by Krupa David
No! This was not a monster from outer space! It was a cunning
leopard, which held sway over an entire village and its surrounding jungle, for
over six months. This episode was in 1970, when I was posted in Hope T.E.
Santula Busty comprised of
about twenty to thirty hutments built by displaced Nepalese from Bhutan who had
crossed over and settled on Government Forest land about twenty odd kilometers
on the Jhoolong road and west into the forest bordering Bhutan, about
five kilometers from the main road. This was a ‘cattle patti’ as the main
occupation was rearing cattle (mostly mixed breed Holsteins and Friesians) and
selling milk and milk products. There was no road linking this village but one
could park the vehicle on the main road to the Hydel Project and walk the 5 km.
I got to know them well, as many a weekend I would camp the night there after a
day’s shooting.
One afternoon, whilst I was
having my usual post lunch a lie back, my paniwallah knocked on the door and
informed me that someone had come to see me. I was quite annoyed at being woken
up from my siesta! Half an hour was all that we would get post lunch after a
long day which started at six a.m. and which could go on to midnight if one had
factory duty! I went out and saw a cowherd whom I knew from Santula Busty
standing near the kitchen. Coming forward he salaamed and said “Hazoor, hamro
gaon ma rakshash aako cha” (a devil/shaitan has entered our village) “What
Rakshash?” I asked? “Bagh, Huzoor” he said. Now, ‘bagh’ is a common term that
these people use for a Panther or Tiger.
He came out with the
shocking story of a small girl aged about three years being carried away last
month. The second incident was two weeks ago when a small boy again around four
to five years of age was carried off right in front of his mother from the
courtyard of their house at around seven pm. The third incident had taken place
the previous evening - when another
small girl was lifted.
I was quite sceptical about
this story as I was confident that leopards as a rule do not add human beings
to their diet, especially around tea gardens. However, the cowherd assured me
that indeed it was the doing of a ‘bagh’ as they found remains of two of the
children and the mother had actually glimpsed the ‘bagh’ when it carried off the
child. They had reported the matter to the police and the forest department but
apparently no action was being taken as this was an unauthorized settlement.
Promptly on Saturday
morning (cajoled leave off the Manager!) armed with my .405 Winchester, we set
off. My bearer packed up my stuff for an overnight stay. Two flash lights, the
smaller one to clamp on to my rifle. Paratha rolls, flask of coffee, condensed
milk, mosquito repellent, a loaf of bread, cheese/packet of butter, and six
boiled eggs! Fresh chicken and mutton was always on the house i.e. Santula
Busty!
I loaded everything onto my
Ford V8, a big car bought from Jock McRae of Leesh River for 2,800 rupees! This
was a 36H.P, monster a 1946 model and with most of the horses either dead or
maimed! When I got married in 1972, Jyoti gave it one look and said, ‘either it
is me or this ugly monstrosity –choose!!’ The choice was difficult but I
decided to sell it off! By then it was in such shape that no one in his or her
right mind would have bought it! Shamyal Babu of Nagrakata was persuaded to buy
it for 500 rupees. The condition was that I pay him for towing it away! This
was adding insult to injury. I begged
Bill to lend me a tractor to tow it down to Nagrakata. I loved this piece of
junk. And it frequently broke down. Larry Brown, the Engineer Sahib at Bhogotpore,
was my advisor on how to go about fixing it!
 |
| A present day image of the hydel project on the Jaldhaka river at the Bhutan border. Pix from the internet |
I left at 5a.m. on a Saturday with my trusted shikari from No.2 line, Ignesh. He was a shikari par excellence. He was as tall
as me whipcord thin and an excellent archer. (I have seen him in a beat ,
knocking down a running wild boar with a shaft through its neck, after the
three guns who had a go at it, Donald Mackenzie, Ginger Craig and I, missed
every shot!.) We reached the spot where I usually parked my car in an hour’s
time. Gathering all my belongings we trudged the five odd kilometers to the
village, arriving at around 7.30 a.m.
Ignesh was also trained by
me to do some rudimentary cooking on our jaunts. We were housed in a hut
lent to us by the ‘headman’ of the settlement, Maila Pradhan. Out came the
frying pan and soon I was seated on a log with a plate of fried eggs and my parathas!
Ignesh preferred his egg boiled.
And thus we sat in companionable
silence finishing our breakfast. Ignesh, by the way was also the Union leader
of my division. Therefore it was a strategic alliance! I wished Dipu Rawat was
with us. Dipu was the senior assistant at Hope and my Shikar companion. However
Dipu and Meera were on leave.
Post breakfast we met some
of the village elders and the little girl’s parents. After listening to their
story, I assumed that this was a very small leopard and that was why it was
targeting smaller prey. However the mother insisted that it was huge. The
dimensions given to me would have put even the largest tiger to shame! The only
thing to do now was to visit the spot and see for myself the spot where the
remains were found.
Soon we were there and I could
see nothing but bits of the little girl’s clothing and one rubber chappal.
Casting around I was surprised to see the pug marks of the killer. It was
apparent from the pugs that the animal
was indeed a big male leopard - and only
three pug marks were visible, there was just a faint impression where the
fourth was.
We retraced our steps and I
decided to come back and sit up for the leopard at around four o’clock on the
off chance that it may came back that evening. Now the leopard is a far more
cunning creature that the tiger and one has to be extra careful in not giving
any sign of one’s presence.
It was by now about midday
and I suggested to Ignesh that he build my machan on a nearby Jarul tree from
where I had a vantage view of the path and the spot where the body had lain.
At four, I was securely ensconced in my machan
which was unobservable from all sides due to the heavy foliage of the Jarul. I
had my water bottle, flask of coffee and my two flash lights. I was using my
.405 but was not happy. For a leopard at close quarters a shot gun was ideal -
loaded with L.G, this has tremendous stopping power at twenty yards and is a
bone breaker.
It was the month of May and the afternoon
was hot! Keeping still and motionless made it all the more uncomfortable. The
air was still and not a breath of breeze was evident, not a jungle sound. It
seemed that even the birds were in a deep stupor on this hot summer afternoon!
Although sitting up over a kill is regarded by many as an irksome and tiring
ordeal, to me it has always been a source of considerable pleasure, and perhaps
this is because I am, above all else, a lover of nature!
Soon it was getting cooler and I heard the first Junglee Moorgi
call followed by the “meaoo!” of a peafowl. Of the leopard there was no trace.
A flock of ‘seven sisters’ alighted on a branch of the neighboring tree. They
were in all probability regarding my hideout suspiciously! I knew that if they
espied me, all would be over as they would get into a frenzy of raucous calls
and alert everyone and especially the leopard.
(to be continued)
Editor's note :
shikari - hunter
shikar -hunting
machan - a platform built in a tree, originally used in hunting, and now for watching wildlife in reserves.
shikar -hunting
machan - a platform built in a tree, originally used in hunting, and now for watching wildlife in reserves.
junglee moorgee - wild fowl
Meet the writer:
 |
| Krupa David with his wife Jyotsna |
1 comment:
In the tradition of Jim Corbett. Looking forward to the continuation.
Post a Comment