WHAT DO we look for while visiting a writer’s house? An experience or a feel of being at a place where our hero spent his glorious days. We want to see the beds he slept in, the desks where he wrote, and the windows from where he stared out as the world went by.
Monday was hunter-tur-ned-conservationist and author Jim Corbett’s 136th birthday and the 75th anniversary of Corbett National Park. And what better way to celebrate his birthday than to visit his abode and remember his life, writings in his erstwhile living room at the Gurney House on Ayarpatta Hill, Nainital.
As Nilanjana Dalmia, who grew up in Gurney House and spent the best of her childhood days here, hosted an evening in the prelude to Corbett’s birthday, the lover of words quickly settled in to listen to the speakers. The tradition of book readings — which brought actor Tom Alter to read from Corbett’s books in 2008, followed by author Namita Gokhale read from Corbett’s The Man-Eaters of Kumaon and from her own novel, A Himalayan Love Story; a piano recital by Justin McCarthy, Rana Dasgupta, who read from his novel Solo — this year had author Namita Devidayal reading from her critically acclaimed memoir The Music Room, a talk by Rajiv Bharatri on the story of Corbett National Park and a slide presentation by Rajesh Panwar on the “Birds of the Corbett Realm”.
After Namita finished with a brief talk on the importance of music in our lives, Rajiv Bharatri while remembering how he detested anything related to hunting said, “I would conveniently avoid the shikaar shelf in the school library and my distaste for anything to do with hunting continued through my early professional life. I avoided Jim Corbett in favour of Norah Burke. Her father was a conservator of forests in early 19th century Garhwal and Kumaon.”
But later while researching on Jim Corbett, when Rajiv became aware of his contributions, he became a fan of Corbett. “He was a pioneer, not just where conservation was concerned, but also in social development. His personal investment in the villagers of Choti Haldwani is commendable,” he says.
Going back to the story of the house, when Corbett learnt that Nilanjana’s grandfather wanted to buy a place in Nainital, he offered him Gurney House. The deal was struck and on November 21, 1947, Maggie, Jim’s sister sold the property and they left for Kenya.
Four years ago, Nilanjana undertook the restoration of Gurney House.
She says, “I have also sought to reinstate it in Corbett’s legacy by commemorating his birth anniversary. We often forget that Corbett was not just a hunter of man-eating tigers and a conservationist of great commitment, but also a storyteller of great skill. In fact, it is this gift of writing that keeps his legend alive today. Therefore, it is a fitting tribute to remember Corbett on his birthday through a celebration of the literary arts.”