Poging GOUD - Vrij

Valmik Thapar: Cousin, critic, and wise counsel

Hindustan Times Jammu

|

June 15, 2025

HE WASN'T A POLITICIAN, BUT HE HAD AN UNERRING FEEL FOR WHAT WOULD ATTRACT ATTENTION. HE INSTINCTIVELY KNEW WHAT WOULD EXCITE CURIOSITY AND COULD EASILY DISTINGUISH IT FROM WHAT WAS OF INTEREST ONLY TO THE ELITES OF DELHI'S DRAWING ROOMS

- Karan Thapar

I have to admit I was surprised. I knew he was a celebrity. On the subject of tigers, he was a world authority. His 40 books and his BBC series, Land of the Tiger, were clear testimony. But the newspaper coverage of his death suggested a level of admiration and respect I had not anticipated. It proved he was considered a truly special person — in many ways, an icon.

Thus, Valmik Thapar's death revealed a legacy and a reputation his family had probably not appreciated. Perhaps even understood. Now, belatedly, we have realised the enormous impact he had as a conservationist and as an authority on tigers. He was the star of the present generation of our family.

In many ways, Valu, as we knew him, was like the tigers he loved. He was powerful and gruff. He was a man of few words but capable of large warm gestures. And his appearance was striking. Big and broad, with a most beguiling smile and large twinkling eyes. Valu's laugh could bring everything to a sudden halt before the room spontaneously laughed with him.

MEER VERHALEN VAN Hindustan Times Jammu

Hindustan Times Jammu

Hindustan Times Jammu

Trump: Gaza truce will hold as Israel, Hamas tired of fighting

US President Donald Trump said he believed the Israeli ceasefire that began in Gaza on Friday would hold as Israel and Hamas are \"tired\" of fighting.

time to read

2 mins

October 12, 2025

Hindustan Times Jammu

Space oddities: The strangest planets we've found so far

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Are we ready to encounter alien life, asks Nikku Madhusudhan of the Institute of Astronomy at University of Cambridge

time to read

1 mins

October 12, 2025

Hindustan Times Jammu

Modi launches two agri schemes worth ₹35k-cr

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the reforms in agriculture and farming sectors undertaken by the Union government in the last 11 years have begun to show results, but for speedy development of the country, these sectors will need to be strengthened further.

time to read

1 mins

October 12, 2025

Hindustan Times Jammu

Modi launches two agri schemes worth ₹35k-cr

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the reforms in agriculture and farming sectors undertaken by the Union government in the last 11 years have begun to show results, but for speedy development of the country, these sectors will need to be strengthened further.

time to read

1 mins

October 12, 2025

Hindustan Times Jammu

Where is everyone?

We've been searching for decades, but haven't found so much as a microbe in space yet. Could it be that we're early; that life simply has not evolved yet in the neighbourhood? Are we doing it all wrong? Is there a bustling universe of sentient beings out there, waiting for us to catch on? Humans are now beginning to build technology that could make the difference in our quest for alien life. We have a growing understanding of what to look for. We're getting better at sending probes to nearby planets, which could tell us more about where and how to search. What might we find? Why does it matter? Take a look

time to read

6 mins

October 12, 2025

Hindustan Times Jammu

Being Indian, and being seen as one

\"Where are you from?\" \"India.' \"Oh, you don't look Indian.

time to read

3 mins

October 12, 2025

Hindustan Times Jammu

Talking about a revolution

Astrophysicists are uncovering planets that echo worlds from the works of James Cameron, Andy Weir and George Lucas. Take a look.

time to read

2 mins

October 12, 2025

Hindustan Times Jammu

We scan and we will

A TIMELINE

time to read

1 mins

October 12, 2025

Hindustan Times Jammu

MF Husain: Man and myth, art and artist

M F Husain is undoubtedly India's best known and perhaps most highly regarded modern artist. As an editorial in this newspaper put it last week, he is \"arguably the most inventive artist of Indian modernism\". This is why it's not just sad but upsetting that an MF Husain museum will open next month in Doha and not in the country of his birth.

time to read

2 mins

October 12, 2025

Hindustan Times Jammu

Hindustan Times Jammu

Are you seeing what I'm seeing?

It's surprising that both Homebound and Kantara: Chapter 1 wallow in cliches of India, rather than reinventing them

time to read

2 mins

October 12, 2025

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size