Living with Tigers
Author: Valmik Thapar
Price: Rs 599
Publishers: Aleph
If you have ever had the privilege of seeing the tiger living freely in its natural habitat, you are likely to believe that there is no other creature on the planet that comes close to its magnificence and splendour. While lions have their royal-looking mane, the tiger, with its sheer size, intimidating eyes, regal countenance and disposition for solitude, inspires greater awe than any other big creature of the wild.
The man who has become most prominent as a campaigner for the protection of tigers in the country is Valmik Thapar. For 40 years he has worked in various capacities to help the cause of this wonderful animal who, sadly, now finds itself endangered. Thapar has also been a prolific writer and his latest work, Living with Tigers, is his 30th book. You would wonder what he has got to offer in this latest book after having penned so many before. The answer to that lies in the advice given to him by David Davidar, co-founder of Aleph Book Company, which is quoted right at the end of the book: “‘You’ve written twenty-nine books,’ he [David] said to me one day, ‘but there is not one that has all your favourite tigers and your best encounters in one volume. Do it for posterity and keep it simple.’” This is precisely what Thapar does in this book.
There are eight chapters here and each one, except the last, is dedicated to a particular tiger that Thapar closely observed at the Ranthambore National Park from the late 1970s till now. These tigers are those which, according to the author, “are the special ones, the ones who taught me everything I know about tigers, the ones who, by letting me into their lives, made my own life truly worth living”.
The description of each tiger and its activities are both delightful and enthralling. The fact that Thapar is not a scientist or wildlife biologist means that his accounts are in a language that would easily connect with the reader. Rather than a dry scientific assessment of the tiger’s behavior, Thapar gives an enchanting picture of the lives and habits of these very special tigers in Ranthambore and conveys the emotions and excitement felt by him as an enthralled onlooker. Especially delightful are the descriptions of how female tigresses rear their cubs and care for them. This will move the heart of any reader not lacking emotions and the author describes how he himself couldn’t contain himself on seeing a tigress called Laxmi, described as an exceptional mother in the book, with her cubs: “She sat very still, looking at me. At first I did not see what was around her. Suddenly I realized that three tiny cubs were peeping around a bush. Soon she relaxed and all three cubs came out to cuddle her. She licked them vigorously… As she licked her cubs I realised that another aspect of the tiger’s secret life was unfolding before my very eyes. The cubs slowly found her teats and she lay back to suckle them… There tiny feet pushed away at her belly stimulating the flow of milk, as they suckled furiously. Then…they jumped around her head and stalked a butterfly. One of them jumped on her back and another pulled at her tail while she licked the third cub. I watched this family drama for a half hour. Tears rolled down my cheeks as a tangle of emotions exploded within… Here I was witnessing the tender care, the devotion and a mother’s love.”
Thapar gives an enchanting picture of the lives and habits of these very special tigers in Ranthambore and conveys the emotions and excitement felt by him as an enthralled onlooker.
While the book is about the author’s personal experiences, it inevitably gives a ringside view of the history of the park since its creation. Every chapter provides details of how Fateh Singh, the man-in-charge of the park and a close friend of the author, went about turning Ranthambore from a normal forest area inhabited by humans to a pristine tiger reserve which gained international fame as the best place to visit for experiencing tigers in their natural habitat. The dedication of Fateh Singh to the cause of tigers is brought to light vividly in this book. There is a mention of an incident where Singh confronted a large number of people entering the reserve with weapons and was badly beaten by them. There are also instances where Thapar and other members of the staff found themselves in precarious positions close to the tiger but managed to survive. This amount of dedication inspires admiration for all these persons who have committed their lives to making sure that future generations get the opportunity to see this glorious beast ruling its natural domain.
The vivid and richly colourful description of the geography of Ranthambore national park, with its thickets, bushes, lakes, ravines, gorges and old palaces which have now become the abode of the kings and queens of the jungle would transport your mind to that place. What the author also manages to do is not allow the many descriptions of tiger’s hunting expeditions to become repetitive by highlighting unique aspects of every such occurrence that is mentioned. The book also challenges the long-established belief that unlike the lion, the male tiger takes no part in the upbringing of his offspring and even poses a mortal threat to the male cubs, by narrating many incidents of the male playing the role of an active father.
In the last two chapters of the book, Thapar expresses his exasperation with the system in India and informs the reader about the measures that needed to be taken for improving the tiger’s prospects. He also talks about the ignorance of people, many of those in the system, regarding the animal and how many of their ideas and actions are further endangering the
species.
The book hint at the strong emotional bond that Thapar has established with the tigers of Ranthambore over the years, and leaves the reader both delighted with the accounts and concerned about the future.