‘Suddenly, with a huge roar, the tiger attacked the front wheel of the tractor and literally tore it to shreds. The vehicle tilted dangerously to one side and we clung on for dear life.’

In the late 1960s, young IAS officer Yogesh Chandra was posted to Pilibhit, a breathtaking Terai district on the Nepal border. It was a different India then, when days were spent solving people’s problems and nights echoed with the pukh, pukh of chital, the khor, khor of langurs, the meowr, meowr of peafowls and the deep, resonant roar of tigers in the dark.

From the sugarcane fields of Bahraich to the ravines of Chambal and the misty slopes of Kumaon, Chandra recounts his wild escapades on the trail of man-eating tigers and fearsome dacoits, while tracing the footsteps of the legendary Jim Corbett. Yet, beneath the thrill lies a wistful note for the forests that once teemed with life.