Corbett, in other words

There is no gainsaying Jim Corbett’s place in Indian literature and folklore. The hunter-turned-conservationist’s work in the jungles of India, especially in what is now the state of Uttarakhand, will never be paralleled. But it must be said that the real-life legend of Corbett would not have spread as far and wide as it has if it were not for his written narratives. They are special indeed. Even today, reading about his exploits in hunting the man-eating leopard of Rudraprayag makes one’s hair stand on end.

But more than the thrill of hunting a ferocious, man-eating feline predator, what made Corbett remarkable was his ability to commit to memory his observations of the environment as a seasoned hunter, and then recall them vividly when penning his prose. Add to that Corbett’s respect for the wild and the humility with which he accepted that even he, as an ace hunter, little understood it.

For a man who so effectively described what he did, it is sad that he never sat down to write the story of his own life. What little you gather about him is from what he chose to include in his hunting memoirs, the odd anecdote here and there. It has been an onerous task for numerous writers after Corbett’s death in 1955 to piece together the legend that sees “Carpet Sahib” revered even today in the hills of Uttarakhand.

Journalist D C Kala’s biography is probably the best you will find, to date, on Corbett. It was first published in 1979, then had a second brief print run in 1999, and now it has been offered yet another lease of life.

In the 1970s, Kala painstakingly put together his picture of Corbett’s life by trawling through government records, tracing his surviving relatives and acquaintances all over the world, and delving into Corbett’s own writing to piece together the jigsaw puzzle.

Kala’s research pieces together not just the 32 years of Corbett the hunter, but also the story of Corbett’s origins and his death in Kenya, and then assembles it as a contiguous narrative.

Corbett, the man, was always a presence in his hunting memoirs. It is touching, especially, to note Corbett’s concern for his own retinue of helpers. While on the hunt, for example, he preferred to face a man-eater alone because he wanted to be only “responsible for one life”.

But Kala’s work also reveals a man struggling to understand his place in a foreign land and society. This struggle was exacerbated after India won its independence, when even though Corbett continued to be revered for who he was and not as a colonial master, he chose to move to Kenya.

Kala’s account of Corbett’s final, obscure years in Kenya are a revelation about the man and thoroughly deserve to be documented.

If you have read and appreciated Corbett’s writings, then add this important biography to your collection.

BS