The recently-released Leopards and Shepherds of Jawai is about the incredible relationship between man and predator in the surreal landscapes of the Jawai-Bera region in Rajasthan. The book is the labour of love of two wildlife enthusiasts, photographer Shivang Mehta and conservationist Shatrunjay Pratap Singh. In a free-wheeling chat, Mehta gives us an insight into the book. Excerpts:
How was the book conceived?
I first visited Bera (Jawai) in 2013 but that was to document Saras cranes for an assignment by the Rajasthan Government. Back then, I wished to go to Sabi Sands in South Africa to work on leopards, but I got some obnoxious quotes from that location. That was when I thought, we have all these cats in our own country so why travel to Africa? I knew Jawai was a leopard-rich area. So, I started exploring Bera and bumped into Singh. A professional relationship soon forged into a friendship. His unique stories of harmony between man and the leopards of the region were very interesting and we decided to bring out a book on that.
What happened next?
During all my interactions with Singh, something that caught my attention was the word ‘conflict’ – it didn’t exist in Jawai. Leopards here do not have any natural prey base. They survive on livestock, primarily goats, but in spite of that the shepherds are very tolerant of them.
Singh introduced me to some of the traditional Rabari (tribe) shepherds, in whose life leopards hold a special place, mythology and religion being key contributors for that.
The Rabaris believe that a goat being killed by a leopard is a blessing from Lord Shiva. Keeping their livestock safe from leopards is easy for them as they know every movement pattern of these cats. But the fact that Shiva wears a leopard skin and sits on a tiger skin means for them that leopards are on a higher pedestal than tigers, and hence should be treated with respect.
We then involved a friend, Shatabdi Chakrabarti, an independent film maker and writer for the project. She took the onus of binding together Shatrunjay’s experiences with the Rabaris and the leopards into an interesting narrative, which became the basic foundation of this book.
How tough was it to click the “right” photos?
I shot for Leopards & Shepherds of Jawai for a year, in different seasons, to do a comprehensive photo story which could go with the narrative of the book. Technology played a key role, as apart from traditional long lens photography to document the behaviour of leopards, I also used camera traps to record their secret lives in the caves. I also got some nocturnal shots, which are very challenging to do.
How much time did it take you to finish this book from cover to cover?
In all, about 18-20 months. In the middle of the project, while struggling to join the dots, we came across a unique leopard family. A mother was raising four cubs, and for me and Singh, this was an interesting find as it is rare for leopards to raise more than three cubs. For the next few months we followed this family and the mother became our central character.
Is this harmony between humans and leopards in Jawai unique to that area or does it also exist elsewhere?
It is not so common. In some landscapes, big cats, especially leopards, face a lot of trouble. Uttarakhand, for instance, has a history of leopard conflicts – Jim Corbett documented such stories in his books decades ago. We regularly keep reading stories of urban leopards and how they are treated when seen in the vicinity of cities like Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, and Mumbai, among others.
Jawai is an exception. When you sit with the Rabaris and hear them talk about leopards, or bump into a priest who lives alone in a temple on a hill top but has no qualms about a leopard sharing that space with him. You wonder how adaptable this big cat is and also how diverse our country is, as the same animal behaves differently in other regions.