Khairi

Khairi was a angry, confused and petrified cub when she was handed over to the forest conservator of Similipal Late Dr Saroj Raj Choudhury on October 5, 1974 at Jashipur. She was aggressive and was gnawing her claws at everything. But Dr Choudhry knew exactly what to do. He imitated the sound of a mother tigress and within no time the little cub was feeling at home. Thus startred the legend which were to be told and retold in every household in Odisha. It was a legend about forest conservator who dared to risk his life and went beyond the call of duty for a tigress he considered his very own.

Dr Choudhry would record each and every move made by Khari and all the knowledge that he gathered is used today for the conservation of the king of the jungle. And the pug mark based method he invented is used today for tiger census.

Khairi passed away prematurely at the age of six and half years and Dr Choudhry passed away soon after that in grief. But even today one can hear Khari roar in the forests of Similipal for a legend never dies.

This painting is dedicated to Khari, the princess of Similipal.

p.s. You can watch some rare footage of Khairi with Dr Choudhry and Nihar Nalini Devi (foster mother of Khairi) here.

Title - Khairi - Princess of Similipal

Size - 22 x15 inch

Medium - Watercolor on paper
Photo courtesy - Satyesh Naik

Grass Eaters of Chahala

Title - Grass eaters of Chahala

Size - 15 x 22 inch

Medium - Watercolor on paper
Reference Photo by - Satyesh Naik

Similipal is a wild life sanctuary in western part of Odisha consisting of tiger reserve and national park. It has also been declared as a biosphere reserve by govt of India and UNESCO added Similipal to its list of biosphere reserves in 2009. Of the seven ranges one of the ranges in Similipal is called as Chahala. A friend of mine who is a keen wildlife enthusiast and a photographer while on a birding trip got to stay inside Similpal at Chahala. He has written quiet an essay on his trip and it can be read here. This painting is based on one of the many excellent photographs he has taken during the trip. The photograph can be seen in this post.

The photograph itself was really good and had captured the atmosphere very well. I just added some deers here and there in the painting to make it a little different from the photo. But I guess the photograph is perfect and it is impossible to improve upon perfection. :). So I thought I'll give a catchy title. Something like a movie. Guns of Navarone, Gangs of New York, Prisoner of Azkaban types you know.. :) And the composition itself was so non-text book. Gray for top 2/3rd of the painting and yellow for the bottom one third. Surely does not sound like a great color composition. But then sometimes I think we need to go with our intuition.

p.s. For the next few days I'll be having very scarce or no internet access. I hope you guys do not miss me much during this time. LOL.