Lore: Corbett and Heritage – Post 1

It has been close to 7 years now since I put all my eggs in the heritage basket and all too frequently congratulated myself for making that choice. The complexities of identity shaped by people, places and stories is what lies at the core of heritage. What this means is that there are innumerable interesting cross connections and nothing beats getting lost on an unknown road to emerge out into places very familiar.

Jim Corbett with his British-Irish origins, a lifetime of adventure in India, his quiet exit from here as soon as the country’s ownership was restored to the right people and the fervour he continues to inspire among his fans to date, including in yours truly, offers the opportunity to discuss all that heritage can entail.

As I set out to Choti Haldwani, the ‘model’ village he set up near his childhood home of Kaladhungi for his 150^th birth anniversary (27^th July 2025), to see the places that shaped him and share space with innumerable other Corbett-heads on the big occasion, it is fair to say that I am excited. Very excited. Under a series of posts titled “Lore: Corbett and Heritage”, I will look at both well-known and not so well-known legacies of this one-of-a-kind personality who inspires devotion and debate for his undeniable role in Indian conservation’s story arc.

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