Professor Mawla
AH fanatic
Ever since Bangladesh gained her independence in 1971 , only two hunters have authored books which related their experiences in pursuit of the unique game animals of East Bengal . One of these two authors is myself . I authored “ Jokhon Shikari Chilam “ ( “ When I Hunted Dangerous Game “ ) in 1994 . The other author is without a doubt , the greatest hunter of marauding Royal Bengal tigers in Bangladesh . He is the author of “ Sundarban Er Manush Kheko “ ( The Sundarban Marauders “ ) - The late Pachabdi Gazi ( 1924 - 1997 ) .
A lifelong native of the Sundarban mangrove forests , Pachadbi never looked like much . At first glance from a stranger ; he would always pass off as a lanky , anorexic , mild mannered simpleton with a very unconfident smile . But if you knew this gentleman personally or if you lived in the Sundarban mangrove forests , then you were aware of Pachabdi’s real identity : He was the hunter of 61 marauding Royal Bengal tigers ( with his first marauder being hunted in 1941 and his final marauder being hunted in 1987 ) and his long career ( as a dedicated forest guard ) spanned all the way from the time when the Sundarban mangrove forests were a part of British colonial India through the time when the forests were a part of East Pakistan to the time when they became a part of the People’s Republic Of Bangladesh .
Locally remembered as “ The Jim Corbett Of Bangladesh “ , Pachabdi became extremely close to me during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 , during the time when I was posted in the Sundarban mangrove forests . And we remained extremely close up until the time when he unfortunately ( but extremely peacefully ) passed away in 1997 . The gentleman personally taught me everything that I have ever learnt about the art of hunting marauding Royal Bengal tigers . And he had the hunting of these ferocious creatures literally figured down to the precision of a mathematical formula .
Although Pachabdi remained extremely supportive of hunting throughout his entire life and directly took part in countless hunts during the 73 years of his life , he personally only shot two different species of game during his life . The first was the snipe . A game bird commonly found in practically all the rice paddy fields of East Bengal , this used to be Pachabdi’s favorite food of all time and he would spend every hunting season shooting these delicious game birds to fill his larder . The second was the Royal Bengal tiger . And that too , only the ones which had turned marauder .
It was the late Dr . Humayun Khan ( the former director of the Dacca Public Library ) who brought Pachabdi to the limelight of the Bangladeshi public in 1980 , when he co-authored his autobiography ( after spending nearly three years trying to convince Pachabdi to put his adventures down on paper ) . Unfortunately , it was written in Bengali and the exploits of this great man remained largely unknown to the international hunting community . However ; there is in fact one English literary work out there , which makes mention of Pachabdi’s exploits .
There used to be a very famous ( West ) Pakistani hunter , by the name of Tahawar Ali Khan . Back when Bangladesh still used to be a part of East Pakistan ; this gentleman frequently used to visit the Sundarban mangrove forests to hunt Axis deer , Bengal bush boars , red jungle fowl and golden snipe . He also hunted down nine marauding Royal Bengal tigers . In 1961 , Mr . Khan authored a book ( written in English ) which was titled “ The Man Eaters Of The Sundarbans “ . And chapter nine features the story of Pachabdi Gazi ( who was 34 years of age , at the time ) and his father , Putia Gazi . They both served as Mr . Khan’s guides during his annual hunting trips to the Sundarban mangrove forests , during the 1950s and 1960s .
And today , I have shared that chapter on AH forums . Perhaps , some may find it interesting . A little rudimentary reading on Pachabdi Gazi , may be found on his Wikipedia page . https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachabdi_Gazi
Pachabdi Gazi ( left ) , Dr . Humayun Ahmed ( centre ) , the author ( right ) . 1980
A lifelong native of the Sundarban mangrove forests , Pachadbi never looked like much . At first glance from a stranger ; he would always pass off as a lanky , anorexic , mild mannered simpleton with a very unconfident smile . But if you knew this gentleman personally or if you lived in the Sundarban mangrove forests , then you were aware of Pachabdi’s real identity : He was the hunter of 61 marauding Royal Bengal tigers ( with his first marauder being hunted in 1941 and his final marauder being hunted in 1987 ) and his long career ( as a dedicated forest guard ) spanned all the way from the time when the Sundarban mangrove forests were a part of British colonial India through the time when the forests were a part of East Pakistan to the time when they became a part of the People’s Republic Of Bangladesh .
Locally remembered as “ The Jim Corbett Of Bangladesh “ , Pachabdi became extremely close to me during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 , during the time when I was posted in the Sundarban mangrove forests . And we remained extremely close up until the time when he unfortunately ( but extremely peacefully ) passed away in 1997 . The gentleman personally taught me everything that I have ever learnt about the art of hunting marauding Royal Bengal tigers . And he had the hunting of these ferocious creatures literally figured down to the precision of a mathematical formula .
Although Pachabdi remained extremely supportive of hunting throughout his entire life and directly took part in countless hunts during the 73 years of his life , he personally only shot two different species of game during his life . The first was the snipe . A game bird commonly found in practically all the rice paddy fields of East Bengal , this used to be Pachabdi’s favorite food of all time and he would spend every hunting season shooting these delicious game birds to fill his larder . The second was the Royal Bengal tiger . And that too , only the ones which had turned marauder .
It was the late Dr . Humayun Khan ( the former director of the Dacca Public Library ) who brought Pachabdi to the limelight of the Bangladeshi public in 1980 , when he co-authored his autobiography ( after spending nearly three years trying to convince Pachabdi to put his adventures down on paper ) . Unfortunately , it was written in Bengali and the exploits of this great man remained largely unknown to the international hunting community . However ; there is in fact one English literary work out there , which makes mention of Pachabdi’s exploits .
There used to be a very famous ( West ) Pakistani hunter , by the name of Tahawar Ali Khan . Back when Bangladesh still used to be a part of East Pakistan ; this gentleman frequently used to visit the Sundarban mangrove forests to hunt Axis deer , Bengal bush boars , red jungle fowl and golden snipe . He also hunted down nine marauding Royal Bengal tigers . In 1961 , Mr . Khan authored a book ( written in English ) which was titled “ The Man Eaters Of The Sundarbans “ . And chapter nine features the story of Pachabdi Gazi ( who was 34 years of age , at the time ) and his father , Putia Gazi . They both served as Mr . Khan’s guides during his annual hunting trips to the Sundarban mangrove forests , during the 1950s and 1960s .
And today , I have shared that chapter on AH forums . Perhaps , some may find it interesting . A little rudimentary reading on Pachabdi Gazi , may be found on his Wikipedia page . https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachabdi_Gazi
Pachabdi Gazi ( left ) , Dr . Humayun Ahmed ( centre ) , the author ( right ) . 1980
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