Tiger hunting in colonial British India is well-documented; this includes a variety of people. Visiting British officials or those working in the British army and sometimes, by the foresters. Why did the British hunt and shoot tigers? With no restriction on hunting in India during the colonial period, hunting or Shikar was the ultimate sport; the depiction of masculinity and power. The lure of hunting and shooting “exotic” animals like tigers endemic to the Indian subcontinent was too strong to resist. The Indian royalty was hand-in-glove; more on this later. The signs of tiger hunting are present even today. Shikar Oudhi in Jaipur called Odhi Ram Sagar is a good example. Shikaar Audhi in Jhalana is another hunting lodge in Jaipur. Shikaar is a Hindi word meaning hunting. I had a chance to explore one such hunting lodge in Jaipur. I haven’t written about this exploration in Jaipur until now; it is a hidden place in Jaipur. Now it is not having been seen a lot of times on social media. Here is all you need to know about the tiger shooting in Jaipur during the colonial period in India.

Exploring Shikaar Audhi Ramsagar Jaipur | Tiger Hunting Lodge

A couple of years ago, I accompanied a group to the hunting lodge in Jaipur built by an erstwhile ruler of Jaipur called Shikaar Audhi or Shikaar Odhi. Leading the group was a forest officer. This hunting lodge in Jaipur is located in a jungle and therefore it is a subject of the Forest Department Jaipur; this hunting lodge is a hidden place in Jaipur. Entry to the forest requires a permit and the way to access is through a hike or a jeep. I was part of a group hiking in Jaipur and the forest officer was part of this hiking group. I have been to a hunting lodge before in Jhalana Forest. It was long before the Jhalana was converted into a Jhalana Leopard safari. The hunting lodge in Jhalana was a simple structure, a tower. As per grapevine, these days Jhalana Hunting Lodge is used to host meals for a select few, VIPs, and visiting dignitaries; a milking cow. Read Hunting Lodge in Jhalana Leopard Safari

A 40-minute hike took us deeper into the jungle at a site where three hunting lodges were built by the Jaipur ruler. It was under Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II of Jaipur that these hunting lodges called Lalit Vilas, Gopal Vilas, and Ganga Vilas were built. The buildings were constructed near a water body called Ram Sagar. The hunting lodges are collectively called Odhi Ram Sagar. The reason these hunting lodges were constructed here is for a reason. The animals would frequent the lake to drink water. No records are available if the hunting lodges were meant for hunting a specific animal; Shikaar Odhi were likely built for tiger hunting in Jaipur. In the old days, until Indian independence, “Shikaar” was a royal sport. Both the royalty and the visiting dignitaries, usually the British and other princely rulers would engage in tiger hunting. One can find hundreds of pictures sporting the “hunt party” standing behind a dead tiger. This is a major reason for the extinction of tigers in India.

Out of these three hunting lodges in Jaipur, Lalit Vilas is the biggest of all. Gopal Vilas and Ganga Vilas are located close by, one of them perched higher on a hill providing a panoramic view of the surroundings with Lalit Vilas in the foreground.

The forest officer led the way into Lalit Vilas. Upon entering the signs of tantric activities were evident. Scribbles and instructions are written on the wall. In one of the rooms is a temple; a later addition as the original structure was not designed to have one. The “Shiva Pariwar” or “Shiva Panchayat” in the converted room with the temple looks out of place; it wasn’t part of the original plan.

As per the popular legend, a tantric and his family made Lalit Vilas their home until they were evicted and the forest department Jaipur took control; the building is under their lock and control. It is unknown what activities the tantric was involved in; was it simply a dwelling unit? Was it used for occult science? we don’t know.

The signs of vandalism are also evident in the building. Even though the building has been out of reach for most, it is possible it was accessible to certain people. The vandalism is not pronounced, but signs of natural decay are.

Despite the lack of maintenance, in many places, it is in pristine condition; this makes me wonder how beautiful it must have been in its heydays. The interior features white and green lime plaster or Araish on the walls.

The design of the building allows shooting with a rifle from its windows. The size of the building probably indicates that the “hunting party” must have included a huge gang comprising a large number of supporting staff. It is likely that “hunting parties” would camp here for a few days in search of a tiger. Just a guess based on the accounts one finds in the diaries of the “dignitaries” and “hunters”.

Here is an account of hunting from one such diary from the old days when hunting parties were frequently organized by the royalty. This account is self-explanatory.

“When a large party was to be entertained by the Maharajah a considerable camp was laid out, in the center of which was pitched a big Shamiyana or open marquee the focal point of the camp where all the party assembled before and after a shoot. Round the whole area was stretched a seven-foot-high canvas screen. There were, naturally, numbers of servants, grooms, and retainers of all kinds, and between the camp proper and the lines where the elephants and other animals were accommodated a temporary market would grow up, like a little fair, to meet the demands of this sudden population”

As we made our way to the top of the buildings, it seemed like monkeys were the sole occupiers of this building. It seemed like we were intruding on their home. The Grey Langoor is a social being and lives in a large gang.

We did explore some of the corridors in the building but not all. The other hunting lodges were much smaller usually comprising a few rooms.

I have been in this region before. Here is a picture from one such previous visit during winter. The water body is Ram Sagar lake.

The feeling of having visited is a mixed one. These buildings are valuable heritage and a good depiction of the past. The condition of the building is rather sad. Allowing tourism in such natural forest land would be counterproductive. At the same time, the way the forest department operates, they would charge huge amounts for people to visit these historical buildings. The only way the forest department would permit is through safari rides. One might wonder if these hunting lodges have been out of bounds for most people, a boon in disguise? Should we let this hidden place in Jaipur, be hidden? I’m sure the opinion will be divided.

Hunting Parties and Extinction of Tigers in India | The Sole Reason?

The other thing that makes one sad is how these hunting lodges and hunting safaris caused irreparable damage to our jungles and the fauna. This “nobleman’s sport” was responsible for the extinction of a species, of the tigers from the Indian subcontinent.

The following are the probable reasons for tiger hunting in India:

• When tigers turned into man-eaters

There are several accounts when the tigers would turn into a man eater and such tigers were killed. In other instances, the village people would request the rulers to kill tigers when they frequently prey on livestock.

• Was Tiger Hunting in India a royal sport?

Tiger hunting was a royal sport. The Indian royalty across India would hunt tigers as it was considered a royal sport. It was akin to how people play video games to entertain themselves. Here is an excerpt taken from a note in a diary.

“On the day after the festival called Dashera we Hindus
of the military castes have a tradition that one should go
out and hunt something.”

• Tiger hunting in India was used to earn brownie points

The rulers of India would organize tiger hunting to entertain guests like the ruling British; ensuring the visiting “guest” found their kill would put the rulers in a good book. Tiger hunting was akin to serving good food to a guest to earn brownie points and favors.

“In Jaipur, I soon learned that though the Maharajah was
and is a game shot of international repute, he was more
concerned to provide opportunities for his friends and
guests to shoot tigers than to kill them himself.”

Manuals and instructions were written for Tiger hunting in India. This provided an easy guide for the British man to shoot tigers. Here is an excerpt from one such manual.

“Sometimes this animal conceals himself by lying low in such a manner that he cannot be seen and when a man unwittingly or through carelessness approaches him, the animal suddenly springs upon him with a roar. Many shrewd sportsmen have been thus deceived. In such an emergency the best means of saving one’s self is to throw a hat, a turban, or a piece of cloth whichever might happen to have at the time, at the animal’s face.

Experience teaches that in such circumstances sportsman should not fire at a tiger at a close quarter as long as the animal’s eye keeps meeting his own eyes, for when the shot is fired in such circumstances, the tiger is most likely bound straight forward. The tiger should, therefore, be shot as soon as he turns his eye to the right or to the left. The advantage of this precaution is that the animal will make a rush in the direction in which he may be looking at that time”

Tiger Hunting in Colonial India | How tigers were hunted

The following methods were used for tiger hunting in colonial India.

• The bait system
• The beating system
• The shooting of the Caracas of the bait at night
• The system of shooting when the game returns from the walk
• The system of shooting on the water when the games come to drink

The future of Shikar Audhi Hunting Lodge in Jaipur

This Ramsagar Shikaar Odhi is one of the most beautiful hunting lodges in Jaipur and probably the biggest cluster of all. The hunting lodge has also inspired business ideas. A couple of restaurants in Jaipur have been inspired by these hunting lodges. Shikaar Bagh is one such venture; Townsend is another. Of course, in terms of architecture, they have no similarities with Shikar Audhi. From an architectural point of view, they seem more inspired by the British architectural style of using exposed stones.

I hope these hunting lodges undergo renovation and maintenance. I’m not sure what the forest department of Jaipur plans or intends to do with these lodges built during Sawai Madho Singh II reign. Ideally, these should be converted into a museum that chronicles the sad aspect of tiger hunting in British India; we must raise awareness about preserving our fauna and wildlife.