He whom the gods love dies young. Discipline and dedication sum up Subrati the forester. Subrati joined forest department in 1988 and ever since didn’t look back. He was honest and hard working person. He had good knowledge of wildlife as well as meticulous office work. Be it anti-poaching of fire-fighting he was often the groupleader. On the fateful evening of 09 September 2006 Subrati passed away in the line of duty and the tiger lost one of it’s most dedicated guards.

A pioneer ornithologist in Uttarakhand. This simple and revered Forester has served the forest department for over 35 years. Known as “the pelican” Harak Singh was a genius with his knowledge of birds. Birdwatching series particularly from U.K. were promoted by his name in the Seventies and eighties. Even the late Rajiv Gandhi would keenly participate in the birdwalks led by Harak Singh in the Dhikala chaur (grassland) as many other state guests. The last few years of service was spent as an instructor at the Kalagarh Training Institute. Far from the hustle and bustle Harak Sing Aswal...

General Practitioner from Shorpshire UK, this avid angler, dedicated son and husband and dreamer is truly an unsung hero. James first trip to Uttarakhand was in the monsoons of 2001 and organized a fishing trip into the upstream sections of the Ramganga. It was here that he really reeled in my first Mahseer and proudly let is go. This was a turning point in my life. Eventually when I wanted to develop a community based wilderness fishing loge on the Ramganga James stood by me and helped in every way possible. Not only did we manage to development a unique wilderness lodge but managed to conserve...