JIM CORBETT
Edward James "Jim" Corbett (* 25 July 1875 in Nainital) was a British hunter, conservationist and naturalist, famous for slaying a large number of man-eating tigers and leopards in India
Corbett held the rank of colonel in the British Indian Army and worked for the Bengal and North Western Railway. However, Corbett was frequently called upon by the government of the United Provinces, now the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand), to slay man-eating tigers and leopards who had killed people in the villages of the Garhwal and Kumaon region. Corbett succeeded in many cases where others had failed. Between 1907 and 1938, Corbett shot much-feared man-eaters such as the Champawat Tiger, the Leopard of Rudraprayag, the Tigers of Chowgarh and the Panar Leopard, who had cumulatively killed over a thousand people. His success in slaying the man-eaters earned him much respect and fame amongst the people residing in the villages of Kumaon, many of whom considered him a sadhu (saint).
Early life
Edward James Corbett was born of Irish ancestry in the town of Nainital near the Kumaon foothills of the Himalayas, in the United Provinces (now in the Indian state of Uttarakhand). Jim grew up in a large family of 13 children and was the eighth child of Christopher and Mary Jane Corbett. His parents had moved to Nainital in 1862, after Christopher Corbett had been appointed postmaster of the town. In winters, the family used to move to the foothills, where they owned a cottage near Kaladhungi. After his father's death, when Jim was 4 years old, his eldest brother Tom took over as the postmaster of Nainital. From a very young age, Jim was fascinated by the forests and the wildlife around his home in Kaladhungi. At a young age he learned to identify most animals and birds by their calls - owing to his frequent excursions. Over time he became a good tracker and hunter. Jim studied at the Oak Openings School (later renamed Philander Smith College) and Sherwood College, Nainital. Before he was 18, he had to quit school and found an employment with the Bengal and North Western Railway, initially working as a fuel inspector at Manakpur in the Punjab, and subsequently as a contractor for the trans-shipment of goods across the Ganges at Mokameh Ghat in Bihar.Hunting man-eating tigers
Between 1907 and 1938, Corbett tracked and shot a documented 19 tigers and 14 leopards -- a total of 33 recorded and documented man-eaters. It is estimated that these big cats had killed more than 1,200 men, women and children. The first tiger he killed, the Champawat Tiger in Champawat, was responsible for 436 documented deaths. Recent analysis of carcasses, skulls and preserved remains show that most of the man-eaters were suffering from disease or wounds like porcupine quills embedded deep in the skin or old gunshot wounds, which never healed.
Jim Corbett after killing the man-eating Leopard of Rudraprayag in 1925
He also shot the Panar Leopard, which allegedly killed 400 people after being injured by a poacher and thus being rendered unable to hunt its normal prey. Other notable man-eaters he killed were the Talla-Des man-eater, the Mohan man-eater, the Thak man-eater and the Chowgarh tigress. However, one of the most famous was the man-eating Leopard of Rudraprayag, which terrorised the pilgrims to the holy Hindu shrines Kedarnath and Badrinath for more than ten years. This leopard's skull and dentition showed advanced, debilitating gum disease and tooth decay, such as would limit the animal in killing wild game and drive it towards man-eating. The Thak man-eating tigress, when skinned by Corbett, revealed two old gunshot wounds; one in her shoulder had become septic, and as Corbett suggested, could have been the reason for the tigress to have turned man-eater.
By his own account, Corbett shot the wrong animal at least once, and greatly regretted the incident. In addition, man-eaters are quite capable of stalking the hunter. Therefore, Corbett preferred to hunt alone and on foot when pursuing dangerous game. He often hunted with a small dog named Robin, about whom he wrote much in his first book The Man-Eaters of Kumaon
Retiring in Kenya
After 1947, Corbett and his sister Maggie retired to Nyeri, Kenya, where he continued to write and sound the alarm about declining numbers of jungle cats and other wildlife. Jim Corbett was at the Tree Tops Hotel, a hut built on the branches of a giant ficus tree, when Princess Elizabeth stayed there on February 5-6, 1952, at the time of the death of her father, King George VI. Corbett wrote in the hotel's visitors' register:
For the first time in the history of the world, a young girl climbed into a tree one day a Princess, and after having what she described as her most thrilling experience, she climbed down from the tree the next day a Queen— God bless her.
Jim Corbett died of a heart attack a few days after he finished writing his sixth book Tree Tops, and was buried at St. Peter's Anglican Church in Nyeri
BOOKS BY HIM
* Man-eaters of Kumaon. Oxford University Press, Bombay 1944
* Man-eaters of Kumaon. Oxford University Press, Madras 1945 (second ed.)
* Man-eaters of Kumaon. Oxford University Press, 1946
* The Man-eating Leopard of Rudraprayag. Oxford University Press, 1948
* My India. Oxford University Press, 1952
* Jungle Lore. Oxford University Press, 1953
* The Temple Tiger and more man-eaters of Kumaon. Oxford University Press, 1954
* Tree Tops. Oxford University Press, 1955
courtasy:wikipedia
Corbett held the rank of colonel in the British Indian Army and worked for the Bengal and North Western Railway. However, Corbett was frequently called upon by the government of the United Provinces, now the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand), to slay man-eating tigers and leopards who had killed people in the villages of the Garhwal and Kumaon region. Corbett succeeded in many cases where others had failed. Between 1907 and 1938, Corbett shot much-feared man-eaters such as the Champawat Tiger, the Leopard of Rudraprayag, the Tigers of Chowgarh and the Panar Leopard, who had cumulatively killed over a thousand people. His success in slaying the man-eaters earned him much respect and fame amongst the people residing in the villages of Kumaon, many of whom considered him a sadhu (saint).
Early life
Edward James Corbett was born of Irish ancestry in the town of Nainital near the Kumaon foothills of the Himalayas, in the United Provinces (now in the Indian state of Uttarakhand). Jim grew up in a large family of 13 children and was the eighth child of Christopher and Mary Jane Corbett. His parents had moved to Nainital in 1862, after Christopher Corbett had been appointed postmaster of the town. In winters, the family used to move to the foothills, where they owned a cottage near Kaladhungi. After his father's death, when Jim was 4 years old, his eldest brother Tom took over as the postmaster of Nainital. From a very young age, Jim was fascinated by the forests and the wildlife around his home in Kaladhungi. At a young age he learned to identify most animals and birds by their calls - owing to his frequent excursions. Over time he became a good tracker and hunter. Jim studied at the Oak Openings School (later renamed Philander Smith College) and Sherwood College, Nainital. Before he was 18, he had to quit school and found an employment with the Bengal and North Western Railway, initially working as a fuel inspector at Manakpur in the Punjab, and subsequently as a contractor for the trans-shipment of goods across the Ganges at Mokameh Ghat in Bihar.Hunting man-eating tigers
Between 1907 and 1938, Corbett tracked and shot a documented 19 tigers and 14 leopards -- a total of 33 recorded and documented man-eaters. It is estimated that these big cats had killed more than 1,200 men, women and children. The first tiger he killed, the Champawat Tiger in Champawat, was responsible for 436 documented deaths. Recent analysis of carcasses, skulls and preserved remains show that most of the man-eaters were suffering from disease or wounds like porcupine quills embedded deep in the skin or old gunshot wounds, which never healed.
Jim Corbett after killing the man-eating Leopard of Rudraprayag in 1925
He also shot the Panar Leopard, which allegedly killed 400 people after being injured by a poacher and thus being rendered unable to hunt its normal prey. Other notable man-eaters he killed were the Talla-Des man-eater, the Mohan man-eater, the Thak man-eater and the Chowgarh tigress. However, one of the most famous was the man-eating Leopard of Rudraprayag, which terrorised the pilgrims to the holy Hindu shrines Kedarnath and Badrinath for more than ten years. This leopard's skull and dentition showed advanced, debilitating gum disease and tooth decay, such as would limit the animal in killing wild game and drive it towards man-eating. The Thak man-eating tigress, when skinned by Corbett, revealed two old gunshot wounds; one in her shoulder had become septic, and as Corbett suggested, could have been the reason for the tigress to have turned man-eater.
By his own account, Corbett shot the wrong animal at least once, and greatly regretted the incident. In addition, man-eaters are quite capable of stalking the hunter. Therefore, Corbett preferred to hunt alone and on foot when pursuing dangerous game. He often hunted with a small dog named Robin, about whom he wrote much in his first book The Man-Eaters of Kumaon
Retiring in Kenya
After 1947, Corbett and his sister Maggie retired to Nyeri, Kenya, where he continued to write and sound the alarm about declining numbers of jungle cats and other wildlife. Jim Corbett was at the Tree Tops Hotel, a hut built on the branches of a giant ficus tree, when Princess Elizabeth stayed there on February 5-6, 1952, at the time of the death of her father, King George VI. Corbett wrote in the hotel's visitors' register:
For the first time in the history of the world, a young girl climbed into a tree one day a Princess, and after having what she described as her most thrilling experience, she climbed down from the tree the next day a Queen— God bless her.
Jim Corbett died of a heart attack a few days after he finished writing his sixth book Tree Tops, and was buried at St. Peter's Anglican Church in Nyeri
BOOKS BY HIM
* Man-eaters of Kumaon. Oxford University Press, Bombay 1944
* Man-eaters of Kumaon. Oxford University Press, Madras 1945 (second ed.)
* Man-eaters of Kumaon. Oxford University Press, 1946
* The Man-eating Leopard of Rudraprayag. Oxford University Press, 1948
* My India. Oxford University Press, 1952
* Jungle Lore. Oxford University Press, 1953
* The Temple Tiger and more man-eaters of Kumaon. Oxford University Press, 1954
* Tree Tops. Oxford University Press, 1955
courtasy:wikipedia
POORNACHANDRA
TEJASWI
Kuppali Puttappa Poornachandra Tejaswi (September 8, 1938 – April 5, 2007) was a prominent Kannada writer and novelist who has made a great impession in "Navya" period of Kannada literature and inaugurated the bandaya or protest literature with his short-story collection Abachoorina Post Offisu.
Early life
Tejaswi was born on September 8, 1938 in Kuppali in Shimoga district of Karnataka. Although he was the son of "Rashtrakavi" Kuvempu, he came out of his father's shadow and established his own image at an early age. Tejaswi received Rajyotsava Award for his first short story "Linga Banda", a look at the rainy western ghats from the eye of a young boy. After completion of his education from Maharaja college of Mysore, due to his interests in nature and farming, he moved to Mudigere taluk of Chikmagalur District after buying some coffee estates. Apart from literature he was actively involved in painting, photography and philosophy
Literary works
Tejaswi has let his pen run in almost all forms of literature including poems, short stories, novels, Travel literature, plays and science fiction literature. Nature and incidents related to nature enjoy major role in most of his works. Carvalho is one such novel where the author himself participates in an adventure of discovering an imaginary flying lizard in the dense forests of Western ghats. Even after twenty six years of its publication
Karvalo stays in top 10 list of Kannada books sold every week.Tejaswi has translated a number of English books to Kannada enriching the depth of Kannada literature.
HIS BOOKS
Short story collections:
Translated Works:
Death
Poornachandra Tejaswi died of cardiac arrest at his farm house Niruttara, Mudigere in Chikmagalur district of Karnataka state, on April 5, 2007 approximately at 2.00 p.m. He was 69 at the time of death.
courtasy:wikipedia
Early life
Tejaswi was born on September 8, 1938 in Kuppali in Shimoga district of Karnataka. Although he was the son of "Rashtrakavi" Kuvempu, he came out of his father's shadow and established his own image at an early age. Tejaswi received Rajyotsava Award for his first short story "Linga Banda", a look at the rainy western ghats from the eye of a young boy. After completion of his education from Maharaja college of Mysore, due to his interests in nature and farming, he moved to Mudigere taluk of Chikmagalur District after buying some coffee estates. Apart from literature he was actively involved in painting, photography and philosophy
Literary works
Tejaswi has let his pen run in almost all forms of literature including poems, short stories, novels, Travel literature, plays and science fiction literature. Nature and incidents related to nature enjoy major role in most of his works. Carvalho is one such novel where the author himself participates in an adventure of discovering an imaginary flying lizard in the dense forests of Western ghats. Even after twenty six years of its publication
Karvalo stays in top 10 list of Kannada books sold every week.Tejaswi has translated a number of English books to Kannada enriching the depth of Kannada literature.
HIS BOOKS
Short story collections:
- Parisarada Kate
- Huliyoorina Sarahaddu
- Abachoorina Post Office
- Tabarana Kate
- Kiragoorina Gayyaligalu
- Kadina Kategalu (Volume1 to Volume4)
- Linga banda
- Panjrolliya Pischachia Savaalu
- Gudugu Heliddenu
- Urvashi
- Gandhiji Deseinda
- Swaroopa
- Nigoodha Manushyaru
- MaayaMruga
- Rahasya Vishwa
Translated Works:
- Rudraprayagada Bhayanaka Narabakshaka (The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag: OUP/UK 1948 - Jim Corbett)
- The Great Escape
- Papillon 1 & 2
- Pakakranthi
- Mayaloka: 1
- Chidambara Rahasya
- Carvalho
- Jugari Cross
- Millennium series
Death
Poornachandra Tejaswi died of cardiac arrest at his farm house Niruttara, Mudigere in Chikmagalur district of Karnataka state, on April 5, 2007 approximately at 2.00 p.m. He was 69 at the time of death.
courtasy:wikipedia