Valmik Thapar: Tiger Man who gave his everything to wildlife

New Indian Express

4 days ago

Tigers burned bright for Valmik Thapar, who passed away after losing his fight against cancer at the age of 73 on Saturday.
For many people of a certain vintage, Thapar arrived in their drawing rooms near the end of the 20th century with his infectious energy and a rich drawl promising a "journey you will never forget". Mellifluous Ta da ri na played as the title rolled up — Land of the Tiger.
The six-part BBC series would go on to transmit his passion for these "superb animals" to the world.
It was a passion that had been ignited in the 1970s at the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. Thapar had gone there, on a whim, at the age of "23-24". But when the "romantic" chanced upon tigers in that setting, the flames of love were lit.
Fateh Singh Rathore, the legendary former field director of the reserve, played a big role in nursing the affair along in the early days.
Such was the magic that young Thapar, who had no experience with tigers or wildlife, never really came back from the place he would call "home" later. In fact, on my frequent visits to the place, I used to encounter him — either alone or in the company of Fateh Singh Rathore.
Thapar would go on to succeed magnificently where it mattered: he made tigers popular among the masses. Through numerous books and films on wildlife, he helped the big cat to regain its lost glory. In a way, through them, he mobilised public support for the tigers.
Even the titles of Thapar's books reflect his undying love for tigers. The Secret Life of Tigers, The Tiger's Destiny, Living With Tigers, and many more. In all, he wrote over twenty-five books — Tiger Fire: 500 Years of the Tigers in India was another — and made many documentary films, all of which will remain as vivid testaments.
Famous dissenter
The 'Tiger Man' of India, as he was often hailed, never shied away from taking pointed, non-conformist stands on issues concerning India's wildlife management. It did not matter whether the final analysis proved him right or wrong, he would not budge from his stated position.
Recently, Thapar was among the first to put his foot down on the Central Government's ambitious programme to bring African cheetahs to India. "The project is doomed to fail; take it from me, cheetahs will not survive on Indian soil," he stressed repeatedly.
Till the end, he remained a man of strong beliefs and did not mind crossing swords with authorities and fellow wildlife experts.
Another interesting case in point was the Tiger Task Force, set up by the UPA Government in 2005, in the aftermath of Sariska Tiger Reserve losing all of its tigers to poachers. It was the first national park in India to attain this dubious distinction.
One of the briefs of the taskforce was to suggest effective wildlife management in India's reserves to prevent a Sariska-like fiasco. Chaired by well-known environmentalist Sunita Narain, the committee in its final report suggested forging a stronger rapport between humans and wildlife in the forest areas.
Thapar famously struck a dissenting note, scoffing at the taskforce's suggestion and dismissing it as "too optimistic". He instead advocated making certain areas of the forest sacrosanct for tigers and other wildlife, with no human interference.
Be that as it may, even the most strident critics of Valmik Thapar swore by his undying passion for the Tigers. In that respect, he reminds me of another Tiger Man, and one no less important: Billy Arjan Singh.
Billy's legendary association with Uttar Pradesh's Dudhwa Tiger Reserve finds an echo in Thapar's fascination with Ranthambore. The two of them had several things in common.
Neither had any field experience, nor scientific training of any kind. Both courted controversies gleefully, but their imagination was fired by their passion for forests and wildlife. Both gave their everything to wildlife.
It will always remain their abiding legacy.
(Ajay Suri is a writer, photographer, documentary film-maker. He is also a journalist who won the Ramnath Goenka award for excellence in environment reporting.)