More than a century has passed since the famous hunter-turned-conservationist Jim Corbett was born in the lake city of Nainital, people of the region never forget to celebrate his birth anniversary with great pomp.
This year, the occasion of Corbett’s birth anniversary is more special as it is the platinum jubilee year of the famous national park named after Jim Corbett.
On the occasion of Corbett’s 136th birth anniversary on Monday (July 25), the Corbett Gram Vikas Samiti has organised, as it does every year, festivities involving villagers and schoolchildren. Dancing, singing and little skits based on the life of Corbett are part of the celebrations. Tourists who are in town come to know of the great respect Corbett commands in Kumaon. People love him and love to talk about him. Corbett Country is an exciting and fascinating part of Uttarakhand and has always attracted large numbers of tourists the year round.
Edward James Corbett, affectionately called Jim by his family, was born in Nainital to Mary Jane Corbett and Christopher William Corbett who was the postmaster at Nainital. The family spent summers in Nainital and winters in Kaladhungi near Chhoti Haldwani. Jim shot his first leopard at the age of eight. From the mid-1920s, he put down his gun and took up the camera and pen. As a tribute to his undying love for India the national park he helped set up at the foot of Kumaon hills was renamed after him in 1957. Founded on August 8, 1936 as Hailey National Park, Corbett National Park in the Uttarakhand Himalayas, India’s first national park, will turn 75 on August 8, 2011.
Near the foothills of the Kumaon Himalayas lies a quaint little village, once the personal property of Jim Corbett. Called “Chhoti Haldwani”, this village is Corbett country in the truest sense. Stories about Corbett, known as “Carbet Sahib” or “Carpet Sahib” among the villagers do the rounds in this picturesque village in Nainital district.
The village was named by Corbett himself when he bought this sal forest estate and developed it into a model village, first settling 40 families in it. His own house in the village is called “Arundel”.
“Jim Corbett Heritage Trail” is managed by the villagers of Chhoti Haldwani and showcases the pioneering work done by Jim Corbett to develop a model Kumaoni village. Spread over 3 km, the trail takes visitors a couple of hours to complete.
The Community Based Tourism Project members guide visitors along this heritage trail, run a souvenir shop, have home stays in village families and maintain an information kiosk .
Kaladhungi, the winter home of Corbett, is now a museum which is looked after by the Corbett National Park and is at a distance of about 35 km from the park. .It is one of the very few such monuments dedicated to a European anywhere in India. It is a single storey bungalow set in a beautiful garden. Corbett was a friend of every villager and sat on the Panchayat, giving his advice and suggestions. Between 1907 and 1938 he killed ten large man eaters of Kumaon..
When he left India for Kenya along with his sister Maggie, his constant companion, he gifted his lands away. He gave for a small sum, his Kaladhungi home to an Indian friend. Jim left India when he was 72 years and spent only eight years in Kenya .Before he died, he was planning to return to Kumaon, where his heart was.He wrote about his intention to friends in Kumaon .But ill health prevented him from doing so. In his will, he bequeathed Rs.10,000 to the temples in Almora and Rudraprayag and the mosque at Kaldhungi .Each villager of Chhoti Haldwani received a sum of money. As he confesses in his book “My India” , Corbett’s love for India was confined to Kumaon and its people and it is fitting that Kumaon is best known worldwide through his first book”Man- Eaters of Kumaon” published first in 1944.
He lives on in the hearts of the people of Kumaon whom he loved and looked after like a father all his life. Tales of his valour and wisdom echo in these hills. Carpet Sahib is immortal here.
This year, the occasion of Corbett’s birth anniversary is more special as it is the platinum jubilee year of the famous national park named after Jim Corbett.
On the occasion of Corbett’s 136th birth anniversary on Monday (July 25), the Corbett Gram Vikas Samiti has organised, as it does every year, festivities involving villagers and schoolchildren. Dancing, singing and little skits based on the life of Corbett are part of the celebrations. Tourists who are in town come to know of the great respect Corbett commands in Kumaon. People love him and love to talk about him. Corbett Country is an exciting and fascinating part of Uttarakhand and has always attracted large numbers of tourists the year round.
Edward James Corbett, affectionately called Jim by his family, was born in Nainital to Mary Jane Corbett and Christopher William Corbett who was the postmaster at Nainital. The family spent summers in Nainital and winters in Kaladhungi near Chhoti Haldwani. Jim shot his first leopard at the age of eight. From the mid-1920s, he put down his gun and took up the camera and pen. As a tribute to his undying love for India the national park he helped set up at the foot of Kumaon hills was renamed after him in 1957. Founded on August 8, 1936 as Hailey National Park, Corbett National Park in the Uttarakhand Himalayas, India’s first national park, will turn 75 on August 8, 2011.
Near the foothills of the Kumaon Himalayas lies a quaint little village, once the personal property of Jim Corbett. Called “Chhoti Haldwani”, this village is Corbett country in the truest sense. Stories about Corbett, known as “Carbet Sahib” or “Carpet Sahib” among the villagers do the rounds in this picturesque village in Nainital district.
The village was named by Corbett himself when he bought this sal forest estate and developed it into a model village, first settling 40 families in it. His own house in the village is called “Arundel”.
“Jim Corbett Heritage Trail” is managed by the villagers of Chhoti Haldwani and showcases the pioneering work done by Jim Corbett to develop a model Kumaoni village. Spread over 3 km, the trail takes visitors a couple of hours to complete.
The Community Based Tourism Project members guide visitors along this heritage trail, run a souvenir shop, have home stays in village families and maintain an information kiosk .
Kaladhungi, the winter home of Corbett, is now a museum which is looked after by the Corbett National Park and is at a distance of about 35 km from the park. .It is one of the very few such monuments dedicated to a European anywhere in India. It is a single storey bungalow set in a beautiful garden. Corbett was a friend of every villager and sat on the Panchayat, giving his advice and suggestions. Between 1907 and 1938 he killed ten large man eaters of Kumaon..
When he left India for Kenya along with his sister Maggie, his constant companion, he gifted his lands away. He gave for a small sum, his Kaladhungi home to an Indian friend. Jim left India when he was 72 years and spent only eight years in Kenya .Before he died, he was planning to return to Kumaon, where his heart was.He wrote about his intention to friends in Kumaon .But ill health prevented him from doing so. In his will, he bequeathed Rs.10,000 to the temples in Almora and Rudraprayag and the mosque at Kaldhungi .Each villager of Chhoti Haldwani received a sum of money. As he confesses in his book “My India” , Corbett’s love for India was confined to Kumaon and its people and it is fitting that Kumaon is best known worldwide through his first book”Man- Eaters of Kumaon” published first in 1944.
He lives on in the hearts of the people of Kumaon whom he loved and looked after like a father all his life. Tales of his valour and wisdom echo in these hills. Carpet Sahib is immortal here.
the pioneer
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