Sir — It was an absolute pleasure reading Mahesh Rangarajan’s “The other hero” (Oct 12). As long back as in the earlier 1900s, the far-sighted Frederick Walter Champion’s photographic adventures to record and truly highlight the cause of the Indian tiger, among other predators, were path-breaking. This led to governmental recognition of the problems faced by these big cats and Project Tiger was launched by Indira Gandhi.
The need to conserve fauna and flora cannot be overemphasized, more so now when we are faced with the prospect of recurring pandemics and natural calamities resulting from the wanton destruction of animal habitats, overconsumption and our ever expanding demands on natural resources. I wish the likes of Rangarajan to keep flagging these warning signs so that something can be done about them.
Shibaprasad Deb,
Calcutta
Sir — I had the privilege of visiting the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand in 2017, and what a memorable trip that was. It was my first tiger sighting in the wild. I had known about the master hunter and later conservator and spine-chilling storyteller of the man eaters of Kumaon, Jim Corbett. But thanks to Rangarajan, I learnt that there was another conservator working behind the lens under the shadow of Corbett — Frederick Walter Champion, the little-known hero of the wild.
After my visit to the tiger reserve, I came to know in a news report that a tiger had turned into a man-eater and that the half eaten body of a forest guide had been found. That was indeed tragic news and a rare one in a tiger reserve. I have also been to the Sunderbans where there are man-eaters in abundance but unfortunately I could not see one. Later I had been to the foothills of the Himalayas where I got to see a leopard in the wild but the tiger always eluded me. Until I got to see one in the Corbett Tiger Reserve. I owe this experience to my guide and jeep chauffeur whose thorough knowledge about the routes of the jungle and animal habits helped us get a sighting of the big cat. These people are no less than the likes of Corbett and Champion, who work on the ground with the animals. One would be pleased that even today conservationists like them exist who make tourists like me aware of the fact that the land belongs equally to wild animals and humans. It is we who venture into their territory and occupy their zone making them blood-thirsty. Let us let them live in their own habitat and let the ecological balance be.
Alok Ganguly,
Kalyani
Sir — Mahesh Rangarajan’s piece was enlightening to say the least. The work of the likes of F.W. Champion needs to be highlighted because it holds extreme importance for the present crisis facing the ecology.
Ronita Biswas,
Bolpur
Wasted bounty
Sir — A new trend among vloggers is going to restaurants and challenging themselves to finish large platters of food. What, one wonders, happens to all the food that they do not finish? Moreover, why would a restaurant serve 100 dishes as one meal? Even a large group of people would not be able to finish this amount of food amongst themselves. At a time when thousands are going hungry, such wastage seems criminal.
Rishi Pathak,
Gurgaon