Anyone who has developed an interest in forests and wildlife would have heard of the author, Kenneth Anderson. His stories of the forests are legion, and are still selling briskly everywhere. (Fresh stocks have just arrived at Landmark bookstore in the Forum.)

Many people do accuse Anderson of exaggerating for effect, and say that he over-dramatised the wild. But perhaps he did so to make a better story, and to attract more people towards both his tales and to wildlife.

Unfortunately, though, an author who is at least as entertaining as Ruskin Bond, or James Corbett, rests now in a grave in the Hosur Road cemetery. I was taken to his graveside by Sanath Reddy, a friend who is also an avid naturalist and wildlife photographer.

Here’s a close-up of the grave…he was also Jock Scotchie, obviously a reference to his Scottish ancestry:

The grave is overgrown with weeds and is the picture of neglect…

And here’s another view…..the words, "author, and friend to all the wild animals and little birds" are clearly visible (we had to clear the weeds to be able to see them….

One can see here, in the background, beyond the boundary wall, the gate of the St Patrick’s Cemetery on Hosur Road:

The condition of the grave is clearly seen here….uncared for and little visited,

Surely the last resting-place of one of the interesting authors, and one who wrote so extensively about the wildlife of the south of India, deserves to be maintained a little better….? In the 33 years since he died, obviously, the "loving memory" referred to on the headstone has faded….

With thanks to Sanath Reddy for the information and the visit.

⊕