Log bolte the ki mat jao tiger reserve mein. Wahan bandar ke peene wala paani milega [People warned me not to opt for a tiger reserve posting... and that I would have to drink the same water that the monkeys do],” says Dinesh Balaji Kendre. But he made up his mind. From a comfortable posting in the Territorial Wing of the Maharashtra Forest Department in the Buldhana district of north Maharashtra, he sought a transfer to the Wildlife Wing in Koktu, one of most remote parts of the Melghat Tiger Reserve in Amravati district. This was back in 2017. A senior officer who was forwarding his application suggested that he reconsider because “most people wait years to bag a comfortable posting”. His wish was granted within a month. Kendre found himself in the Dhargad Range in the core zone of Melghat.

A wildlife sanctuary since 1967 and declared a tiger reserve in 1974, Melghat sits 225 km from Nagpur.