If you have the urge to travel without leaving the comfort of your home, pick up any one of Jim Corbett’s books about his numerous true-life adventures of hunting down man-eaters in the mountainous regions of India. Corbett, who went from being a big game hunter to one the most famous wild like conservationist in India writes with such vivid recollection, detailing every aspect of not only the cat and mouse chase between him and the man eater (Mostly Tigers), but about the flora and fauna & the majestic landscape of the Himalayas. Corbett writes in manner that takes the reader on a tantalizing page turning journey with him.
This particular book, “The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag” who terrorized people of the Garhwal region (Present day Uttarakhand) from 1918 to 1926 killing and devouring over 125 people till Corbett tracked and killed it, is something very really special & a must read. It is only apt then that while on the 5th page of this book I read this as one the reasons for why this leopard became a man eater and the most publicized animal that ever lived during those times.
Above: A hill Station In Garhwal Region (Present Day Uttarakhand) Such Was The Landscape That Leopard Ruled Over, Stretching Some 500 Kilometres & Preying On Villages Within This Area.
Quote Page #5 The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag by Jim Corbett: “The people of Garhwal are Hindus, and as such cremate their dead. The cremation invariably takes place on a stream or a river in order that the ashes may be washed down into the Ganges and eventually into the sea. As most of the villages are situated high on the hills, while the streams of rivers are in many cases miles away down in the valleys, it will be realized that a funeral entails a considerable tax on the manpower of a small community when, in addition to the carrying party, labour has to be provided to collect and carry the fuel needed for the cremation. In normal times these rites are carried out very effectively, but when disease in epidemic from sweeps through the hills, and the inhabitants die faster than they can be disposed of, a very simple rite, which consists of placing a live coal in the mouth of the deceased, is performed in the village, and the body is then carried to the edge of the hill and cast into the valley below.
A leopard, in an area in which his natural food is scarce, finding these bodies, very soon acquires a taste for human flesh, and when the disease dies down and normal conditions are re-established, he very naturally, on finding his food-supply cut off, takes to killing human beings. In the wave of the epidemic influenza that swept through the country in 1918 and that cost India over a million lives, Garhwal suffered very severely, and it was at the end of this epidemic that the Garhrwal man-eater made his appliance”.
Above Corbett After Shooting The Man-Eating Leopard
Why I feel the sudden urge to write this post I don’t know, may be the mountains & forest are calling or may be because it disheartens me that so many from our generation and the youth of our country have deprived themselves of such brilliant literary work of historical significance that hold relevance even today. The name Jim Corbett in India is mostly known in reference to the national tiger reserve named after him, “The Jim Corbett National Park”. Beyond this, the significance and massive impact that Jim Corbett as an individual has had on wildlife conservation along with his deep understanding of cultural practices and beliefs of the people of India is little understood.
These stories written by Corbett in my opinion should be made part of school curriculum. Children must from a young age be taught about harmony & equilibrium between humans and nature, and what better way to do so than by having them read words that paint a vivid picture while giving them a practical no bull shit lesson of how things use to be, and the relevance behind many of the age old cultural & religious beliefs that are still practiced across our county.
Above: A Tiger Crossing A River (Ramganga) At The Jim Corbett Nation Park In The State of Uttarakhand, India
More than anything else, Corbett through his written words helps the reader visualize & use his or her immigration, something that is really missing not only in our education system today, but also in the vast ocean of electronic information overload that we are bombarded with on a daily basis. As Mark Twin put it “You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus”