Now , there are basically two methods by which a Shikari can secure his Royal Bengal tiger :
A ) Baiting
B ) Beating
When you are baiting a Royal Bengal tiger , the method used in Old India , was as follows :
You would tie a goat , or a Bullock to a tree and then climb up a macchan or another nearby tree and wait with your shot-gun ( or rifle , if you had one ) for the tiger to come . A word of warning , is requisite here. A Royal Bengal tiger has an unrivalled sense of smell. Some times , it may not fall victim to the bait , if it catches the scent of the Shikari . That is why , every Shikari who ever used the baiting method ( naturally , including myself ) always used to wash their clothes in kerosene . While this sounds like a very pungent thing to do , the effectiveness of this trick should not be underestimated . The kerosene helps to mask the smell of the Shikari .
The " Beating " method is far more costly and requires a good deal of co-ordination . The Shikari (s) hire a large group of villagers ( say forty to fifty ) after the trackers have successfully narrowed down the area of a Royal Bengal tiger . These villagers carry large drums , flutes and other musical instruments . While making as much noise as possible , these villagers comb through a forested area in a single file formation , while the shooter(s) are waiting in the other end of the forest . The idea , is to ensure that the Royal Bengal tiger , is flushed towards the shooter .
My childhood hero , Stewart Granger's excellent film " Harry Black and the tiger " portrays the method of beating very accurately . However , the film is ( sadly ) inaccurate about a small detail . The film treats beats , as if they were a very common occurrence . This is not necessarily true. Beats were often used , only as a LAST RESORT . This was , not only because it was expensive to recruit so many villagers , but that it was also extremely difficult to make a large quantity of villagers agree , to this task. No body wants to beat a loud drum and walk through a forest , knowing full well that a Royal Bengal tiger might choose to spring upon you rather than away from you ( however , to be fair , these occurrences were exceedingly rare ) .
In this case , Poton and l decided that we would use a beat , to flush out that Royal Bengal tiger towards our client .
Me , supervising a group of beaters .
While l do own this photograph , it is infact taken from another Shikar which l guided . I have merely added it here , for reference purposes.
A massive macchan was erected for our client to wait on top of . And so , he did , cautiously clutching his .243 Winchester calibre bolt operation rifle .
Two hours had passed . Poton and l were waiting on either side of our client's macchan , in a hole dug in the ground . I was armed with my Ishapore Arms Factory 12 bore side by side shot-gun loaded with SG cartridges in each barrel . Poton carried his Mercury 12 bore magnum side by side shot-gun loaded with Eley Spherical Ball cartridges . We were anxiously waiting , as we heard the loud drumming of the beaters move closer and closer towards us. If they were moving closer and closer towards us , then that must have meant that the Royal Bengal tiger was also getting closer and closer towards us , ad well .
Rishi , who had a pair of binoculars and was sitting on a nearby coconut tree , was scouting the entire area . Suddenly , he said " Kawshik Bhai , dekhen ! Baagh dekhte parchi ! " ( Brother Kawshik , look ! I can see the Royal Bengal tiger ! ) .
Poton immediately gestured to our client . The client readied his .243 Winchester calibre rifle . Being on ground level , neither Poton , nor l , could see the Royal Bengal tiger until it was within a few hundred yards of us . I cautiously raised my Ishapore Arms Factory 12 bore , to take a shot at the Royal Bengal tiger , lest it discovers the hole where Poton and l were lying , in wait . However , Poton stopped me and said " Monib ba amra bipod e na porle , guli chalanor kono dorkar nai "
( Unless we or the client , is in danger , there is no reason for us to shoot our client's trophy ).
My heart pounded nervously , as l knew that the Royal Bengal tiger was getting closer and closer. Suddenly , we heard a sharp "Pop " ! All was silent . It was a gun shot . Poton and l tightly gripped our shot-guns , fearing if the worst should happen . Finally we heard Rishi yell " Baagh amader ! Baagh amader ! " ( The tiger is ours ! The tiger is ours ! ).
Cautiously , we peeked our heads out of our hiding place . True , enough , the Royal Bengal tiger lay dead . Our client had shot him through the heart , right between the two fore legs .
He was a massive fellow , with a weight of exactly 500 pounds . That little .243 Winchester 105 grain soft nose bullet had opened up perfectly , inside his heart and ended his existence .
The epilogue will follow.