FOR ACCLAIMED WILDLIFE photographer Sudhir
Shivaram, the love affair with Corbett National Park
started in 2013 on a family trip. He had heard a lot about
the forest, but the trip still managed to amaze him.
Ever since, he has visited his favourite forest at least
once a year to capture its mesmerising landscapes and
dazzling biodiversity.
“Many people come back from Corbett National
Park and tell me they didn’t see anything,” notes
Shivaram. “But if you haven’t been to the Dhikala zone,
you haven’t really seen Corbett.” The grasslands of
Dhikala, especially in their summer shades of April
and May, offer a great opportunity to capture wild
elephants in huge numbers. These tuskers are also
famous for indulging in dust baths here. It’s a habit
that makes for great shots. The vastness and openness
of the Dhikala landscape also lends it to wide-angle
frames of scores of tuskers making a beeline to their
favourite watering holes. In fact, it is frames like these
that draw Shivaram to this neck of the woods every
year. “No other part in the world can boast of such
landscapes,” he says.
But the landscape is not as pristine as it once was.
Today, the Ramganga is dotted with plastic trash.
Shivaram says that the state of his favourite national
park has underlined the urgency and significance
of preserving nature. He strives to create the same
awareness on his photography tours.
Although Shivaram does not equate Corbett with
its tigers, a sighting is always a bonus. And his
favourite member of the wild cat species is Parwali.
One of the most beautiful tigresses he’s seen, Parwali
lives across the Ramganga River and is found lurking
near a particular waterbody that she’s made her own.
“I’ve spent a long time capturing her lounging around
the pool in summers. It is great when a tiger goes
about its natural behaviour, not bothered about your
presence in the vicinity.”
Having captured Corbett in its many moods and
hues, Shivaram still does not have his coveted frame:
“The undulating blues of the sky, the white stones
on the river banks, and a tiger chasing its prey in the
gushing Ramganga River.” Another frame he would
love to have on his walls is a backlit tiger crossing the
river during the golden hour. Until he gets these, you
can spot the wildlife photographer waiting by the river
banks of Corbett National Park every summer.
(AS TOLD TO SUMEET KESWANI)travelandleisureindia.in