The Corbett National Park and Tiger Reserve are inextricably
linked with “Project Tiger” in the country and have placed Uttarakhand
on the world wildlife tourism map forever.
People all over the world identify Uttarakhand region with this
famous national park which is a constant reminder of the hunter turned
conservationist Jim Corbett.
Home of the roaring tiger, trumpeting elephant and singing birds, the
Park, India’s first national park, would turn seventy six on August 8.
Founded on August 8,1936 as Hailey National Park, Corbett National
Park in the Uttarakhand Himalayas, is tiger hub at its best. Initially
named after United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) Governor Sir Malcolm
Hailey, the park was later named Ramganga National Park in 1952.
It was in 1957 that it was finally renamed as Corbett National Park
in honour and memory of the late Jim Corbett who had helped in setting
up the park and demarcating its boundaries.
Corbett National Park has the distinction of being the first park in
the country to have been brought under the auspices of “Project Tiger”.
The park is also known as the “Land of Roar, Trumpet and Song”. On July
25, 2010, the park celebrated the birth anniversary of Jim Corbett
whose memories still linger in and around Corbett Park.
Children from Chhoti Haldwani village, which was named by Corbett
himself, dressed up like Corbett and his sister Margaret (Maggie),
reminded people of the message of conservation given by Corbett.
Kaladhungi, a picturesque hamlet about 35 km from the park, has been
an inseparable part of the endless tiger stories of Kumaon focussing
around the legendary Jim Corbett. It is this place where he resided.
Born in 1875, Corbett stayed in Kumaon till 1947 and after that left
for Kenya where he died in 1955. His home in Kaladhungi is now a museum.
Noted actor Tom Alter, who regularly visits the park, says he spent
all his winter vacations here between 1958 and 1966. “The impressions
created then are still strong in my mind. Corbett has given me a lot and
I will try to give my bit back to it,” he said.
More than 2 lakh tourists visit the park between November and June every year.
Dhikala is the most well known zone in Corbett. It is located at the
edge of the broad Patli Dun valley through which the Ramganga flows in
numerous channels. The Tourist Complex overlooks Dhikala Chaur (one of
the largest remaining grasslands of the Park) and Phulai Chaur.
The Jhirna Zone, which is towards the southern boundary of the
reserve will, as usual, remain open throughout the year. The area in and
around Bijrani once formed part of a shooting block. During the British
period it was known for the quality of game hunting that it offered to
shikaris. Jhirna was a farming village until 1994 when it was
successfully relocated under Project Tiger. Dhikala is the most well
known zone in Corbett. It is located at the edge of the broad Patli Dun
valley through which the Ramganga flows in numerous channels.
Renowned Wildlife Expert AJT Johnsingh, who devoured the stories of
Jim Corbett in Tamil translation during childhood, has described,
through his own writings, all places in Kumaon and Garhwal Corbett
talked about in his stories of maneating tigers, and documented the
changes.
Dr Johnsingh wrote a book On Corbett’s Trail and Other Tales from
Tree-tops, to convey the beauty and thrill of Indian forests and its
wildlife. He takes the reader for walks in the jungle with him and makes
him see through his trained eyes.
Johnsingh describes Jim Corbett as “a demi-God in my childhood
memories”. “His absorbing descriptions of jungle lore which I read as a
child in the local library kindled my desire to become a student of
nature for life”.
“My life began in the southern end of south India in Nanguneri and it
was there, one dusty afternoon, that I accidentally discovered a Tamil
translation of Maneaters of Kumaon. It cast a spell on me that still
have not lifted,” he added.
Johnsingh gives a vivid description of the dense jungle near
Devidhura in Kumaon which is talked about by Corbett in The Temple
Tiger. When Johnsingh visited the area in 1993, 84 years after Corbett’s
visit, he found widespread change. “The dense oak and scrub jungle near
Devidhura that Corbett mentions has been lost to cultivation. It was
evident that it had ceased to be a habitat for the tiger a long time
ago”.
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