This all new coffee table book titled ‘Warrior Queens of Ranthambore’, by wildlife photographer and conservationist Manish Kalani celebrates his journey for over 10 years when Manish went to Ranthambore National Park. His book is a dedication to the fascinating stories of the legendary Machhli and her family over the years
Machhli the tigress who died in 2016
Today as the world celebrates Global Tiger Day 2024, India has always been on the hottest destination to spot the big cat. From Kanha National Park to Panna Tiger Reserve to Satpura Tiger Reserve to the very famous Ranthambore National Park. And we few of the these big cats are nothing less than celebrity, one of them being Machhli- who can be spotted in T-16 at the famous Ranthambore National Park.
Machhli, the reigning tigress who passed away in 2016 was almost 19 years old holds the record for world’s oldest-surviving tigress in the wild. Machhli has been a treat for most wildlife photographers who photographed her. Taking her legacy forward the latest coffee table book ‘Warrior Queens of Ranthambore: Riddhi, the reigning queen’ by Manish Kalani, sees Machhli’s family tree being captured, a project that Manish conceived. “For 8 years I kept capturing her family and it is only recently that I thought of putting all that into a book as a tribute to the legendary Machhli” adds the ace photographer. The book sees Machhli; Machhli’s daughter Krishna’ Krishna’s daughter Arrowhead; Arrowhead’s daughters Riddhi and Siddhi; Macchli’s grandniece Noor, Noor’s daughter Noorie; and Laila and Laadli.
This book is India’s first and only wildlife coffee table book that is dedicated to five generations of tigresses of Ranthambore making Kalani the only wildlife photographer to have ever embarked on a project to archive the life journey of all these tigresses in one book.
Kalani’s book is filled with anecdotes from eight memorable years, but his favorite story is about Riddhi, the reigning queen of Ranthambore. “I was in Ranthambore shooting when I spotted Riddhi, who was just 10 days old then. My daughter is named Ridhima, and when I posted those photos on social media, I called the cub Ridhima too. Later, the forest department formalized her name as Riddhi. I often say that I have two daughters, one who lives in New York and the other in Ranthambore,” Kalani shared. His connection with these tigresses is deeply personal, creating a bond that will last a lifetime.
The book is a passion project of Kalani’s passion for wildlife and the photographs in the book are the result of hard work and dedication of more than a period of eight years and pay homage to the legacy of Ranthambore’s tigresses who ruled their territory for almost two decades.
