Birds, Beasts and Bandits: 14 Days with Veerappan - Softcover

Senani, Krupakar And

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143415107 ISBN 13: 9780143415107

Publisher: Penguin Books India, 2011

Synopsis

Veerappan responded in a soft voice: It has been many years since I killed elephants. But no one believes me if I say so. In a comic case of mistaken identity, wildlife photographers Krupakar and Senani were kidnapped one night from their home at the edge of the Bandipur National Park by Veerappan, India s most dreaded bandit . He thought they were important government officials, and his plan was to hold them hostage in return for clemency and a substantial ransom. The bandit and his gang kept the hostages on the move in the forest, and their only contact with the outside world was via an old transistor radio. While Veerappan,who had already killed some 250 people, formulated strategies to force the government to agree to his demands, his hostages not only got a close look at the plant and animal diversity in the forests of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, but the intimacy of their life on the run gave them an insight into Veerappan s strange mix of cruelty and humanity. Though Krupakar and Senani came from a world that was completely different from that of Veerappan s gang, the kidnapped and the kidnappers became closely involved in each other s concerns.

About this title

About the Author:

Gopalkrishna Gandhi was born in 1945 and did a BA (Hons) and MA in English literature from St Stephen s College, Delhi University. He joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1968 and served in Tamil Nadu. He was secretary to the Governor of Tamil Nadu and to the Vice-President of India. After taking voluntary retirement in 1992, Gandhi saw diplomatic service in London and was head of India s diplomatic missions in South Africa, Lesotho, Sri Lanka, Norway and Iceland. He was Secretary to President K.R. Narayanan from 1997 to 2000 and was Governor of West Bengal from December 2004 to December 2009. Gandhi has written a novel Refuge on the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka that first appeared in 1987 and a play in verse, Dara Shukoh. He has compiled The Essential Gandhi and contributed to newspaper columns.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books India
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0143415107
• ISBN 13: 9780143415107
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 188