Sanctuary|People
Meet Vinod Rishi
The Sanctuary Interview
Born in Jalandhar, Punjab, Vinod Rishi schooled in Delhi
and graduated as an engineer from the Indian Institute of
Technology, New Delhi. A year later, his love for wildlife led
him to join the Indian Forest Service. In the next 37 years
and nine months until his retirement, he led an adventurous
life and discovered an India that few people truly know.
Based in Dehradun, he continues to follow his passion for
the wild world and speaks here to Bittu Sahgal about his
love for nature, his concern for India and his solutions and
hopes for tomorrow.COURTESY: VINOD RISHI
Vinod, tell me about the beginnings
of your journey with wildlife.
Well, it’s a long story! As a professional
forest offi cer, I have worked in every
imaginable discipline involving forest
and wildlife conservation in India. I
have lived a blessed life and through
the years, I have been entrusted
with managing national parks, wildlife
sanctuaries, tiger reserves, and even
wildlife areas in reserved forests in
remote areas such as the Sundarban,
terai, Dooars in West Bengal, including
the whole gamut of the Himalayan
foot-hills from its temperate and alpine
Himalayan ecosystems.
You were also a zoo manager for a
while, is that right?
Indeed, yes! In that way, I seem to have
followed the footsteps of the great
Kailash Sankhala. I was responsible