Neelima Mathur

RUSKIN CORBETT TALES – Neelima Mathur This is a story about how living with nature finally became living the the wild. You know the word sylvan? Well, imagine being stationed in sylvan surroundings: a lake, a dense oak forest, tree tops within touching distance, ten-twelve-fifteen species of birds of all sizes, real blue sky, scorching bright sunshine that fades into icy winter nights… Night…pitch dark, no lights on the jungle paths…A vehicle draws up outside, frantic knocks… “Bhaiyya is calling you quickly…leopards…” We rush out, jump into the vehicle amidst feverish calls for ‘quick, sir, quick’…”There are two leopards sitting outside our home”, says Arjun. “Are you sure they will still be there?” I ask. “Oh yes, they are waiting for the dogs – who have gone crazy barking”. We reach the site. Barking dogs, car lights off. Torch light slowly across the foliage…Loud whisper, “There, can you see them behind those leaves…” We peer hard into the darkness and lo behold, two leopards reclining in all their spotted glory. This is not a zoo. It is the Kumaon jungle and we are looking at the ‘baagh’ or ‘tendua’. None of the words, not even leopard, reflect the grandeur of the leopard. Suddenly, they slither off. “Let’s go, let’s go. They are moving up.” The vehicle jettisons into crazy reverses to reach the jungle path above. We inch ahead looking left and right. “There, there, do you see the tail?” It was huge. We waited with baited breath for a big creature to move. It jumped across to the other side. Small, quite small…with such a BIG tail? We go ahead, reverse and come back and suddenly, “There, on the side, it is walking down.” We peer into the darkness again. It is camouflaged with the mud on the ground – till it turns and sits in the middle of the path. The torch light catches the gleam in the eyes. What a sight! Suddenly it jumps onto the wall on the right. We move ahead and peer hard. “They have to be here somewhere…There, there.” Engine off, silence, darkness and the torch light slowly scanning the forest growth and hanging branches. There it was, the leopard in all its glory, reclining, face turned away, hidden. Huge torso and a tail you couldn’t imagine to measure. Obviously, the leopard knew we were around…For a moment, we lost sight and then, there it was. Seated upright, questioning, wondering as the torch light picked up the huge gleaming eyes, massive face, huge body tensely poised…five, six feet when seated? Take a guess… Then it tired of our intrusion…and slinked away. I recall what Jim Corbett wrote: “Those who have never seen a leopard under favourable conditions in his natural surroundings can have no conception of the grace of movement, and beauty of colouring, of this the most graceful and the most beautiful of all animals in our Indian jungles.” The oft-asked question in my sylvan world has been: Aren’t you scared the leopard will attack your dog or you? Now, I am more than sure of my patent answer: I would rather the dog or I die at the paws or jaws of a leopard than the wheels of a drunk-driven BMW in the metropolis. Please tell Ruskin Bond, yes, I do have room for a leopard.