Remembering Valmik Thapar

FRIEND, FIGHTER, FORCE OF NATURE

- Sundeep Bhutoria

In the quiet sanctuary of Wendell Berry's lines from "The Peace of Wild Things", I often find solace. Today, those words return with a new weight - because the man who taught so many of us to seek peace in the wild is no more. Valmik Thapar, India's most passionate advocate for the tiger and the soul of Ranthambore itself, has passed away.

The news hit hard. For me, it's not just the loss of a conservation iconit's the loss of a friend of Ranthambore - a place I hold closest to my heart - A fierce voice gone quiet. A presence is impossible to replace.

Valmik wasn't just India's tiger man. He was Ranthambore. Not just in a symbolic way he lived, breathed, and fought for it every single day. Through the awe he inspired in forest guards and guides, in villagers and visitors. Through the stories that clung to the park-like mist of Machli, Noor, Genghis and of the man who gave us a reason to care.

Valmik started young, in the 1970s. Back then, Ranthambore was a fragile wilderness on the brink. What Valmik saw wasn't just a threat - it was a possibility. He immersed himself in the jungle, studying tigers not just as a researcher, but as someone who understood their soul. He watched, he listened, and he wrote it all down articles, books, and documentaries that brought India's tigers into living rooms and policy rooms alike.

Over a span of four decades, he authored a score of books on wildlife and conservation, including Tiger: The Ultimate Guide and Tiger Fire the latter an anthology of India's long and layered relationship with the big cat. He presented and co-produced several acclaimed documentaries for the BBC and National Geographic, such as Land of the Tiger, which aired internationally and educated millions on India's wildlife.