Tuesday, Apr 27, 2010 MYSORE: Col. John Wakefield, the torchbearer of Karnataka's first eco-tourism project - the Kabini River Lodge on the banks of the Kabini at Karapur in Mysore district - passed away at the Kabini lodge on Monday. Mr. Wakefield (95), fondly known as 'Papa,' died of age-related illness. His daughter Jackey was with him when the end came around 10.45 a.m., according to sources at the lodge. He was hospitalised in Bangalore for over a month and was brought back to the Kabini lodge a few days ago on his request. Mr. Wakefield used to share his "jungle tales" with visitors, who included many international guests. He was the brand ambassador of Jungle Lodges and Resorts (JLR) and was instrumental in the success of its eco-tourism projects. 'Papa' lived in Karapur for three decades and promoted wildlife conservation, sensitising visitors to the importance of protecting forest wealth and wild animals. Son of the former manager of the Maharaja of Tikarey in Bihar, Mr. Wakefield came to Karnataka as the representative of Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge (TTJL) - a wildlife resort with its headquarters in Nepal - to set up a jungle lodge at Nagarahole on the invitation of late Chief Minister R. Gundu Rao., who was impressed with his stay at the Tiger Tops lodge in Nepal. A Briton born in the India of the days of the Raj; a boy who grew up in the royals environs of a principality in Bihar, and eased into a privileged lifestyle punctuated by the shouts of nannies rising over gun fire while being out on a shikar; a boy who shot his first panther while he was all of eleven years old; a man who had the opportunity to see our country in all its ancientness; one who was witness to a completely bygone era where Studebakers and Morris Minors, Austins and Aston Martins; and elephants and palanquins were part of the traffic on some remote tree lined avenue somewhere in the north of India; perhaps Bihar, perhaps Delhi. http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/27/stories/2010042757371800.htm http://churumuri.wordpress.com/2010/05/02/how-papa-wakefield-brought-darwin-to-kabini/ --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar