== Writings ==
== Writings ==
Anderson was a proficient raconteur and is well-admired among readers of hunting literature. His style of writing is descriptive and precise as he details his experiences in the wilderness. His books reflect his keen sense of observation and his sense of humour. His books were originally published by [[Allen & Unwin|George Allen & Unwin]] of UK, and became international bestsellers in the category at the time.
Anderson was a proficient raconteur and is well-admired among readers of hunting literature. His style of writing is descriptive and precise as he details his experiences in the wilderness. His books reflect his keen sense of observation and his sense of humour. His books were originally published by [[Allen & Unwin|George Allen & Unwin]] of UK and .
Anderson’s books highlight his conservationist streak as a wildlife chronicler. While most stories are about hunting man-eating big-cats he includes details about elephants, bisons, deers, and bears, as well as less popular creatures like Indian [[Dhole]]s (wild dogs), hyenas, spiders, and snakes. Anderson provides insights into the lives of people in or near the Indian jungles of his time, with local inhabitants having to contend with poor roads, and non-existent health facilities. He also delves into the lives of native jungle tribes, mentioning their habits, survival skills, etc.
Anderson’s books highlight his conservationist streak as a wildlife chronicler. While most stories are about hunting man-eating big-cats he includes details about elephants, bisons, deers, and bears, as well as less popular creatures like Indian [[Dhole]]s (wild dogs), hyenas, spiders, and snakes. Anderson provides insights into the lives of people in or near the Indian jungles of his time, with local inhabitants having to contend with poor roads, and non-existent health facilities. He also delves into the lives of native jungle tribes, mentioning their habits, survival skills, etc.
Scottish-Indian conservationist, hunter and author
Kenneth Douglas Stewart Anderson (8 March 1910 – 30 August 1974), known primarily as Kenneth Anderson or as KDS Anderson, was a Scottish-Indian writer, nature enthsiast, conservationist, and ethical hunter who lived and worked in South India. He authored several books based on his experiences hiking, camping, and hunting in the Indian jungles.
Anderson’s brave and skillful hunting of menacing man-eater leopards and tigers earned him the nickname Corbett of the South,[1][2] in reference to his older and more famous North Indian counterpart Jim Corbett. As a hunter-turned-conservationist, he was a trailblazer in wildlife tourism in Bangalore, and is admired as a pioneer conservationist in southern India.[3][4]
Kenneth Anderson was born 8 March 1910 in the Bolarum area of Secunderabad, in the then princely state of Hyderabad in British India. He belonged to a Scottish family that had lived in India for many generations, and were originally from Glasgow. He was baptised at the Holy Trinity Church, Bolarum, and was the only child of his parents. He was often called “Jock” by his family and friends.[5] His father, Douglas Stuart Anderson, was the eldest of four children, and was born in Calcutta but brought up in Bolarum. His mother, Lucy Ann Taylor (née Bailey), was a half-orphan who grew up in the guardianship of her two aunts, Mrs. Bower and Mrs. Bates.
Douglas was an officer in the British Indian Army in the military accounts section. The family moved to Bangalore during World War I. Lucy became the head of church choir in the St. Mark’s Cathedral. She was the grand-daughter of John Taylor, who, for his services to the Mysore Commission, had been gifted land in Bangalore adjacent to the Cubbon Park by Sir Mark Cubbon, the British Commissioner. Douglas, like most Scottish soldiers, took an interest in sport hunting, and influenced Kenneth’s interest in the outdoors, wildlife, and hunting activities.[6][7]
Anderson went to the Bishop Cotton Boys’ School, and then to the St. Joseph’s European High School, successfully passing the Senior Cambridge examinations in 1926. He was sent to study law at Edinburgh, Scotland, but he quit studies and returned to India in 1928. He was well-versed in Kannada, the language of his hometown, and Tamil, the language of the neighbouring province. He had also picked-up a little bit of Telugu, Hindi, and Urdu during his early years in Hyderabad State. Throughout his life he remained an avid reader, not limited by subjects or topics.[6][8]
He worked for fifteen years in the Posts & Telegraphs Department. Then, in 1956 he joined the colloquial British Aircraft Factory (later HAL)[note 1] in Bangalore as the Factory Manager for Planning, and retired only in 1972 due to illness. In 1950s, his books made him an internationally renowned author, and he received considerable royalties thereafter. In 1960s, he started taking international clients to jungle visits, thereby becoming a frontrunner in wildlife tourism. He owned nearly 200 acres of land across Mysore State, Hyderabad State, and Madras Presidency, at more than twenty locations including Pondicherry and Ooty.[6][9][10]
In 1972 Anderson was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He was treated in St. Martha’s Hospital in Bangalore, and then in CMC Vellore. However, he could not recover, and died in August 1974. He was buried at the Indian Christian Cemetery on Hosur Road in Bangalore.[6][5]
Anderson met Blossom Hyacinth Minnette Fleming at the Bowring Club on St. Mark’s Road in Bangalore. Her mother, Millicient Toussaint, was a Burgher from Ceylon while her father, Clifford Fleming, was from New South Wales, Australia. She was born on 20 March 1910 in Port Blair, and her family moved to India when she was ten years old. They married in April 1929 at Sorkalpet in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, and went for honeymoon in Pondicherry. They lived in the sprawling bungalow named Prospect House[note 2] on the 12-acre property on Sydney Road (now Kasturba Road) in Bangalore which Anderson got from his mother.
The couple separated in later life. In 1962, Kenneth Anderson moved to his other property named Bijou Cottage in Whitefield, while Blossom stayed on at Prospect House. Blossom Minnette Hyacinth Anderson died of pulmonary edema at the St. Philomena’s Hospital on 11 March 1987, and was buried adjacent to her husband.
They had two children – a daughter named Margaret June Blossom Lucy Anderson (born 19 June 1930), and a son named Donald Malcolm Stuart Anderson (18 February 1934 – 12 July 2014). June Anderson attended Bishop Cotton Girls’ School, and cleared the Senior Cambridge exam in 1947. She married a British Indian Army officer named Jack Vivian Jones (born 16 November 1927), and the couple initially lived in Wellington in Nilgiris, and then Fatehgarh and Ambala. Her family moved to England in 1951, and then ultimately to Perth, Australia in 1964. She has three children – sons Don and Chris born in India, and daughter Jackie born in Basildon. Donald Anderson studied in Bishop Cotton Boys’ School. He worked for more than two decades at the Bangalore Cotton, Silk and Woolen Mills. He never married, and became a prolific hunter and angler. He decided to stay in India post-independence, and died in Bangalore.[6]
Anderson, since his childhood, was fascinated by animals of all kinds whether mammals, birds, reptiles, or insects. He acquainted himself with them, and keenly studied their behaviour. In adulthood, he started frequently visiting the jungles near Bangalore, and even took the family along. At his home, the Prospect House, he had a multitude of animals like hyena, cobras, sloth bear, etc.[1]
Anderson took to big-game hunting with his second-hand .405 Winchester Model 1895 rifle. He became a hunter extraordinaire, and got famous for his jungle knowledge and skills. His behaviour in hunting trips was highly principled and followed the ethical code for hunters. For his preserve-worthy kills, he used the services of Tocher and Tocher Taxidermists.
He took particular interest in neutralising man-eaters who had become troublesome. He is credited with having shot 8 man-eating leopards (7 males and 1 female), and 7 tigers (5 males and 2 females) from 1939 to 1966, as per the Government records.[11] Though, he is known to have unofficially shot many more as he was personally invited by local people often without government’s involvement or knowledge.
Anderson stopped hunting for sport and trophy in the second half his middle age as he became increasingly concerned about the destruction of wildlife and jungles in India. He slowly turned to conservation.[12] He also got his son, Donald, to promise him to stop hunting altogehter.
“Over time our concept and understanding of the creatures of the forest has changed for the better, but it didn’t start suddenly one day. People like Kenneth and Donald Anderson didn’t just hunt animals when they visited the jungles; they observed animals and were a source of information that people benefitted from.”
Anderson became well acquainted with many jungle folk from various aborigine tribes. He was most fond of Byra The Poojare from the Poojaree tribe. Others inlclude Ranga who was a petty shikari who also occasionally took to poaching, and Rachen from the Sholaga tribe. Some of his friends such as Hughie Hailstone also had estates in South India, and he also took fellow hunters as friends like Eric Newcombe.[14][15]
“My own fascination for jungles of Karnataka was nourished by Kenneth Anderson’s hunting tales. I had sought his friendship a few years before he died, and wandered in these jungles, listening spell-bound to his tales. He had recounted how, after independence, destruction of India’s wildlife and wild lands had accelerated.”
Anderson was a proficient raconteur and international bestseller penning author in mid-20th century, and is a well-admired among readers of hunting literature. His style of writing is descriptive and precise as he details his experiences in the wilderness. His books reflect his keen sense of observation and his sense of humour. His books were originally published by George Allen & Unwin of UK.[17][18]
Anderson’s books highlight his conservationist streak as a wildlife chronicler. While most stories are about hunting man-eating big-cats he includes details about elephants, bisons, deers, and bears, as well as less popular creatures like Indian Dholes (wild dogs), hyenas, spiders, and snakes. Anderson provides insights into the lives of people in or near the Indian jungles of his time, with local inhabitants having to contend with poor roads, and non-existent health facilities. He also delves into the lives of native jungle tribes, mentioning their habits, survival skills, etc.
“He is the professional observer of those that are truly wild,… A forest is for him the enchanting scene of an endless game: to pit his wits and his quick reaction times against the instincts of its denizens in order to find out how they live (and only sometimes to kill them). […] and as he has won more dangerous duels in this setting than most men of his kind, his books are full of unforced dramatic tension.”
Many of these books are also available in the three volume Omnibus edition by Rupa Publications (ISBN 978-8-1716-7455-8, 978-8-1716-7456-5, 978-8-1291-3272-7).[20]
- The Fires of Passion (1969)
- Jungles Tales for Children (1971)
- Tales of Man Singh: King of Indian Dacoits (1961)
- The Bond Of Love
Anderson’s books have been translated into many languages. Popular Kannada writer Poornachandra Tejaswi has translated some of his hunting experiences into Kannada which were published in four volumes as Kadina Kategalu (ಕಾಡಿನ ಕತೆಗಳು).[21]
