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Another place, another tiger

Contributed by Dr. Bakhshish Singh:

While we were camping at Deoban (Chakrata Forest Division) as forestry trainees during June 1956, each House (group of 6 trainees) was asked to fell a given Oak tree, cut it into billets and prepare a Kiln for Charcoal making. The members of each House were required to take turns (in batches of two members at a time) to watch and monitor (day & night for 5-6 days) the slow anaerobic burning in their respective kilns.

On one of those nights I, alongwith another member of my House ( from Punjab), was on duty to keep a watch over burning in our Kiln. Sometime around 1 AM or so we heard loud & shrill cries coming from the kiln of another House across a low ridge. Both of us, holding torches and Khukhries in our hands rushed to that kiln and on reaching there found that both trainees guarding that kiln were lying down flat on the ground in almost a senseless condition. we shook them up and enquired as to what made them to shout aloud and be so nervous.They took some time to gain confidence to talk and narrate their story to us. They said that a Tiger came near them, looked at them very closely and then walked away when they raised alarm.

How it transpired is that the said Kiln was located on a hill slope quite close to a forest road. That road was leading to a water Spring a little further away in the valley and was a regular path (trail) for the tiger to go to that water hole in the night (as told to us by the local people). Most probably it was the tiger who became curious when he found two people sitting on his way along that road. ! !

- Dr. Bakhshish Singh

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