Aug 20, 2003 12:33 AM
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(Updated Aug 20, 2003 08:16 PM)
Here is another book featuring Anderson's thrilling adventures with marauding big cats and yet another rogue elephant in the jungles of Southern India from the 1930s to the end of 1950s.
Kenneth Anderson [1917-1974]was a keen hunter and became quite famous as a slayer of man eating tigers and leopards that terrorised the villagers in Madras, Mysore, Andhra Pradesh and Northern Kerala. He lived in Bangalore, and authored eight books.
THE CALL OF THE MAN EATER (Allen & Unwin, UK, 1961) opens with the story of a tiger that took to man eating. Its first victim was the 17 year old daughter of a caretaker of a forest bungalow in Gunjur, near Shimoga in the Mysore state. The father heard the screaming of his daughter, chased the tiger with a stick, but it disappeared into the thick jungle in a few bounds. A few days later, the same tiger killed a boy while fishing in a jungle pool, some 12 miles north of Gunjur. At this time a mad man wandered into the scene. He was given food by the villagers, but no shelter. He slept outside locked doors wherever he happened to be. He was the next victim. Anderson vowed to kill the animal, as he knew the first victim from very young, and went after the man eater with the help of Ananthaswamy.
When a rogue elephant in Moyar Valley started killing people, Anderson volunteered to go after it. When he caught up with the monster, after several days of tracking, the pachyderm was on the move, faster than normal. This story has a twisted and unexpected ending to it.
The UMBALAMERU MAN EATER from Chamala Valley, Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh first killed an old man named Kothanda Reddy who specialized in selling aphrodisiacs to local people. Reddy prepared his 'medicine' from the bulbs of kuloo water plant that grew in the jungle. One day while he was digging for the bulbs, the man eater attacked him from behind and took him away. Several days later two forest guards found a cotton bag and a crowbar belonged to Reddy at the scene.
The next victim was Puttoo Reddy, a cartman. Shortly after that, two more men disappeared, and the villagers began to believe that there was some evil spirits lurking in the Chamala Valley area.
Anderson was camping in the area when he heard about the man eater. His investigations lead him to believe that a tigress named Rani had escaped from a local circus. Unable to hunt its natural prey, Rani took to man eating.
Sulekuntha was a small hamlet in the north Salem area. Here a huge panther, as big as a tiger, started attacking the domestic stock regularly. Anderson's old shikaree friend and poacher Muniappa adds some zest to this story.
In his book MAN EATERS & JUNGLE KILLERS, Anderson mentioned about a tiger that attacked and mauled people and eluded Anderson several times. That mauler became a man eater. It was eventually tracked down by the author with the help of three of his shikaree friends.
Illustrated with photographs and maps, the 275 pages long original edition contains two chapters on jungle life. Its published price was 21 shillings. The price of the original edition commands upto a hundred dollars (Rs.4000) today. Rupa's paperback edition (2002) without photos or maps is much affordable at Rs.150/
It is always a pleasure to enjoy Anderson's books, as they bring a warm feeling. His stories blends well with the nature, transforming the reader to a thick and deep jungle with hills and pools, its denizens and their interaction with the two legged creatures. In our constant fight against the nature, the winner, without doubt, would always be the mother nature. Whenever we upset the balance of nature, we have to pay for it dearly.
This is the **6th of Anderson's eight books. When time and opportunity permits, I shall present the other two books in these pages. Thank you for dropping by.
* Other Books by Kenneth Anderson (1917-1974)
NINE MAN EATERS & ONE ROGUE
BLACK PANTHER OF SIVANIPALLI
MAN EATERS & JUNGLE KILLERS
THIS IS THE JUNGLE
TALES FROM THE INDIAN JUNGLE
TIGER ROARS
JUNGLE LONG AGO
