Over 20 years ago I had a chance encounter with Ubha village in Sonbhadra district, recently in news for all the wrong reasons. An assignment to profile a few NGOs working on children’s issues in Uttar Pradesh took me to the village, where an organisation Children Welfare Society was running an education project for the children.  

With a junior in tow, I started from Lucknow in Triveni Express and reached Robertsganj in the wee hours. We checked in a hotel and were ready by nine o’clock for onward journey. A driver came to pick us up from the hotel in a left hand driven olive green Willys Jeep of 1940s vintage, with an extra petrol container attached to the body.

After driving for about one hour on single lane potholed road we were taken inside a haveli, which the driver told us was the palace of CWS secretary Raja Sahib (Abhooshan Brahm Shah). But the Raja Sabhib was nowhere to be seen. After a wait of half hour or so, a servant came and took us to dining hall for lunch. But he would not say anything about Raja Sahib. Quite weird for us of urban background!

While we were busy relishing the lunch, a thunderous Namaskar greeted us. As we raised our heads, there was 6 ft something fat dark complexioned bearded frightening Raja Sahib before us. He suggested us to take lunch and then he would take us to the field.

We finished the lunch and went out in the sun to warm ourselves. Shortly our journey to Ubha village began and after a drive of about one-and-a-half hour we reached the destination. Raja Sahib was on the wheels and he gave an introduction of the organisation during the drive. He took us to a huge mud house, where the project coordinator was waiting. Raja Sahib suggested that we interacted with the project coordinator, did our work and after three days he would take us back to Robertsganj.

The next morning the cook asked us about our food preferences, particularly if we were interested in jal taroi (fish). After having breakfast of aaloo-matar ki ghughari and tea, we started our work. The lunch was fish curry and rice. The afternoon was for some sight-seeing. It was beautiful forested area then, don’t know how it is today.

But the Raja Sahib was nowhere to be seen. The cook, whom I had befriended by them a little bit, said he did not take food with anyone else and ate non-veg only when he killed an animal. “He is singh (lion) and lion eats only when he kills,” the cook declared and hinted that Raja Sahib might go on shikar in the night.

We retired to our cots early as life in the village went on according to sunlight. Soon after sunset it was dinner time and then time to retire as the village was not electrified then. We were woken up around 11 in the night for the hunting trip. I was reluctant, but my junior prevailed on me to accompany the hunting team, otherwise we would be rude to our host Raja Sahib. There were two Willys Jeeps, fitted with hand held search lights and rifles with scope. After travelling on road for about 5 km the vehicles entered the forest.

Even before search for animal to be hunted could begin, one of the Jeeps broke down. The vehicle was pushed all along till the road where it was parked in a home. We had to walk down to Ubha village on foot to reach there around 3 in the night.

Next morning, I asked my junior to pack up and leave the place immediately. He agreed for we feared of going to jail on the charges of hunting. The project coordinator was gracious enough to drop us to some place from where we boarded a bus to reach Robertsganj.

A great escape indeed!

Cover Photo: View of Sonbhadra forests from top of Vijaygarh fort. Photo taken from internet