BackBook Review | The Lonely Tiger
A classic collection of 'shikaar' stories is brought back to life after half a century
Premium
The Lonely Tiger | Hugh Allen
The killing fields of yore
In the age of wildlife conservation, shikaar, or hunting, stories are out of vogue. But there was a time when hunting tigers and other wildlife was a popular pastime. During the colonial era, most royals and British officers took to trophy hunting for prestige, though some had a genuine interest in the natural history of the subcontinent.
Widespread hunting for sport by royals and British officers in colonial India is said to have been a major factor in the depletion of the country’s wild fauna, pushing many species towards extinction. This spirit of hunting has been documented in a number of books published between 1858-1960. When the Union government started its conservation programme, Project Tiger, in 1973, tiger numbers were estimated at 1,800, a massive slide from around 40,000 a century earlier.
With the exception of Jim Corbett, many gifted writers on natural history, such as James Forsyth, Edward Baker, Julius Barras, James William Best, R.G. Burton, A.A. Dunbar Brander, Douglas Hamilton, G.P. Sanderson and Edward Stebbing, have been relegated to obscurity because of the stigma attached to them for being shikaaris (hunters), those who allegedly glorified their exploits. To nature enthusiasts, newly initiated to conservation, their writings are just a repository of endless slaughter.
When India gained independence, most of Allen’s countrymen chose to return home to England, but he decided to settle down in Mandikhera, an obscure village in Madhya Pradesh. Allen was discharged after serving in the British army in World War II, where he was injured. He died in 1968.
All the 14 engaging stories that feature in the book are from Mandikhera, the author’s estate in the middle of tiger country. Written between 1950-60, these are not the typical hunting stories of yore, but “are about animals which have been wounded and not followed up". Writes Allen: “This is a state of affairs rapidly going from bad to worse. There is now little or no check on illegal shooting. Indeed, the present position is so appalling and the slaughter so great that in a very few years, unless something drastic is done quickly, India will have lost forever much of her finest fauna."
He goes on to add: “But if there’s a good and sufficient reason to go out and kill, my conscience is clear and gives the hunting urge full reign. There are no qualms about pulling a trigger then: a wounded animal, be it dangerous or not, is one of the most pathetic sights I know and I would rather see it dead."
Allen justifies why he was bound to pick up his rifle when the wild boar, sambar and blue-bull antelope used the cover of darkness to come out in droves from the surrounding forests to feast on peanuts and other crops.
Allen’s stories will plant you right in the heart of the action, alongside the author—close encounters with bears, confrontations with old, injured tigers and leopards which have turned cattle-lifters, and so on. The gripping narrative and detail lend to every page the ambience of a carefully crafted thriller, making the book unputdownable.
In the ninth story, titled The Lonely Tiger, the author laments the scarcity of game and appeals for the conservation of rapidly vanishing wildlife: “Towards the closing years of British rule in India, there was a real concern for the game. A lot of animals now were scarce and some kinds of them already well along the road to extinction."
Sleepy Mandikhera has changed from Allen’s time. Much of its forest cover has given way to agricultural fields. The sounds of the wild have been replaced with the noise of the encroaching urban world. As forests are felled to satiate our ever-growing needs, shikaar books like this remind us of the wildlife we have lost.
Also Read: Excerpt | The Lonely Tiger
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
