There is a charming British cottage in Nainital, not unlike many other British cottages peppered across our hill stations. This cottage, Gurney House, has been with my family for over 60 years. I was born in it and spent much of my childhood there. Gurney House is special and has a rich history, and it is special not just for me and my family, but also for many others, as it is the home of the legendary hunter-conservationist and writer, Jim Corbett.

In 1870, Mary Jane Corbett took a site on the Ayarpata Hill and built a dwelling on it. She called it Gurney House. She bequeathed the Gurney House estate to her daughter, Margaret Winifred Corbett, Maggie for short, through a will. Her son, Jim Corbett, lived there as well.
My grandfather, Sharda Prasad Varma, belonged to a prominent zamindari family in Bihar. He was the youngest Indian barrister from Cambridge University and practiced law in the district courts at Chapra. As his children grew older, he decided to educate them in the prestigious schools of Nainital and thus began the search for a house. When Corbett learnt that my grandfather wanted to buy a place in Nainital, he offered him Gurney House. The deal was struck for ` 55,000 alongwith all of Corbett’s belongings. Corbett also offered his winter residence in Kaladungi, today the Corbett Museum, for a mere ` 5,000, but my grandfather refused because, at that time, the house was located in the jungles. Through a registered sale deed, on November 21, 1947, Maggie sold the property along with its possessions to my grandparents and they left India for Kenya.
Gurney House estate stands on 1.7 acres. There is a bungalow and two double-storeyed blocks of 13 rooms that are outhouses. The bungalow comprises a drawing room, dining room, four bedrooms with attached bathrooms and a small study with a verandah running along the front of the house. The floors and the ceiling are wooden. There are more than a hundred trees on the estate. Jim left behind his trophies, African drum, Maggie’s chair and piano, his sword, boat and fishing rod, two ‘dandies’, books, furniture, crockery and many other personal treasures.
Jim Corbett is a household name in India and a demi-god in the Kumaon region. Visitors come by the house every day. Four years ago, I undertook the restoration of Gurney House. I have also sought to reinstate it in Corbett’s legacy by commemorating the birth anniversary of this son of Kumaon there, every year.
We often forget that Corbett was not just a hunter of man-eating tigers and a conservationist of great commitment, but also a storyteller of great skill. In fact, it is this gift of writing that keeps his legend alive today. Therefore, it is a fitting tribute to remember Corbett on his birth anniversary, July 25, through a celebration of the literary arts in Gurney House, his home in Nainital, in its secluded and inspiring setting, surrounded by the green and peace of the Kumaon.
Two years ago, actor Tom Alter came to Gurney House on July 25 and read from Corbett’s books. Last year, author Namita Gokhale read from Corbett’s The Man-Eaters of Kumaon and from her own novel, A Himalayan Love Story. This was followed by a piano recital by Justin McCarthy. This year, Rana Dasgupta, winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize 2010, read from his novel Solo. As the years roll by, we hope the tradition of writers visiting Gurney House on Jim Corbett’s birthday will become established.
For me, Corbett’s birth anniversary is a time to reflect on the great responsibility that has been left with me. Gurney House will always be kept as a private family home and we will welcome Corbett lovers to visit us. We will continue to collect Corbett memorabilia from around the world. And with a small literary festival taking place there every year, we hope that Gurney House will once again reverberate with words and ideas, as it did when one of the best-loved authors of the country lived in it.

The author is a travel enthusiast