February 25, 1999, Thursday, sunny,
15-28C
[21:06, @ Rm. 111, Kanha Jungle Lodge]
The
first thing I did this morning was to write a letter to Pradeep, which took me
from 08:00 to noon, but well worth it.
Then, with Anne, Christopher and Kim sitting around me, and everyone
else out on safari (except the “attractive blonde” as I remarked to Kim the
previous evening and her elderly companion, both from South Africa), I read it
aloud to them. They almost cheered at the
end. So, here it is:
[February 25, 1999
[Dear Pradeep:
This
letter first and foremost is about something on which we both agree – the need
for communication between us. Since my
return to beautiful Kanha, I tried many times to contact you, directly three
times, and through Faiyaz and Tarun many times more, all without success. Here is my attempt to reach you by fax.
First,
I think you must be pleased with the progress your Tiger Trust is making in the
urban centres, not least of all the Love the Tiger Walk, whose success is
largely due to your dedicated and tenacious effort. I’m writing to give you some news about the progress of Tiger
Trust in this rural centre, of which I believe you have an equal reason to be
proud.
As
you know, I am here in India not as a tourist, but as a worker, not to sit and
wait, but to do and accomplish. The
aim, needless to say, is to save the tiger.
The objectives are many, some predetermined, and others determined on
the spot and at the moment depending on what current situations call for. Pertaining to the former, my predetermined
objective is to do outreach to the 178 buffer zone villages and the 22 east
core zone villages, totaling a round 200, all within my time here of 1.5
months. I have determined that the only
way I can accomplish this is by means of a multi-panchayat conference involving
not just the villagers, but government officials as well.
The
first thing I did, with the very capable and reliable help of Faiyaz, Anne and
Christopher, was to discuss the matter with several top level officials,
including the Kanha Field Director Rajeesh Gopal, the Kanha Core Zone Director
(Mr. _ Negy), the Kanha Buffer Zone Director (Mr. Assim Srivastava), the
Regional Collector (Mr. Manu Srivastava), the Assistant Forest Conservator (Mr.
Jharia ), the Court Judge at Baihar (Mr. Vijay Chandra), and a number of park
guides including Tirath, all of whom are enthusiastically in support of the
idea, and all have expressed a desire to participate. The Field Director Mr. Gopal at once mentioned his interest in
giving a slideshow, and Mr. Negy offered to give us a list of other key
officials to invite.
I
also took the opportunity to discuss with each and every one of them regarding
raising the park fee for foreign visitors and channeling 50% of the revenue to
benefit the villagers in such a way as to enable them to appreciate the park as
a benefactor. There is not one among
them who did not consider it a good idea.
The most reserved response was from Mr. Assim, who suggested that we do
an informal survey of the foreign tourists at the lodge as to whether they
would mind paying extra for the benefit of tiger conservation. The few with whom Anne and I have discussed
this matter not only said they would not mind, they thought that the current
fee was laughably ridiculous.
The
initial date set was March 11, since I expected to leave Kanha around the
middle of March. On second thought,
however, it was far too rushed.
Further, I would like to conduct small group discussions first with
various panchayat leaders to give them a global view of the conservation
picture from my perspective, and a formula of how the park systems, with some
proposed changes, and the tiger in specific, can benefit them and solve many of
their problems, as well as what they can do together themselves and in
conjunction with Tiger Trust here on Kanha’s ground level, and myself as a
foreign campaign worker.
Originally,
I was going to outreach to the villages myself with Faiyaz, but Faiyaz advised
me that the initial contact should best be done by Indian people only, that is,
not by a foreigner. Therefore, over the
last several days, Faiyaz has been going out with a chosen driver, who happens
to be Tirath. The object is to invite
5-7 panchayat leaders to come to the Tiger Trust Conservation Centre
daily. His outreach tool, other than
the Gypsy, is my bulging media folder, including the recent Delhi and Jaipur
clippings (thanks to your Delhi staff for sending them) which has proven
extremely effective in inducing the panchayat leaders to not only accept our
invitation, but eager to attend.
Faiyaz’s open and friendly way with the villagers also plays no small
part in achieving this end.
Faiyaz’s
first excursion was on February 21st, and our first meeting with the
first panchayat group took place on February 23rd. The group comprised 7 village leaders
representing 8 villages. As
prearranged, they arrived at 13:30 in the Gypsy. We (Faiyaz, Anne, Christopher and myself) sat down with them in
the school house for a getting-to-know-you meeting, in which we introduced
ourselves and made some opening remarks as to what we aim to accomplish with
them. I asked them to briefly tell us
their problems and concerns. Faiyaz gave
spontaneous verbal translations, but I also read their body language, which told
me that we were on the right path, the same wavelength and shared a high degree
of mutual respect.
Around
15:00, we took them out to the parking lot to introduce them to the two solar
cooking devices. Previous to their
arrival, Anne had started a pot of rice in the solar oven. Upon opening the glass cover (double pane
this time) and the pot lid, we were greeted by the best cooked pot of rice I
have ever seen (no exaggeration). The
rice was puffy, with no hint of a single drop of lingering water. We all shared the rice together with some
samosas kindly provided by Tarun. The
other device was the newly constructed 4’X6’ mono-axis parabolic mirror. We got the villagers to walk past the lee
side of the mirror, where they would get a blast of sun on their faces, then
place their hands at the focal point, they needed no explanation of the
theory.
Seeing
that there was no power for my slideshow, we took them into the park in two
vehicles, with me at the wheel of the new Gypsy and Christopher at the wheel of
the old one. None of the villagers had
been in the park before, and were clearly enthralled by the experience, even by
the chital, which, only an hour before, was spoken of with some venom. Faiyaz made a beautiful and profound remark:
“We want to make them fall in love with the park, even with the chital.” When we returned to the lodge, if was about
18:00. The power came back on shortly
after that, and I gave them the slideshow, slightly modified to suit their
needs, with Faiyaz giving a rapid-fire line by line translation. The room was so quiet you can hear the lone
mosquito buzzing around. Anne sat on
the floor with the group of Manjitola children around her, the smallest one in
her lap. After the slideshow, we asked
the villagers to choose a day for the conference between March 22 and March 26
(since I have to return to Delhi for the March 29 presentation at the Habitat
Centre). We had to fix a date right
there and then to avoid having to have to go back to them yet one more
time. They came to a consensus of March
23, Tuesday. After that, Tirath drove
them home. Afterwards, forest
conservator Mr. Jharia, who was present, remarked that he was greatly surprised
at the receptiveness of the villagers.
So,
this is going to be our mode of operation from now until the end of March, with
Faiyaz going out to invite and bring in panchayat leaders, and we taken them
into the park and hold meetings with them and give them slideshow
presentations, all culminating at the March 23rd Kanha Region Panchayat
Conference.
It
would of course be greatly beneficial if you could attend and be one of the key
speakers. Our Bara Bacha, too,
naturally.
Now,
perhaps you can appreciate my constant need of a slideshow projector here. It is obvious that the most logical
arrangement is for me to have your 220 volt projector here and you retain my
110 volt projector in Delhi with its voltage converter which can also be used
to blow up Bara Bacha. As you may be
aware, I have left a written request via Vijay to have Tarun bring me the 220
volt projector with my slides. What
Tarun was given to bring was the 110 volt projector, with no converter and no
slide. We then asked your Delhi office
to correct the situation, but what was sent to me was the converter instead of the
220 volt projector, with the request for me to return the converter the day
after. Obviously, I cannot do that
without jeopardizing the project here.
I also recall your concern about the power fluctuations burning up your
projector. I don’t believe that would
happen, since I have been plugging my computer into the wall here day after
day, and it was not fried. At worst, it
might burn a bulb, but I have spare bulbs here. If it fries your projector, I will repair it at my expense. Please make arrangements to correct the
situation. Your Delhi office also asked
me to rent a projector from Balaghat and send the converter to Delhi. Even if I can find one to rent, do you think
it makes sense to rent it for a whole month?
I can’t believe that in a city of 10 million like Delhi, you cannot find
a voltage converter to rent for just one day to cover you February 27
event.
I
was also informed that you have plans to send Sucheta out here to Kanha to
“monitor” the project. With all due
respect to Sucheta and her demonstrated efficiency, I consider her talents much
better used to do aggressive campaigning to open up new awareness
territory. As for me, I don’t think
that my work needs over-my-shoulder monitoring or point-by-point supervision by
one of your employees, not to mention its being done with the grant money that
we provide you, thank you very much. In
fact, I work best when I am left alone.
Back at WCWC, Paul and Adriane agree upon an aim and a set of objectives
with me, and even if I go on the road for two months, I do things under my own
direction, with excellent results to show for it. It is true that I have designed this local project without your
input, but it is not for want of trying on my part to try to contact you. Given my limited time here, I cannot afford
to sit here and wait for your approval every step of the way. It is indeed possible that you may not like
everything that I have in mind to do.
But everyone else, including high officials, have shown great
appreciation for them, and I think in the end, you will appreciate and even
benefit from the overall results.
Please
bear in mind that other than the tiger, the park, the villagers and the
government systems, what stands to benefit is also your organization Tiger
Trust. If I may be so bold as to
suggest, if Sucheta really is not needed in Delhi, the way to maximize the use
of her considerable talents would be to send her to Bandhavgarh to start a
Tiger Trust project there with Vivek.
In this way, the tigers as well as villagers in both Kanha and
Bandhavgarh will benefit. I can
appreciate your need to have proceedings here reported to you by someone loyal
and trustworthy, in which case I think Tarun can more than adequately fulfill
this role. If I perceive that our
conference here need more help, Sucheta would be the first person I would ask
for.
One
last paragraph to conclude this point.
I stress again that WCWC does not have nor need a full time monitor for
the work of its various campaigners, and I do not see such a need for Tiger
Trust either, especially given that there is not even a full flight campaign
happening here at this point except for the Panchayat Conference. I will go as far as to say that to have a
monitor before even the existence of a truly full time campaigner is to be
top-heavy, to put the cart before the horse and a waste of CIDA money
Another
observation is the lack of support of Tiger Trust activities at Kanha from
Delhi. According to CIDA parameters, WCWC’s Southern Partner needs to be a full
time, dedicated NGO, not some part time organization subservient to another
organization, let alone a commercial enterprise, even one concentrating on
tiger-centred ecotourism. This is of
particular significance to WCWC since WC does not even accept corporate donations
as a rule. This means that Tiger Trust
must have a full time, dedicated ground level project leader in charge of a
full time, dedicated tiger conservation project.
For
this position, I cannot think of a better person that Tiger Trust’s extant Project
Officer Faiyaz Khudsar, whom I have found an effective, creative, energetic,
sincere, conscientious, dedicated and honest worker, one endowed with great
leadership qualities. Given a free rein
and the needed support, I have no doubt he can make Tiger Trust the preeminent
NGO in the Kanha region. As it is, I
cannot help but notice that his talents have not been unleashed, but instead
restrained, as tigers go down daily in India.
Finally,
I cannot see how Tiger Trust can function meaningfully at Kanha without a 3-4
person full time campaign team, especially after Anne and I have left. Given the low Indian wage structure, it will
not translate into a huge expense, but the difference could be the survival or
extinction of the Kanha tigers, and Kanha National Park itself.
I
hope that your will forgive me for being so candid with my opinion. I have tried to be as constructive as
possible. The fact is that what Tiger
Trust does or does not do does impact upon the performance and reputation of
WCWC especially in the eyes of CIDA, and ultimately upon the tiger of whose
fate we are all passionately concerned.
Sincerely your colleague and family
friend,
Anthony Marr]
So,
the die is cast. The inevitable
confrontation is forthcoming. What I’ve
wanted to say for a long time has been said.
I’ll accept whatever may come my way.
And they will.
Originally
I was going to have the letter loaded on to a floppy and taken to some computer
place in Baihar to have the letter printed, then faxed to Delhi. But Tarun informed me that their computer
format was different and it could not be done.
So, with his help, I had the floppy wrapped in card board and an
envelope, and gave it to Chris to take to Delhi to give to Pradeep in person,
probably tomorrow night or the morning of the 27th.
[00:49] The second group of
panchayat members came at around 14:15.
We first showed them the solar devices, then had our meeting in the
school house, with Kim on the video cam.
Snack
at 15:45 and into the park by 16:10. At
one point, we came across the Gypsy of Peter Harrison. Faiyaz called to them, “Prominent Canadian
conservationist driving Indian panchayat leaders!” Peter roared with laughter.
I said to the villagers, “I may be a Canadian conservationist, but I’m
not even a panchayat member.” They
roared with laughter, too.
Half
way through the drive, the good times feeling had taken hold of the villagers
in the rear deck of the Gypsy. Their
stiffness was gone. They had taken to
chatting quietly among themselves and with the park guide while pointing at
this and that. Faiyaz in the front
passenger seat and I behind the wheel also took to quietly talking.
“I’ve been thinking about our 7-leveled superstructure of all things on Earth. It occurred to me that there are things in common from level to level.”
“Interlevel
Parallelism,” said Raminothna.
“Interlevel
Parallelism. Yes. Sounds right.”
“Give me an
example.”
“Each
level has nonsocial and social organisms.”
“Very good. A fundamental and indispensable parallelism. And another?”
“Differentiation
and cooperation on all levels.”
“Differentiation
and cooperation – the yin/yang forces of Transcendental Integration, indeed.”
“There
is order in the order of things after all,” said Faiyaz.
Back
in the conservation centre, the slideshow visibly moved them. At the end, the most outspoken of them said
to Faiyaz, “I cannot find the exact word to praise Mr. Marr, but I have never
met anyone like him.” When saying
goodbye, he gave me a long and respectful two handed handshake.
Then
over to the group of 20 American tourists.
Tarun arranged to show the Champions video before dinner, with Peter
Harris introducing, and the slideshow after dinner.
Anne
and Faiyaz went to Baihar to pay for Bullet.
Tarun refused to shell out the Rs.2200, so Anne paid Rs.1500 and Faiyaz
the other Rs.700. They came back early
enough to catch most of my slideshow.
Anne said, “Your presentations get better every time I hear it.” Well, not exactly every time, but this time,
I have to say, is very good, especially given that it was the second in the
day.
After
the slideshow, I observed that Faiyaz had sunken again into a dispirited
state. We retired into Anne’s room to
talk. He held his head in his hands and
said, “I don’t know what I should do any more.” I asked what the matter was.
He dug out a letter he had just brought back from Baihar, which he had
shown to Tarun.
[Dated: 23 Feb’ 99
Tiger resorts (P) Ltd.
Kind Attn: Mr. Tarun Bhati / Kanha Jungle Lodge
From:
Pradeep Sankhala
Dear Tarun,
During
the stay of the Realm of Tiger group, instruct Faiyaz to look after the group
only. Suggest the Tiger Trust
activities should be suspended during the group’s stay.
Also
inform Delhi office of what all happened in last couple of days.
Regards,
Pradeep]
I
fumed for a moment, then asked him to make me a photocopy to bring back to
Vancouver to show WCWC, and perhaps, if we decide to discontinue with Pradeep
(if Faiyaz leaves, we definitely should), to show CIDA as well. CIDA is already questioning TT why all work
stops during the monsoon season.
Knowing Pradeep’s priorities, and given Pradeep’s TT work being tourist
oriented and tourism being dormant in the monsoon season, we shouldn’t be
surprised. But of course CIDA doesn’t
know this, so it is up to me to show it to them, and I will.