Birds, Beasts and Bandits': An adventure with Veerappan

Ever heard of hostages enjoying their kidnapping and that too by the dreaded Veerappan's gang? Two wildlife photographers -- Krupakar and Senani -- have come out with an engaging account of the fortnight that they had to spend in the company of the bandit in 1997 after they were mistaken for government officials and kidnapped for ransom.

During the days in captivity, they had the opportunity to have tea and food along with Veerappan besides interacting with him and also seeing him dance in a style that straddled Bharatnatyam and disco.

The duo's account, translated by S R Ramakrishna and brought out by Penguin, tells how Veerappan 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.

The bandit thought they were important government officials, and his plan was to hold them hostage in return for clemency and a substantial ransom. While Veerappan 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 his strange mix of cruelty and humanity.

Though Krupakar and Senani came from a world that was completely different from that of the bandits, the kidnapped and the kidnappers became closely involved in each other's concerns. From their account, presented in lucid and smart prose, it seems that they greatly enjoyed their kidnapping. Their prose tells a gripping story with great simplicity.

According to translator, senior journalist Ramakrishna, their humour is gentle and disarming. "Even when death stares them in the face, they remain friendly towards their tormentors. They transform a hostage trip into a fun expedition. "They are cheerful and inquisitive in their writing, as they are in real life. They occasionally stick their necks out with their humour, as when they stage a melodrama with help from a fellow hostage but their humour is free from gallows bitterness," he says.

Krupakar and Senani wrote their account in 1998. It appeared in the Kannada weekly magazine Sudha and became the most avidly read serial ever.