Aug 16, 2003 03:55 AM
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(Updated Aug 16, 2003 08:19 AM)
TALES FROM THE INDIAN JUNGLE is Kenneth Anderson's 7th book, published by George Allen and Unwin Ltd. (UK) in April 1970. He told the publisher, Malcolm Barness, that it was his final book, as there were no more stories left to tell. Barness was editing Anderson's books for 20 years. He decided to take a vacation and visit the author in Bangalore with Mrs. Barness for the first time.
Anderson picked them up from the Bangalore airport, drove 9 hours in his old Studebaker and arrived at the thatched hut he often stayed in the middle of the jungle. The stories related by Anderson during their stay here, Barness was convinced that Anderson had enough material to write more books.
By the pressure from his readers from around the world (including mine) Anderson started penning another book at his leisure. Unfortunately he did not live to see his last book. He died in 1974 of cancer at the age of 56.
TALES FROM THE INDIAN JUNGLE, was the last of his books he saw in print, and it is a very good one for all readers who indulge in suspense, adventure and eyewitness accounts on matters related to Occult!
I will start with the occult part first before going after the man eaters.
There was the case of Captain Neide, who took an old lamp from an ancient temple. He soon developed high fever and almost died, but recovered after returning the lamp to the temple. Anderson knew a watchman at the Kalhatti forest bungalow who was murdered and buried near the bungalow. Years later, when Anderson happened to stay in this bungalow with his son Donald, the ghost of the watchman appeared before them. Then there was the story of Anderson hunting a tiger near an old temple. One night he sat near an old abandoned well, his back against the stone wall. Suddenly he heard the flipping of wings of a large bat, then he witnessed a rising mist and felt very chilly. He was unable to move. If the tiger came, he was an easy prey. While shivering from fear, Anderson had developed a sudden urge to jump into the well and free himself from all miseries. But he kept still, denying his urge to kill himself. It was revealed next day that there was an evil spirit resided in the area where Anderson spent the night.
There are more such stories of a personal nature here, and only those who spent some time in remote areas, far from the civilization will fully understand and feel their impact in full.
Anderson has the ability to take the readers right into his stories. He can portray the sights and sounds of the jungle in a few words whether he is confronted by a tiger or a king cobra. In one of the chapters, he relates the story of the man eating tiger of Lakkavalli, situated in the western part of Mysore state. Anderson was looking for the remains of a victim, and found them after some serach, just bones - they had been gnawed clean by red ants. This is just an example of Anderson's narrating skills. You think you are with him walking through a carpet of dried leaves in the jungle.
The other stories in the book are 'The Bellundur Ogre' - a man eating tiger, together with the Gowndnorai tiger, terrorized the villagers of Tagarthy; 'The Aristocrat of Amligoda' - another marauding tiger; 'The Assassin of Diguvametta' - the killer panther of Andhra Predesh; 'The Strange case of Gerhetti Leopard as well as two chapters on jungle life.
Illustrated with photographs and area maps where the man eaters operated, the book became a best seller. Anderson had a large number of faithful readers in India, Britain, Australia, United States, Canada and other English speaking countries. It had been reprinted several times since. The Indian edition published by Rupa, only in paperback and lacks the publisher's introduction, photograpgs and maps, but priced at an affordable Rs.150. All Anderson books are selling well in India. The Indian publishers also put out 7 (out of 8) Anderson books in 2 volumes, which is now out of print.
His books not only conveys the natural beauty of India from 1930s to late 1950s, they also brings out the raw history of the land and the people who made their homes in the jungle where the songs of various birds were mixed with the screeches of the monkeys, only to be silenced by the deep throated roar of a tiger so common in the south Indian jungles of long ago!
* See Reviews on other books by Kenneth Anderson here at the Mouthshut.
