This photographer spent eight years documenting five generations of Machli, the Queen of Ranthambore, in a 500-page book
Tigress Riddhi is the reigning Queen of Ranthambore National Park, and she controls the territory, including the lake area, which was once the hunting ground of her mother, Arrowhead. Riddhi, who is known in official records as T-124, got her name from a photographer who loved her so much that he named the tiger cub, who was born in November 2018, after his own daughter.?
Meet Manish Kalani
That photographer was Manish Kalani, an Indore-based businessman who considered Riddhi, her mother, and other members of the big cat family as his own clan.?That is because Kalani spent over eight years visiting Ranthambore National Park scores of times, documenting the lives of their five generations, starting from Machli, arguably the most famous tiger India ever had.?
Book celebrating five generations of Machli?
Kalani recently launched his coffee table book titled 'The Warrior Queens of Ranthambore: Riddhi, the Reigning Queen,' which has over 500 photos of Machli, her daughter Krishna, granddaughter Arrowhead, great-granddaughter Riddhi, and her cubs.
"It has been a pleasure making this journey, photographing the legacy of Machli. There were some moments of frustration because there would be days when you wouldn't even see a single tiger, and then there were days you saw 15 different tigers. But that is wildlife photography. At the end of the day, you still come back and share your story with other photographers. This is a journey we all shared together," Kalani said.
Legacy of Machli
Machli, aka T-16, was born in 1997 and is widely considered the most photographed tiger in the world. She got the name Machli due to the fish-shaped mark on the left ear of her face. She was not just a famous tigress; Machli also played a key role in repopulating not just Ranthambore but other tiger reserves, including Sariska National Park. The Queen of the Lakes passed away in 2016 at the age of 19, making her the longest-living tigress ever.
How it started
Kalani, who came from a family of real estate developers in Indore, had a liking for the wilderness and wildlife from an early age. Despite having no formal training in photography, Kalani started taking a point-and-shoot camera to his jungle safaris and got better at photographing wildlife.
According to Kalani, photographing five generations of Machli or publishing a book was never even in his mind when he started out.?
"It was some 10 years back that I went to Ranthambore, and the only stories I heard were of the legendary Machli who was hailed as the Queen of the forest. Her stories and how every other tigress was related to her piqued my interest. That is when I decided to explore Machli's family tree and the project was conceived. For eight years, I kept capturing her family, and it is only recently that I thought of putting all that into a book as a tribute to the legendary Machli," Kalani told a packed audience of wildlife enthusiasts and other dignitaries at the event organised by WWF India in New Delhi.??
Aditya 'Dicky' Singh's help
But there was a problem: Kalani had no photos of Machli, and he felt that without her, the book would be incomplete. That is when a friend of his, conservationist and wildlife photographer Aditya 'Dicky' Singh, offered to help. The late IAS officer-turned-conservationist offered his entire library of Machli's photos to Kalani.
"Dicky was a great friend. Initially, I was seeking his help to sort the photos for the book. I also told him that I don't have photos of Machli for the book about her legacy. Dicky said, 'My entire library is yours; choose whichever you want.' That was the kind of person he was," Kalani recalled.
Thickest coffee table book ever
For a coffee table book, The Warrior Queens of Ranthambore: Riddhi, the Reigning Queen is unusually large and has over 400 pages with more than 400 photographs of some 50 tigers.?
"The first shortlist was maybe 5,000 to 8,000 pictures. The second shortlist had maybe 2,000 pictures. The third shortlist was 1,000 pictures, and so on. For the final draft, I reduced it to some 400 pictures."?
"When I finally compiled the book, other photographer friends of mine were critical, saying, ¡®Manish, we have never seen a coffee table book this thick ever in our lives. You are just making it logistically more difficult for people to buy and carry it with them.¡¯ I said it was necessary to do justice to the subject I have chosen, capturing 54 different tigers from 10 families covering five generations,¡± he explained.
'I have two daughters, Riddhi and Ridhima'
While he adores Machli's legacy, Kalani says there will always be a special place in his heart for Riddhi. "I was in Ranthambore shooting when I spotted Riddhi, who was just 10 days old then. My daughter is named Ridhima, and when I posted those photos on social media, calling the cub Ridhima, other photographers who clicked her photos also started referring to her as Ridhima. Later, the forest department also named her Riddhi. I keep saying that I have two daughters, one who lives in New York and the other in Ranthambore," Kalani said.
Keeping India incredible
An advocate for responsible tourism, Kalani argues that more tourists visiting national parks and other protected areas is a good thing and that more areas should be opened up for tourism.
"Since only 20 percent of the forest is open, you are overcrowding the forest, which is disturbing the tigers. Are we saying that the tigers there can be disturbed, but the tigers in the 80 percent should not be disturbed??
The avid tiger watcher batted for the distribution of vehicles in every forest of India, which he feels will reduce the burden as "fewer vehicles mean less disturbance.¡±
Growing awareness among tourists
Kalani also noted that tourists are increasingly becoming responsible and aware of the importance of conservation.?
"The awareness is, no doubt, increasing. There are still the 2-3 percent who, no matter what you tell them, won't listen. That is something that you can't help. But other than that, the awareness of not throwing plastic in the forest and picking up anything that you see lying around is there. Every tourist guide and driver in national parks in India, if they see a plastic bottle or wrapper, irrespective of who has thrown it, will stop the vehicle and pick it up. That is out of respect for the forests. The guests sitting in the jeep will see this and get the message," he said.
Save wildlife for future generations
He also stressed the importance of respect and love towards nature and wildlife to ensure that future generations also get to experience them. "Respect, love, and be responsible towards saving whatever we can for future generations. If we don't do it, they will never experience what I have experienced in this book," he said.
What do you think can be done to encourage responsible wildlife tourism? Tell us in the comments section.
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