Jim Corbett of Uttarakhand is an amazing place, a heaven for those who can enjoy the beauty of elephants. It is a place with wonderful views of the forest in all seasons. Once or twice I go to the place every year. The first time I went there, accompanied by my mentor Mr. Praveen Mohandas. I was literally inspired by his photos of elephants. The Dikkala range is the most mesmerising out of the six zones of Jim Corbett, including the river Ramganga, Sambar road, the walkways of elephants, and the grass lands giving you the opportunity to capture many attractive frames easily. When you see so many elephants in groups moving freely around, you treasure it in your life time memoir. In fact, I felt heart broken whenever I see elephants chained and harassed in the midst of big crowds in other parts of the world. Corbett has presented me with many shots that prove freedom is the happiest state of being alive.
“Our freedom, our happiness.”
It was a hot summer evening. The moments of long waiting on the banks of the river Ranga were suddenly turned into a moment of anxiety, as herds of wild elephants jumped out of the woods covering the whole area in dust. They went down the river through the dirt and earthen pots, creating awesome opportunities for a photographer.
’After a storm comes a calm’
He came across the Samba Road, his first appearance resembling a desert storm. He is known as “LAL KAN”.
He filled his trunk with dusty sand and sprayed the atmosphere. The dust stayed a while in the air while I was trying my best to frame him in my camera, and my eyes were petting him through the lenses.
I have seen even a very peaceful face of him in between. This is the photograph of this memory…
“Under the sun… I am a small one.”
A lonely tusker walking through the grassland at sunset. It seemed like a small spot distancing slowly when the earth started to darken. He was the only one under the sun in this big world.
Think of this as minimalism; when he became a baby elephant on a large land. Another moment the planted in my life
“The Queue.”
The image of the first Corbett voyage; iit was winter and a misty day. The sunset was early. The curtain of mist came down as early as 4 o’clock. In the meantime, a small herd of elephants was walking towards the field, and in the fog of the snow, these calves stood in line. It was a good frame for me.
“The War.”
The first time I have directly seen a great fight between two wild elephants. At nine o’clock in the morning, between a young tusker and older one, began the war behind the waters of Ramganga. And then, just in front of the meadows, they both decided to match their strength. After a few minutes they came down to the river only for five minutes. Then both of them slowly got up on the shore, roaring, and pointing their tusks together, it was a test of strength once again. A bit of blood was spilled, test of strength continued for a while, but soon they called it quits and were gone.
“For my lover”
This is the moment when the beloved horn tries to flirt and tempt the female that is feeding next to him. He stayed for a long time near her, and then he went to the river Ramganga and showered himself. I could catch many of his rare movements comfortably from a delta nearby where he was playing in the waters, and just a little away, the female was slowly moving to the woods as a lover does.
“Life on the Banks of Ramganga “
It’s a regular sight in the early morning as elephants flock to the river. As they drink water and spray themselves, these images are fixed in my mind. Catching the life shots of elephants in the early morning before the sunrise always amazes me.
“Playtime”
This is the typical scenario at Corbett, when you see clever baby elephants playing in front of you, it is normal that you become very affectionate. I captured these two cute baby elephants on a foggy evening, as they played pulling off the grass. What a lovely moment.
