Tiger

To a majority of people, tiger watch is an exhotic and dramatic pursuit. For some, an unbelievable occupation, but to a minority, it is an absorbing passion. Surviving through its dangers they discover it to be a most spectacular engagement. Rahul Shukla and his photographer friend Yogesh Kumar are probably one of those handful of people for whom the jungle has always been a home and both its innocent and dangerous animals their close and distant companions. The stories in this book are the recollections of the author's encounters with tigers and the profound thrill of chase and love for the denizens of the wild. These episodes of tiger tracking, though separated in time, are brought together under a common theme. The greater material of the book originates from the author's ancestral village Larti, that lies like an island in the middle of Sal jungles adjoining the borders of Kishanpur tiger reserve, a trans-Sharda complex of Dudhwa National Park in North India. Here Rahul spent his boyhood in association with the native hunters, wandering in search of tigers and leopards and other game animals and watching the climactic and ceaseless struggle for survival of both animals and natives-- from very close quarters.

The book approaches the readers with nostalgic sentiments recalling the days of hunting, which is a less understood sport and often deprecated as being pure atavism. You may like or hate it, but tales of hunting invariably arouse interest for their appeal is basic and the opposition they generates is emotional.

No one was neutral to hunting in the environment where Rahul lived. Yet, he was a rather odd person who loved to follow the game in the deep forests with an intention of observing it. He spent long days and nights, waiting by the river in a hide for a glimpse of the striped cats. His observations over a long period around Larti are of riveting interest. The book meticulously traces the author's apparent conflict and enigma since boyhood to youth to show his transformation from an amateur hunter to an ardent conservationist.

Like George Adamson's home at Kora in Kenya or that of Jim Corbett at Kaladhungi. Rahul Shukla's ancestral village Larti stands in the middle of the Sal forests, a few miles from the Nepal border. The place abounds in wildlife of every description and is situated abutting Kishanpur Tiger Reserve, which shelters one of the last remaining large herds of swamp deer in the world. Rahul, a teacher by profession serves as Hon. Wildlife Warden of this huge territory. For many years his home has been this jungle village where he acquired firsthand experience of wild beasts especially tigers. He is Hon. Member/Director of WW.F. Projects, U.P. Chapter. His study on "The Cane Field Tigers in the state of Uttar Pradesh and the Public Service Programme of 'Saving Men from Tigers' has helped to decrease the man- tiger conflict in the Terai. His findings have been acknowledged by the state government to be original experiment in wildlife conservation.

Yogesh Kumar is a 1980 batch L.A.S. officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. Presently he is Principal Secretary Revenue Government of Uttar Pradesh. He has served as district magistrate in Etah, Etawah, Saharanpur and Agra and also as field commissioner in Mirzapur division. A wildlife enthusiast and a cameraman of excellence, his photographs have appeared in several national and international magazines including India Today, Outlook, Kadambini and Friday at Dubai. He has held ten photographic exhibitions.

Prabhas Kumar Jha is a 1981 batch I.A.S. officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. He has served as District magistrate in Mahoba, Hamirpur and including field commissioner of Azamgarh, Jhansi and Allahabad division. He has written two books and several articles on tourism and spirituality.

You need four things to become a wildlife conservationist-a rank in the forest department. a revolver for self-defense, a gypsy to patrol and knowledge of the jungles. After I met Rahul I realized that there is but one more need. Passion. Passion is the prime mover. Perhaps it is Rahul's emotional attachment to the jungles that has made him what he is. Emotions are important for they give you a sense of purpose and belonging for Rahul, these jungles are more than a clump of trees that need to be preserved mechanically.

For him they signify life, they stand as God's own tapestry in which some delicate threads of his own childhood memories have been woven. In the tiger rich wilds of the Terai, few villagers are aware of Dr. Rahul Shukla's urban identity that of a Head of the Department of History in Lucknow Christian Degree College. To them, he is the Honorary Wildlife Warden and a scion of a feudal family that held a large Zamindari at the periphery of a wild kingdom now internationally renowned as Dudhwa National Park. This ecosystem is a treasure trove of biological diversity and harbours millions of species of plants insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Rahul grew up around these jungles in the company of native hunters, observing their grisly methods in game tracking and jungle craft. He spent an exciting time in learning their skills and this passion turned him into a tiger addict and a hardcore conservationist, bestowing him with practical and ethical reasons to start on a long road of conserving wild tigers in the overpopulated state of Uttar Pradesh. I would like to share an experience I had with Rahul while on a much-treasured holiday that a bureaucrat avails. On the road from Lakhimpur Kheri to Pilibhit, a canal of river Sharda runs along south west of the metalled road. Across it lies an extensive marshland created by the seeping water of the canal. It carries hundreds of fresh water ponds surrounded by massive outcrop of dense reed and ekra grass. Weed beds and algae also cover a large part of this wet land. This is a birds' kingdom and winters are the time of the migratory birds.

Thousands take shelter in this area. Large flocks of Wild Geese, Pintails, Shovelers, Brahmini ducks- praised as splendid game birds in the shooting traditions of the past-fill the pond often so densely that they look like a hovering cloud. They present a tempting target indeed. Therefore this is the time for the poachers as well both professional and casual- to get set on their job. They apply indigenous trapping skills to kill and sell them in the market, thus spelling havoc for bird life.