Fisherman's Haven

Jungle Lovers...if you have ever been to Corbett National Park and have read through the master pieces of Jim Corbett's hunting stories, you will find several instances of fishing experiences in Ramganga and Sharada rivers which are still over-trodden with a rich collection of Mahsheer and Goonch species. I keep looking at several advertisements about commercially arranged trips by the local companies to let you have a very exciting experience in reeling a big o' Mahsheer or Goonch in your stringer. If you have read about Corbett's little experience about the huge Goonch fish he caught with the help of two local brothers (one of whom insisted that he would carry the pole and the fish together such that others will think that he caught that big bully Goonch by himself ) you would always dream of having such an experience and having a wonderful day out in the serene sands of Ramganga river and among the virgin nature for a change. And, I am here to guarantee you that such an experience adds to your permanent memory and to a panorama of dreams that you would always cherish as long as you live. You are welcome not to agree with me...but please do so after having such an experience in Corbett National Park.

Ramganga River Valley in Corbett National Park

 However, I am here to talk about a little fishing trip I had in Virginia which all of us in the troop will remember all our lives. We were a troop of seven guys who were willing to do anything to catch some Bass (One of most aggressive bait eaters in Northern America) from the New River (just New River by name, but its the third oldest river in the World) to arrange for our evening barbeque. Among us, two were from Peru, one from Germany, myself from Bharat, and three from the USA. Only two among us had some experience close to fishing. Rest of them belonged to "more the merrier" group.

It was around 6 a.m. in the morning and we packed our gear to get to the Big Falls at McCoy near Blacksburg, Virginia. By the time we got there it was around 6.30a.m. and the Sun was not up, even though it was bright. This was the perfect time to cast the bait. Bass are very aggressive to live and moving baits especially on the top of the water. A very effective bait to catch bass is Canadian night crawlers hooked in a typical way. And we had carried about 5 dozens of those.

Since only two of us were experienced in fishing we started casting bait right below the falls looking for some prospective catch. Relatively less experienced ones with little or no experience in casting, started casting the bait anywhere they wanted, with no correlation to whether they knew they will get a fish there or not (sometimes their hooks got snagged on tree tops). Half hour passed...still not a single bite. We kind of started looking a little worried. Then one of the other guys who were casting almost anywhere caught a tiny Bass. You could very well imagine what would that cause to us. They started giving us such  looks that just said..."if you don't know how to catch a fish and have lied to us like all fishermen do, may be its time to admit it and we can all go home peacefully". But...may be they were not that lucky that day...
Please take a look at the picture below.

Big Falls, McCoy, Virginia

I was standing on the rock that you see on the bottom right corner of the picture. And I just dropped my bait right below the rock just for a try. And here we go...I just got a bite from a medium size Bass. No one looked amused or interested, because we were supposed to catch fish for almost 20 people and two in our bag would just not be enough. So we were planning to let those two insignificant catches go into the water. But...wait a minute...the other fisherman in our troop just hit one more Bass.

Large-mouth Bass

So we decided to stay and continue with the fishing. What went on for the next hour and half there, I have experienced something like that only once more in my life (I'll have chance to talk about it later).

Right after the other fisherman caught the Bass we felt like we have come across a whole school of Bass. Both of us did not have a minute to spare and we did not have time to even reel a fish to the shore.We had to just lift them from water. Thank god we had re-spooled our reels with 10 lb test lines the evening before. After half hour everyone else just came down and stood beside us on that rock. We were just casting the bait and reeling it in with a fish. We had all size of them ranging fro 4lbs to .5 lbs and after a total of one and half hours we had one hundred and twenty-five Bass in our stringer. The non-fishermen had not seen something like this before and all were just mesmerized. They fought around for almost 10 minutes to decide who is going to carry those fish and since we had elevated to such a highly respected level we were spared from carrying the fish, cleaning them, seasoning them and eventually barbequing them...both of us fishermen were sitting near the barbeque and were listening to the talk of the day...traditional lies of people who had recently developed interest in fishing...and who were just lucky to catch all these big fish with their own hands...who had had a lot of tricks to lure so many Bass at a time...and so on.

Still we enjoyed the eve like never before after such a day in a fishing trip...If some of my friends who were on that trip read about it they might remember me on that May morning  in  2008 in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Talk to you later...

Rule of Terror

My Dear Friends,
I am feeling very nostalgic today. Flashes and glitters of the most memorable phase of life are rushing into my brain faster than adrenaline. A little adventure into the nearest forest, a short trek into the Eastern Ghat mountains, studying an elephant's foot prints, messing with a gentlemanly crab in the solitary mountain stream...and sweating till the pants hearing about the terror of tigers...are just flashing by...  If life could be viewed from the other side of the telescope, I would do that at least twice every week...just to get a different perspective.
It was one of those days...I had finished reading Man-eaters of Kumaon for the fifth time...and I had got hold of my next prize...Man-eating Leopard of Rudraprayag.( I was in my study room and I was reading it by carefully hiding it in my social science book...just to save my hide from MOM.).

...It was quite late in the night...it was raining with the mighty rhythm of monsoon. And I was reading about the strict curfew the leopard had imposed from sun down for eight long years around Rudra Prayag and in an elliptical vicinity of around 100 miles and even more. I was so immersed in that...even a little noise out of the blue would have been enough to set me on fire.

If you would like to know more about what my situation was, let me narrate the specific incident for you. One of the instances of terror that the Man-eating Leopard was truly  infamous for is the incident of the Pahadi (people from the Himalayan Mountains) woman who took refuge at the local Pandit's open rest area to sleep at night.
...At sun down a group of worn out pilgrims came to the Pandit's place asking his permission to sleep in his open rest area. The Pandit could not persuade them to go elsewhere even after mentioning about the terror of the leopard. So the Pandit gave them their supplies and before he locked himself in his house for the night, the Pahadi woman, who was running late for her village, asked the Pandit's permission to join the pilgrims.The woman knew about the leopard and chose the most secure place to sleep. The place was so chosen that if the leopard came to kill, it had to cross over all the pilgrims before coming down to her. …So she was indeed at the safest place of all. Deep in the night a pilgrim woke up with a sharp pain thinking that she is being stung by a scorpion and saw a bit of blood in  her toe. Accusing her of spoiling the sleep of everyone and saying that scorpion bite does not cause bleeding, the pilgrims went off to sleep...

Corbett with the man-eating leopard of Rudraprayag (Source: Wikipedia)

When the pilgrims woke up next morning they were ready to resume their voyage and thankful for surviving the night without incident. But some wondered where the Pahadi woman was. Thinking that she might have left for her village early, the pilgrims were about to leave when someone saw a torn piece of the woman's saree in the nearby fence and a big spill of blood nearby. With the hauling around, the Pandit came out of his house and having understood  the situation in an instant, arranged for a search party. They found the sorrowful remains of the woman about three hundred yards from the Pandit's house.

What analyzing the ground and probing the pug marks revealed was beyond the pilgrims' imagination…The leopard came right after sunset; around the time the Pahadi woman got situated at the inner most portion of the rest shed. That portion of the shed extended a bit into a perpendicular hillock which provided a natural protection against the leopard… after everyone went off to sleep  the leopard came, walked over all the pilgrims without even touching any one of them...got a hold of the  Pahadi woman's throat in such a way that she could not make any noise even close to a whisper, lifted the woman whole in air and took off . And while the leopard was retreating with the Pahadi woman the poor pilgrim's toe was cut by the leopard's claws that everybody thought to be a scorpion sting.  (Let's stop for a moment, close our eyes, and imagine ourselves in that situation in a dark night in the year 1922.) The leopard killed the woman at the nearby fence, and then carried it for a good three hundred yards before having his human meal.

The leopard had killed 125 people (official record. Unofficially well over 400.) But, he got so infamous for his kills, that people had started believing that it was the embodiment of "Shaitan"(Satan among rest of the believers) before it was shot by Corbett. But, even now hearing these incidents blow a cold air on your spinal cord…making you wonder…if the leopard is still in the dark…lurking.

I am sure I'll get more opportunity to talk about some more incidents  later...may be I can convince you about the real rule of terror that the leopard had enforced at sun down for eight long years...But for now...if you visit Rudra Prayag, the confluence (Samskruta name Prayag) of Alakanada and Mandakini

Rudraprayag

and one of the holiest places for salvation seeking Hindus...please ask around some old Pahadi folks...they might still have reminiscences of the old days of terror...many may point out to some places that has a historical association with the Leopard...
Still ...when you are lying in your couch… deep in the night...fast asleep...the nocturnal scouting of a pair of feline eyes in your dreams...may frighten you...
Talk to you later...

Indian Leopard

A deep conversation with a Scorpion

Dear Jungle Lovers, Welcome back. I am going to speak about a conversation I had with a Big-Black Scorpion several years back.

Let me keep my liberty to call him Mr. Scorpion.

In the year 1997, I  was a student at Hyderabad Central University. In his introductory speech, our registrar had asked us to view the wild elements in the campus as respectable as gentlemen/ladies and treat them with due references (That's why Mr.Scor.).

It was almost 7 months past after that speech, I realized that Scorpions especially are more respectable than others in that huge campus. The campus was otherwise home to wild boars, deer and numerous sober snakes (not due to the wide presence of pea-fowls and Indian Grey Mongoose...they were indeed sober). The scorpions were so much used to come in front of us anywhere and anytime that they did command more respect as a species than the others...

Mr. Scorpion

 Well... I think I was not feeling very well that day... I was out on a walk toward the peacock lake and midway I was approached by Mr. Scorpion. Before even I could take my hat off and say good evening to him (Please don't ask me how I figured that out ) I guess he thought it was too late and I was not in the mood of greeting him...So he rose his tail straight and with the vengeance of a cougar he came straight to teach me some manners. I said sorry...very sorry...very very sorry...I apologize for my indisputably insolent attitude...but it was too late for everything...the attack seemed non-stoppable...I thought for a moment and an idea just struck me..."Oh, how about that?" I just remembered my grandfather...when I was a kid he emphatically told me that if a man uses his brain he is the most powerful even when he is in the most disadvantaged circumstances...that's it...I will not run away and I will use my brain...

Here is what I did. I pointed my finger at him in a way that he would think its easy to dunk me down by stinging the finger. I let him forget that I have a perfectly big body which can be targeted more conveniently otherwise. When he ran for my finger, I humbly begged for an apology and I started circling my finger around him. He ran for it in rounds and rounds to get my finger...I remember I told him once..."Sir, I am sorry for what I have done. But you can just cool off and let it go."...to no avail.
After circling in bigger circles, I now reduced my finger circling to smaller circles and even smaller but rapider. After facing huge heart beat to compete with the speed and blown completely off by the pressure to handle his anger...and exactly after 5 minutes and 38 seconds...I found Mr. Scorpion stuck at one place...with the tail straight erect ...I waited...no movements...45 seconds past no movement...I tapped my feet... no movements...well...I guess he is thinking....I thought its time for me to go...
I put my hat back on my head and walked off.

I returned after spending a good four hours in the lake and other rocky structures. I was not expecting Mr. Scorpion there. I took my hat off to say hi to him...still no response...I tapped my feet...clapped my hands...whistled...blew air from the mouth...still no movement...I was very sad...
Later, I came to a conclusion that his brain might have fused in the heavy tension and pressure he had to under go for a whole five minutes and thirty eight seconds...
I apologized again...said sorry again...I dragged my feet toward my next destination ...

That was my deepest conversation with Mr. Scorpion...

Talk to you later...

Robin with a Leopard

Welcome back. Most of us as human beings, nature lovers, hunters and avid fishermen love the company of our dogs. Dogs, on the other hand, act as pure human when it comes to enjoying the nature and going with the spirit of excitement in hooking a fish and reeling it to the shore...they also love to express their sportive growl on the all--fisherman- lies...the one that got away was the big one. Sometimes I think, a fisherman who does not brag about his catch and does not lie about the fish that broke the line ...ain't much of a fisherman at all. Our dear canine companions seem to put up well with that...
Let's talk about Robin now. He was a little Spaniel puppy when Corbett got him home and fed him full stomach for the first time in Robin's life (Please don't ask me how Corbett figured that out, let's leave that for nut-heads.). But from that time till the end of his life Robin was his most loved companion whenever he went fishing or hunting. The most memorable incident with Robin that Corbett could recall about Robin was his encounter with a leopard. Traditionally, dogs are a leopard's most favorite kill. Almost every dog knows that with its instinct. But Robin had seen and experienced a lot of Corbett and had less fear for any other animal. And it was a day of awakening for him.

It was a good morning and Corbett was out in the forest trying to track a tiger down. The cattle population was taking a heavy toll due to the tiger and Corbett wanted that stripped sucker real bad. Robin was leading the hunt by sniffing and tracking the tiger while a bunch of Langoors (Black-faced Indian Monkeys) crossed the track. I don't know what is really wrong with dogs as a species, but whenever they see monkeys they chase after them like mad men.  Before even any body else could do anything about it (and simply disregarding Corbett's signals) Robin dashed out chasing those monkeys. Well, it was not Robin's day that particular day. The next second, Corbett saw him his ears down, tail down running for his life... and behind him...a big o' leopard. Corbett started shouting and some other passerby people also joined him in the shout to distract or scare the leopard off. Since the tiger was assumed to be nearby Corbett did not want to use a bullet from his rifle for the leopard unless the shot was absolutely necessary since it would  have warned the tiger. After a quite good chase and with all the hauling of the people the leopard decided to give up and left the chase. And Robin returned to Corbett after running for another half a mile. It was a really good lesson for Robin which he never forgot in his life. And Corbett came to an agreement with Robin not to disclose the whole thing for a long time.

When I was growing up as a kid and used to go on fishing trips we always cared to have our dogs with us and they were such a big part of our trip. And even at this date the memory of that excitement has never come any close to even not remembering it. I am sure all of you will agree with what I really mean to say. When we used to catch a big fish our dogs were the most excited ones, whirling around the fish and nipping at it and growling to let everyone know what a big success we have had in our day's trip. Most of the time we forgot that they were not human...but felt almost as if they were...
Lots to share about our dear canines ...will come back on this later.

Welcome to Corbett's World

Dear Friends,
I am creating this blog to serve as a vibrant discussion platform and information hub for all the Jungle lovers and conservationists. Particularly, I hope, people who have loved Jim Corbett, his life and his literature would find this blog very passionate about the great hunter and humanist. I was in in the first year of my junior high when I got introduced to Corbett's world.
I still remember the day, in fact. I was getting home after a crazy day at school and I was enjoying a stop-over at my uncle's place to have a chat with my cousin, Pinku Bhai. I saw him a bit engrossed with a book that had a big picture of a tiger on its cover. As a child, and I believe that is true about all children around the world, I had great fascination about the tiger. I was almost about to rip the book off his hand, he decided to hand in the book to me to have a look. But he was careful enough to put a remark,"I think you are going to fall in love with the book." And he was abso-damn-lutely right. I sat at his place for the next four hours and read around two hundred pages of the ""Man-eaters of Kumaon" before my mom showed up to get me home. Twenty two years have passed since that day and I am still no less passionate about Corbett and his legacy.
And I am here to share and learn, have fun and have a great time talking about everything that is related to Corbett's world and his jungle lore and his tiger (which zoologists have named Panthera Tigris Corbettee). I invite every one with a very warm and open heart ...  please share your views and information about JimCorbett, Corbett National Park and anything related to him. I hope every one will make an effort to enrich this forum with their experience.
All the best to us...Corbett's fans.