Framing the Big Cat

In 1998,after 26 years in the police force,there was little that could scare Somesh Goyal. But the figure lurking outside his jeep,deep in the forest of Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh,had a potential for great violence. “The Bamera Male is the dominant tiger male in Bandhavgarh. On a visit,I saw one of these tigers injured after a fight. Insects were bothering him and he turned around and came very close to my jeep,almost touching the wheel. His body odour and ferocious looks sent a chill down my spine,” recalls Goyal. The IPS officer-cum-photographer did what came naturally to him — he aimed his camera and began to click. This image is now a part of a book,titled Stripes in the Wild (Indiaclicked.com; Rs 1,500),and an exhibition at IHC.

Wildlife photographers’ fascination,even obsession,with the big cat has been well documented. Goyal’s work adds to the oeuvre and he has many anecdotes to share. His oldest photograph is more than 15 years old and titled Munna,after the dominant male of Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh. Munna is famous for the stripes on his forehead that appear to spell out the word “Cat”.

Goyal,an officer with the Sashastra Seema Bal in Himachal Pradesh,is also an avid trekker and photographer and most of his images come from visits to parks such as Kanha,Ranthambhore and Kaziranga. After almost 20 years of shooting various animals,he decided to compile his works in a book. “I wanted to write a book for the layman,giving facts that would interest even children. I have used no technical jargon in the book,except scientific names of the various tigers,” says Goyal about Stripes in the Wild.

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While the book has 70 images of tigers,the 50 photographs on display include elephants and rhinos. “I’m not shooting mannequins. The idea is to tell a story through photographs,” he says.

The exhibition is on at Visual Arts Gallery,IHC till June 28. Contact: 24682001