The Sanctuary Interview - Meet Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj

An Indian Forest Service Offi cer, a tiger protector, a Great Indian Bustard protector, wildlife photographer par excellence, and a man whose heart beats for wild nature. Born in 1968, in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, he grew up in a tiny village called Narwana in Himachal Pradesh. He graduated in Biosciences from the Government College, Dharamsala and obtained a Masters in Botany and an M.Phil. from the Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. The University of Rajasthan, Jaipur awarded him a Doctorate in 2011 for his thesis ‘Plant Resource Utilisation by Avianfauna in Sitamata Sanctuary, Rajasthan, India’. Clearly an academic, he has known Bittu Sahgal for over two decades and speaks to him about his love of photography and passion for wild nature.

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I have known you for decades, and enjoyed your company in the wilds, but had no clue about your thirst for academics.

That is probably because it was eclipsed by my love for the outdoors. My father was in the Indian Army and as a Pahari (hill) village boy, forests and streams were my life. Most of my time was spent with forest guards and rangers and I credit them with seeding me with the desire to join the Indian Forest Service (IFS).

And photography? What triggered that bug?

You remember me from those days, spending time as a Deputy Field Director, trying to identify every tiger through facial and body stripes? Well, one thing led to another and when I met photography greats such as Nanak Chand Dhingra, Jagdeep Rajput, John Isaac and Mike Powel my ambition to turn wildlife photography into a management tool fused with the desire to use it as an expression of art too.

How did you get that ‘pugmark’ on your back in 1997?

It was a classic case of irresponsibility. Instead of waiting for a trained vet, as a forest officer with little more than theoretical knowledge, hopelessly unprofessional and imbued with hyperenthusiasm, I went to the site, armed with a .32 calibre pistol I had no intention of using. No immobilisation equipment. No transportation cage. I got too close. The villagers began pelting the tiger with stones. The tiger basically ‘slapped’ me and gifted me with the clawed pugmark I carry on my back. It could have killed me, but chose not to. (Read the first-person account at www.sanctuaryasia.com)

Shifting gears… does the GIB have a real chance at survival?