The Glenthorne Cat
and other amazing leopard stories
Compiled and Edited by Christopher Ondaatje
Harper CollinsPublishers Ltd ISBN: 978-1-55468-184-6 Paperback
UK £7-95
Canada $14-95
Sri Lanka Rs 1,800/=
Leopards have fascinated Christopher Ondaatje for most of his life - ever since he saw his first cat in the Yala Game Sanctuary in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1946. He has also been quoted as having identified with them as predator rather than prey. I first met Ondaatje in 1996 when he had just completed his first speech at The Royal Geographical Society (with The Institute of British Geographers) on the early life of Sir Richard Burton, the great Victorian explorer, in Sindh. I remember him quoting the poet Wilfrid Blunt describing Burton in this way:
“His dress and appearance were those suggesting a released convict ... a rusty black coat with a crumpled black silk stock, his throat destitute of collar, a costume which his muscular frame and immense chest made singularly and incongruously hideous, above it a countenance the most sinister I have ever seen, dark, cruel, treacherous, with eyes like a wild beast’s. He reminded me of a black leopard, caged, but unforgiving ...”
Ondaatje was clearly under the spell of Burton. In many ways they are kindred spirits, and he gave a picture of the enigmatic restless explorer as few authors had given before. It wasn’t surprising. His book Sindh Revisited was just out and Ondaatje had outlined his own incredible journey deep into the heart of British India, and the India and Sindh of today. The journey covered thousands of miles trekking across deserts where ancient peoples meet modern civilization on the banks of the mighty Indus River.
Since then I have got to know Ondaatje better. Like Burton he too has an insatiable restlessness and a quixotic, sometimes unfathomable, character akin to his beloved leopards. It is not surprising he has done this anthology. Let me quote from an earlier book of his Leopard in the Afternoon:
“A creature unique and paradoxical, sinister and ruthless, the leopard is at the same time charismatic and vulnerable.”
Here is another revealing quote:
“A leopard is smaller than a lion but can tear its prey apart with its hind legs while its sharp jaws lock into its victim’s throat to strangle it. It is fierce and extremely dangerous when cornered.”
These are characteristics prevalent in all the twelve chapters chosen for this unique collection of leopard stories, old and new. Jim Corbett’s famous “The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudrapayag” is included, as well as Balzac’s classic “A Passion in the Desert”. They are reminders of the heights that adventure writing can attain. Kenneth Anderson’s two perilous experiences with leopards in South India are included, and a short but sensuous Burmese story by Anna Kavan is one that I had never read before. Finally, Christopher Ondaatje’s own singularly curious “The Glenthorne Cat” evokes the greatest sense of mystery for me. It is a compelling story – sometimes gruesome, sometimes sympathetic, but cryptic and inscrutable.
I enjoyed this unusual book, despite the grisly interludes, because I too share a fascination for wild cats and love of good storytelling - not to mention the dramatic photographs, mostly taken by Ondaatje, that put him firmly across the danger line. Wildlife enthusiasts and hesitant explorers alike will find this an intriguing read. What an adventure, and what an experience!
Dr Rita Gardner, C.B.E.
Director, Royal Geographical Society
(with I.B.G.). |
