Glimpses of the South Rajasthan Wilderness
Title:
Steed of the Jungle God – Thrilling
Experiences in the Wild
Author:
Raza Tehsin with Arefa Tehsin
Illustrations:
Sumit Sakuja and Sonal Goyal
Publisher:
National Book Trust, India
First
Edition: 2018
Price:
575/-
ISBN:
978–8 –237–8145–7
Pages:
142
Number
of stories: 20
This Review
was published by First Post on 29th June, 2018 here.
Thanks are due to the team at First Post.
Steed of the Jungle God: Thrilling experiences in the Wild contains
stories of the forests written by someone has put in lot of time in and around
them. The author Raza Tehsin is well versed in natural history, loves jungles
and like many before him who have done so, retains his humility.
These stories, spanning more than half a century, tell us
how the natural world around us has changed during the period. The author
points out how the scenario prior to Independence was very different; most of
the lakes in Mewar were almost full throughout the year, many rivers and nullahs of the region were perennial.
The worst time for our jungles, he states, came after Independence and before the
Wildlife Protection Act - 1972. The author is also well acquainted with
villagers and their lifestyles. These stories offer a glimpse of life in South
Rajasthan then - of guinea worms, mining, poverty and of course people. He
praises their simplicity and spirits but laments the manner in which they were
being exploited.
Each of these stories is based on author’s or his family
members’ experiences. Two family members also contribute to the book – one
chapter each. This is a family which was into guns, mines, hunting, picnics and
frequented the jungles. Some of these stories also bring out how our lives too
have undergone a major shift during the period. They talk of a time when ‘torch
was a rare commodity to be used in emergencies’ and when gates of the walled
city of Udaipur used to close at midnight! These stories make us wonder on what
we have lost.
My introduction to the author was his many notes in
technical journals. His love for jungles is brought out with a finesse and
panache which show that that he is at home with this style of writing as well. Lines
which underscore this aspect are: ‘As much as trust is fragile, faith is
resilient’ and ‘Darkness itself is invisible and so is light, we can’t see
light but the things it illuminates and we can’t see darkness but can sense the
things it hides’.
The author’s grasp on the natural history of the region is
exemplary and he makes connections. The stories teach us about the south
Rajasthan jungles in a pleasant and easy fashion. They tell us how the Great
Indian Horned Owl is a good mimic like the Hill Myna, how a pair of Murral fish
when moving with brood seldom takes bait and how langurs urinate or excrete out
of fear. They also convey that like elsewhere on the planet, rules in jungles too,
have exceptions. Raza Tehsin talks of a place where hares exhibited gregarious behaviour
and of a carcass where a leopard and a hyena fed side by side. The author’s approach
is different from today’s science. The later many a time encourages study
designs which enable one to put in less time in jungles and reduces complex the
ecosystems in the jungles to isolated data sets.
This book talks about many beliefs people have in the wild
and strange phenomenon which are said to occur in the jungles. It tells us that
people are superstitious – urban, rural and even shikaris. The author has been taught to ‘not be afraid of such
things in life if he wanted to enjoy the solitude of forests’. He is keen to
comprehend these difficult-to-explain situations, and every time he came across
a strange phenomenon he tried to analyse it rationally. It is this lack of fear
and application of rationality that made him realize that the ‘demon’ was in
fact a langur or the ‘gliding spirit’ a giant flying squirrel. This line from one
of the stories captures his spirit aptly, ‘believed to be haunted, this guest
house delights my heart and soothes my nerves’. One or two of these stories
could be part of school textbooks. They will enable the students to look at
wilderness and beliefs with a different lens and help remove the fear which
lack of familiarity with jungles brings in. The last word on the topic though
is that some mysteries will remain unsolved forever.
Sketches in place of photographs work for the book and add
to the feel, as does the first-person and personal narrative. It makes the
reader keen to put in time with the author in the jungles. The book though
could have done with tighter editing – especially to avoid the repeats. A sketch
map depicting the places mentioned across the stories would also have been of
help.
On the whole the book warrants a read for all those
interested in jungles. One can draw parallels with Corbett’s and Anderson’s
tales; while they espoused western sensibilities while the author presents a
very Indian context. For me it brought together fun and sensibility of two
magazines I enjoyed reading and re-reading, one during school days and one much
later, Chandamama and Sanctuary Asia.
Reviews
of earlier books by Raza Tehsin and Arefa Tehsin
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