The once-verdant forests of undivided Uttar Pradesh afforded me my formative years. Quaint places, Pilibhit, Gonda, Nainital, Jhansi & Etawah, not to mention even cuter forest rest houses in Mahof, Bifurcation, Fisher Forest, Bawain, Kanro, Motichoor, Chilla, Bainpur, & Chakarnagar, riding a sure-footed elephant to navigate cobbled river beds, stopping by a tiger killed in a territorial fight with another, having cubs, deer & rabbits as transient guests at home, have been my karmic dividend. I miss the innocence of a lone forest guard offering me tea from his chulha in a primitive hutment the government affords our green soldiers, his wife & kids left behind to fend for themselves in the native village. I ache to see more respect & insurance to rangers who protect one of the world’s most unsafe forests. So, this perhaps sounds stupid, but every forester anywhere seems like a lost sibling, a guardian of an India so few of us know about — or care. For most, an outing into a national park is about, “𝘬𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘬𝘩𝘢 𝘬𝘺𝘢” — never quite the backstory behind, “𝘛𝘺𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘺𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵; 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦, 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺?”
Am delighted therefore too see family friend & forest-family brother, Dr Samir Sinha, being made the principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) & head of forest force of my adopted state of Uttarakhand. What makes this LinkedIn material is that Samir bhai’s selection is living proof that tough & straight-talking officers still make it to the top. That our much-pilloried political class still turns to rule-bound officers to man crucial positions. [Uttarakhand is 71% forests & pressure to ruin the ecosystem might seem an obvious one]
The wildlife lovers here might enjoy some magic made by Samir bhai — the elephant making way for the tiger; the tiger playing with an elephant’s decapitated tail; a cross tusker; a hundred cheetal in the majestic chauds of Corbett he once led as director & then chief wildlife warden-cum-PCCF (wildlife). You might see through his frames, the canvas of the Almighty
Here’s to professionalism, karmayog, & leading from the back 🐯🌳
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