Documentary on a tribe of former tiger poachers from Ranthambore

When we ask Hans Dalal about his childhood he plays down the many battles ldquoI was born healthy but contracted jaundice as a threeday oldThat led to contamination of blood and damage to the brain although doctors tried blood transfusion on the fifth day of my life I spent years going through occupational therapy speech therapy and physiotherapy until class 10Also read Singer Sid Coutto talks about Hans Dalals documentaryA jeep of tourists encounter a Royal Bengal tiger at the Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan These days therersquos a limited effect of the disability but at times I have balance issues and people think Irsquom drunk when Irsquom not Itrsquos good though because I can get away with drinking and nobody can tellrdquoAfter a successful run as sound engineer he found his love for the wild ldquoMy uncle aware of this took me for a camping trip to Kanha in 2007 It was a short tiger sighting but something changed I spent the next year researching the reasons forthe decrease in the number of tigers Irsquove been obsessed ever sincerdquo shares DalalCause of the tigerIn March 2010 with support from an NGO called Tiger Watch Ranthambore and a few friends Dalal along with musician Sidd Coutto recorded music with expoachers from a tribe based in Ranthambore with the intent to produce and sell their music and ensure alternate sources of income to kick off a rehabilitation programmeThe team spot a tiger in RanthamboreldquoI was introduced to the Moghiya tribe through my uncle Fateh Singh Rathore the legendary tiger expert and conservationist It was obvious that they needed an alternate source of income I heard their music and realised that they needed a voice Therefore I decided to record them for the documentary and use my sound engineering expertiseIt took a year of planning and getting musicians on board My friend Sidd Coutto came along to Ranthambore to helprdquo adds DalalldquoThey are untrained musicians and very shy Police and forest guards are after them so they have become reclusive It took a while for them to trust us I made 19 trips to Ranthambore in a yearMoghiya tribalsCoaxing them to record was difficult We had trouble with space too as our makeshift studio was too small and reverberated with the soundWe improvised by putting mics on the bonnet of our jeep and recording in the open I remember a tribal who was unable to sing without playing his sarangi and unable to play the instrument without singingHans DalalRecording that was so difficult because of the sound bleeding between the voice and instrument micsrdquo he recallsGround realityThe team spent a yearandhalf on the documentary of which four days were spent on the actual shoot With help from TigerWatch the tribes have now been trained in making handicrafts repairing cars and bikes and working in hotelsldquoVery few people know about the tribe People have a prejudice against poachers but tribal folk had no alternative They have lived in the jungle for over 300 years When the area was converted into a tiger reserve the government gave them land but they didnrsquot know how to farmThey are very good at what they do They can kill a tiger in a jiffyrdquo says Dalal ldquoThe British labelled them a criminal tribe It has been difficult for them in a place like Rajasthan where the caste system has a holdrdquo he adds