A typical tiger tourist wants to book in advance, secure his place, enter the forest gates, go for sorties and head out with hundred shots of a tiger (if he is lucky enough to catch a glimpse). The not-so-lucky tourist comes out feeling short-changed by his driver, guide and the forest and decides he will make his next jungle plan to Bandhavgarh or Ranthambore for he has heard that one is sure to spot a tiger in those National Parks.
But Jim Corbett National Park (nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas), famous for its tigers, does not merely exist within the gates and is a dream green travel destination. The passion, the ‘thrill of chase’, love and all that falls in between is being recreated outside the ‘official gates’ by people who have left their 100-watt city existence to be in this forest where, like its species and sub-species, they live and evolve together to make jungles not an escape but a life time engagement.
Photo credit: Guri Marwah
“Insiders? I don’t know what insider means. The forest staff and officials consider themselves insiders. I am just a lover of the forest. I kept coming for 16 years without sighting a single tiger but the love of the forest drew me back – over and over again,” says Geeta Bhatnagar, who is currently making her dream home near the park.
She has been taking people inside the jungle for years and is one woman who has a voice that people will hear in the much male-dominated world of tiger lovers. Do people look shocked when they see a woman driving in the jungles? Of course they do! But she carries on. Fearless and fun. “I am more scared of an aggressive Indian male homosapien on the road than a bull elephant in ‘mast’,” she laughs.
For Guri Marwah of Minovet’s Nest, the love affair began with Jim Corbett’s The Man-Eaters of Kumaon and Jungle Picture by Norah Burke, taught in school. “As a kid, I had the good fortune of spending a lot of time in the forests of Terai and Bhabhar (both well covered by Corbett and Burke). As an adult, the passion materialized into Joint Adventure as a window to showcase the forest, wildlife and history to visitors. Birding and photography followed. I have sighted 120 species of birds just in and around Minovet’s Nest, my home. It was gift to my wife on her 50th Birthday. Her pet name is Meenu and I call her Minovet at times after the beautiful bird, the Scarlet Minovet, a winter visitor at home.”
The story extends beyond the compass points of self-discovery, passion and love as Guri engages the local kids by taking them on walks and educating them on on preservation of our forests and wildlife with special emphasis on keeping the environment clean. “We sometimes end up collecting sacks of garbage strewn by the uninitiated visitors. It feels great to sensitize the kids to such things,” he adds.
While Geeta and Guri grew up loving the jungles, for Sunando Sen of Tanhau, it was love at first sight. He visited Nainital-Ranikhet-Cobett with his family after his tenth grade exams; it was his first visit to Corbett National Park and he visited many National Parks across India after but none held him like Corbett. “It was wild and beautiful. And the fact that the tigers in Corbett were elusive enhanced the appeal. Love struck, I started visiting Corbett as frequently as I could, exploring both the park as well as the greater Corbett landscape. The love got anchored with Tanhau, my personal refuge and paradise. A place where I feel in complete harmony with nature.”
Tanhau. Photo: Sunando Sen
Sunando and Chaitali, his wife, have built, planted and developed Tanhau with a lot of care. Walk with them around their property spread over three levels and they will point at a tree and tell you exactly when the sapling was planted and where it came from or spots where they place the night vision cameras to catch the night visitors – leopards, wild cats and even the big stripes. Yes!
View from Tanhau. Photo: Sunando Sen
They also run a ‘Livestock Compensation Scheme’ whereby they compensate villagers around a 5 km radius in case their goats/ cattle are killed by big cats. “Quick compensation greatly reduces the chances of villagers poisoning the kill in retaliation,” he quips.
Life is not all rosy for our lovers they constantly negotiate with things we take for granted in cities – water, electricity, connectivity, daily supplies, groceries and even available skills. And of course there are the enjoyable challenges of wild animals in their backyards or eating what they grow.
But our lovers are fully aware ‘The course of true love never did run smooth.’ And they go on sharing their wealth of knowledge, conserving the forest in their small ways to allow wildlife to grow and flourish.
It’s a perfect marriage.
Meanwhile, if you do make a trip to Corbett, meet them, see their spaces and you will be transformed from a Typical Tiger Tourist to a jungle lover. It’s what they do! For they are in love…
PS: Corbett National Park has many loves. There will be a Part 2 to this.
Jim Corbett National Park, which is a part of the larger Corbett Tiger Reserve, a Project Tiger Reserve lies in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand in India. Fabled for its tiger richness, it was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park and later renamed after the legendary tiger hunter and tracker-turned-conservationist, author and naturalist, Jim Corbett.
It is also honored as the place where Project Tiger was first launched in 1973.
About the Writer:
Shriti K. Tyagi , the founder of Beyond Bombay, hopes to make Jim Corbett her home in the near future. To book her Bombay & Delhi walking tours, email: [email protected]