Digvijaya Singh launches a coffee table book on Tigresses “Warrior Queens of Ranthambore”

Abhishek Byahut
New Delhi

Former CM of Madhya Pradesh and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh on Thursday launched a coffee table book chronicling five generations of Ranthambore Tigresses, titled Warrior Queens of Ranthambore, by wildlife photographer Manish Kalani at WWF-India, Lodhi estate, New Delhi.

This book is India’s first and only wildlife coffee table book that is dedicated to five generations of tigresses of Ranthambore making Kalani the only wildlife photographer to have ever embarked on a project to archive the life journey of all these tigresses in one book.

The event witnessed the presence of the author – Mr. Manish Kalani, Wildlifer & Chairman of Treasure Group, Mr. Ravi Singh, General Secretary & CEO of WWF-India; and Mr. Subbiah Nallamuthu, the acclaimed filmmaker known for his documentaries on tigers.

The book features over 500 meticulously curated photographs narrating the journey of the family of the legendary tigress Machhli – her daughter Krishna, granddaughter Arrowhead, great-granddaughter Riddhi and Riddhi’s cubs.

The unveiling and launch of the book was followed by a panel discussion on ‘Role of Emotions in Tiger Conservation’.

The discussion was moderated by Jai Dhar Gupta an environmentalist and activist.

Speaking about the project Kalani said, “It was some 10 years back that I went to Ranthambore and the only stories I heard were of the legendary Machhli 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 Machhli’s family tree and the project was conceived. For 8 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 Machhli.”

Mr. Digvijaya Singh, Member of Parliament also commented, “I have been going to Ranthambore for the past 40 years and still spend 2-3 days every few months in a forest amidst the wild. I can say that this book is perhaps the most comprehensive chronicle of not just the Tigresses of Ranthambore but also a milestone in archiving India’s wildlife.”

With a multitude of anecdotes from 8 long years described in the book, Kalani’s favourite remains the one about Riddhi, the reigning queen.

“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, I called her Ridhima too. Later, the forest department formalised her name as Riddhi. I keep saying that I have two daughters, one who lives in New York and the other in Ranthambore.”_

Indeed, Kalani’s connection with these tigresses is personal, a bond of a lifetime!