Friday, April 03, 2009
WHEN I FIRST MET 'Melursus Ursinus'
6:14 PM | 
Posted by
DJ |
My friend Ronnie Butfoy wrote this article with the aim of having it published. Unfortunately he passed away in September 2005, before publication could be arranged. Now, as a tribute to him and his memory I am including it in full. Through Denna Stephan (Ron's daughter) I was fortunate to have communicated with Ron initially via the net and then actually in person, and also his lovely wife Barbara and Denna who was on holiday in Bangalore at the time. I was touched when Ron thanked me for "giving him" a good friend in my brother Maxwell Rose who was close to Ron while he was struggling to survive in hospital. Once again he whispered his thanks to my brother and those words still echo in my brother's mind. A great loss to us for sure but at least I was fortunate to have shared his weird sense of humour which matched mine (*smile*).
My friend Ron - REST IN PEACE.
THE SLOTH BEAR - By (the late) Ronnie Butfoy
In the glorious golden days of yesteryear, music, dancing and sporting activities of one kind or another were an enjoyable part of daily life. For those of us railway folk, living in small remote stations surrounded by dense jungles, 'shikar' was an obvious pastime. Legends of our great shikaris (or hunters) such as Jim Corbett and 'Tiger' Smith, were repeated in awe and admiration at the bar of the Railway Institute.
My personal experience of shikar came through friendship with the Anderson family. Kenneth - better known as 'Jock' and his son Donald were renowned shikaris and wild life enthusiasts operating from Bangalore in the tangled jungles of South India. I remember particularly well an eventful day in the late 50's (when hunting was still permitted) and Don suggested we hunt Sloth Bear which were abundant in the surrounding jungles. I had no first hand knowledge of these animals so Don explained at length that they were extremely cunning and resourceful and that we should take the utmost caution in dealing with them.
As we trudged the granite hills of Ramnagaram about 30 miles from Bangalore in the direction of Mysore, I noticed that the region was dotted with numerous caves in which a bear might take shelter. Don's warning of cunning bears kept the adrenaline pumping, and my profuse perspiration was due not just to the heat and exertion of the hunt. It was a very tense situation on high alert ...
After what seemed like ages following the narrow track and skirting round a large rock,we were suddenly and abruptly confronted by a huge bear curled up asleep in a hollow in the track We yelled in surprise, and terror, as we scrambled to get away. Hearing our yells the bear sprang up, grunting and snorting and stared at us then, fortunately, and to our immense relief, it bounded off in the opposite direction.
Although I spent many happy hours in the jungles of South India during the years that followed, I have never forgotten my first encounter with Bhaloo. In time the story was 'picked up', embellished and retold many times - by many tellers, and is now a part of shikar folklore.
Here is Denna's tribute to her Beloved Dad.
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About Me
- DJ
- Logan, Queensland, Australia
I am an Anglo-Indian originally from South India, but now an Australian citizen living in Sunny Queensland (Oz) - beautiful one day, perfect the next!
From the Raj to the Taj
My Cookbook
(click on the book for further information)
1 comments:
Hi,
I'm Joshua and I'm a friend of Donald Anderson, one of Ron Butfoy's friends, someone he mentioned in his story. Don passed away last year, but would always talk about Ron. Could you share his daughter's email ? Ron was also Donald's tenant, and I was hoping that she could send me a couple of pictures to contribute to the book I'm writing about the Andersons.
Regards
Joshua (joshuamathew@gmail.com)