A trek in the Jungle!!. Review on Jungle Lore - Jim Corbett

The Man:

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Colonel Jim Corbett, his Indianised name being 'Carpet sahib' was an old world 'shikhari', and just like other hunters he had a great deal of respect for his chosen prey.

It is said that the heart of a hunter turns very much like the one he hunts, and Jim Corbett seems to have imbibed the large heartedness of the tiger that he initially hunted and then helped conserve.

If you have read the ''Man Eaters of Kumaon'' by the same author, you would get an insight into the life of a hunter and his ''large hearted gentleman'' game.. This book on the other hand deals with the man himself

The book:

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The book is as close to an autobiography as we can get.

The book describes in details many varied and interesting hints, lore, and observations that made Jim Corbett the great outdoors man that he was.

What Jim trieds to do in the book is to reveal to the urban crowd such as us, the inherent intricacies that are present in the jungle. From the calls of birds to the chattering of Monkeys, every motion in the jungle is described with respect to the role it plays in the bigger picture of maintaining a healthy balance in nature

Furthermore, we get to see the development of a boy in surroundings best suited to the mental and physical growth so much in demand today.We can alugh aloud while watching this boy stumble through the forest brandishing a catapult, unafraid of tigers and leopards, and also hold our breaths in excitement as the boy now turned man takes out the viceroy hunting in the forests so well known to him.

The last chapter of the book is most informative where Corbett deals with the ways and means of deciphering hte various signs that nature throws at you while in the jungle, and what needs to be done after deciphering those secrets of the forest.

Finally and also in a way aptly, we see a man so knowledgeable in the lore of the jungle candidly admitting that what he knows of the land he loves so much is hardly anything, and nature has a vast array of secrets that nay take lifetimes to learn.

This book exposes to us that Jim Corbett knew not only of the Tiger(which was arguably his greatest love), but also about the herbs, shrubs, stories, birds, wind patterns, trees and people of the forest.

What I felt:

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As I read this book by my window I half expected to see the royal face of a Tiger appearing in fromnt of me when I next glanced out of it.

A wonderful book. Must read for all Jim Corbett fans and others too.

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Sumanth