down to a 'V' surrounded by a mass of tinier prints. A tigress with her cubs. I laughed, then cried, the kind of emotion when happiness takes over. This was a miracle. This was hope. This was a lesson. Leave nature alone. Let the tiger be. Protect it and it will bounce back." I am glad that she has drawn attention to the much beleaguered leopard in The Killing Fields, a cat, she has rightly pointed out, that is even more endangered than the tiger, but has not been able to harness public opinion in its favour unlike its larger cousin. The last two chapters are what makes tiger news today a search in vain, she says, through the sterile forests of Sariska, and the last chapter traces in short the history of tiger conservation, the current crisis, our failure in conserving the tiger and discusses the controversial Tribal Rights Bill, which she says will ensure the end of every bit of wilderness in India: "A cub needs a forest and a healthy prey base if he is to become a tiger, not a school." The writing is matched by stunning photographs taken by some of India's best- known wildlife photographers, and is well designed and produced. One misses the presence of the clouded leopard (the smallest of the big cats in India) in the book. Her passion for the subject is evident, it reaches out and touches the soul of the reader unacquainted with the wild world. As a wildlifer, I am glad. It is the need of the hour to employ the concern and anger of the common man and engage the society at large to battle to conserve India's big cats. Kumar is vice-chairman, Wildlife Trust of India
Published by Sanctuary Asia, Mumbai. Hardcover 10"x12", 168 full colour artworks, 168 colour photographs, 20 other phtographs, 3 maps. ISBN 81-903171-0-5. Price: though the book is priced at Rs 2150/- but is being offered at a special price of Rs 1695/- for birdwatchers and nature lovers, and copies can be ordered at www.sanctuaryasia.com or Sanctuary Asia, Mumbai. The latest on Indian ornithology is this impressive book, just out from the press in 2006. This intensely readable book contains lot of great photographs, clearly written and well edited text. Bikram Grewal and Bittu Sahgal are skilled and knowledgeable names in Indian wildlife circles with impeccable credentials. Both are solid supporters of conservation. This is what the book is about. The photographs are breathtakingly beautiful. Immediately after the Foreword by Padamshree Zafar Futehally, the book covers chapters entitled The Bharatpur Inheritance, Wings of Destiny, Back to the Future, Dr Salim Moiziddin Abdul Ali, Waterworld, In Praise of Plants, A Bharatpur Transition, Seasons in the Sun, The Saga of the Sibes, Creatures Great and Small, Down Memory Lane, The Keeper of the Swamps, The Wilderness Trail, The Bird Ambassador, Securing the Future, Voices from the Past, A Bharatpur Checklist and then ends with Faces Behind the Book, Acknowledgements, Glossary, Bibliography and Index. ''One of the finest books on the national park'' - Prerna Singh Bindra My last visit to Bharatpur, almost nine months back was an incredibly sad one - it wasn't a wetland any more, but a parched piece of earth, where the weary avian visitors found little succour. Sibes, ofcourse, were fond memories of the past, numbers of others had dwindled alarmingly. And while the rain this monsoon has come as a relief, water levels are again, and given the delicate politics of the situation, water will not be released into the park to appease a vote bank. The future of this incredible wetland is uncertain, if not bleak. Against this backdrop (and otherwise, too), The Bharatpur Inheritance can only be exceedingly welcome. Look, really look, through the book, the photographs tell a beautiful, touching story. The images bring to life the wealth of this fragile forest, and the one nagging question that refuses to go away, long after the book is back on the shelf is: How can we, any of us, let Bharatpur die? The book is a classic combination of pictures and words designed to melt the most indifferent heart, and covers just about all you wanted to know about Bharatpur - its very interesting, if bloody, history, the culture, the people who nurtured it, its avian visitors, both past and present, and the other lesser-known mammals, a 'birding' calendar - all written by the best-known voices in the ornithological and natural history world. It traces the saga of the Siberian Cranes, includes an interesting chapter on the rickshawpullers of the park and makes an urgent appeal for a secure future for this unique wetland.
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This book is a collection of articles that have mostly been published previously in various magazines over a period of more than 30 years. Yet, the account of what the subtitle terms a naturalist's journey through South and Southeast Asia is remarkable for its continuity. And the journey is tremendous. The author transports the reader through wild areas located all over the expanse of India and beyond. The journey begins in southern India, at its tip in fact, and explores various wildlife reserves, some better known than others. Then it proceeds through the great forests of central India. The sanctuaries of the Himalaya and the foothills are the next. Wildlife enthusiast A few chapters take the reader to Northeast India, and the journey ends with a look at Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Vietnam. The tour covers places as diverse as Neyyar in Kerala, Gir in Gujarat, the cold desert of Pin Valley, and the little known Pakhui of Arunachal Pradesh. This broad scope is reminiscent of E.P. Gee's Wildlife of India. This book is distinct, however. A wildlife enthusiast's experience in wilderness is greatly influenced by the specific group of animals or plants he or she is interested in. It tends to be focussed on and centred on that group. A butterfly watcher's perception of Periyar Tiger Reserve, for example, is likely to be rather different from that of a devotee of elephants. But each chapter in the book is like a trip to a wildlife reserve with an interest in everything. The author guides the reader through each sanctuary, pointing out the living things, the trees, the birds, the insects and, of course, the `big game'. He recounts to the reader the history of the sanctuary and describes the wildlife research that has been conducted there. In simple terms he explains the conservation problems specific to that sanctuary. Everywhere the author takes the reader on walks. Often there is company on these walks in the form of people such as Charles McDougal, who has studied tigers in Nepal, or Ravi Chellam, who radio-collared lions when he carried out research on them. Those who know the author have described him as an indefatigable walker. His enjoyment of trekking is evident in his descriptions of hikes in various terrains. Similarly, the author's passion for fishing, his interest in the `mahseer' in particular, is a theme that occurs throughout the book. The conservationist The book therefore provides a personal view of wild India, but on account of the wide-ranging interests of the author and the various hats he dons simultaneously - those of the naturalist, the trekker, the conservationist, the teacher, the angler - the view is broad. It is as the conservationist concerned about the welfare of the wildlife that the author concludes each chapter. He gives recommendations to restore the forest to its natural state and to raise the number of the wild creatures. He offers these with optimism, confident that the conflicts with humans can be overcome and that wildlife can flourish again. Many books have been written on the wildlife of the Indian region. This book is unique in its breadth and in the perspective it provides. It will be of interest to the wildlife enthusiast and to the traveller. It provides a wealth of information for the conservationist. There is a sprinkling of anecdotes in the book. These range from a hilarious description of an episode involving a milkman in Rajaji National Park to a chilling account of an encounter with a bull elephant in Bandipur. Journeys in wild country provide an abundance of such stories, and the general reader would have enjoyed more of these. |
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