About Me

Ashish Abraham Tirkey

Jungle Mantra Resort

Bandhavgarh National Park, India

My life started from a very small place named Kondagaon, Bastar in Chhattisgarh. Being close to nature I always jaunted into the forest with my father. I joined NIT Raipur and completed my Mechanical Engineering in 2006. Got a job in Tata Motors but the fascination and the attachment I always had for living in the forest enticed me to come back. In fact when I went to start my job the first day itself I felt, this is not what I was looking to do all my life. 8 hour factory job, working with machines never made me blissful for what I was doing. It then reminded me of the excitement and pleasure that I had when I used to accompany my father into Chhattisgarh jungles. He used to work for the forest department and I eagerly waited for summer vacations to be free to join him in the field.

To fulfill this dream I joined Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal and did my specialization in Conservation & Livelihood. I was fortunate to crack the campus recruitment for Jungle Lodges & Resorts which opened new doors for me. So here I am after 3 years of  my journey in this field and  currently working  as Lodge Manager at Jungle Mantra, resort, Bandhavgarh National Park.

Living into the wild has opened so many hidden treasures of nature and wildlife which I never realized and noticed, though I spend 22 years of my  life in the forest of Chhattisgarh.  And now I feel what I missed the most. I am sure it happens with you all too when you land up in a forest domain. You start realizing the beauty of nature, chirping of birds, smell of the forest, a pretermit solitude and an excitment to encounter wild animals. So lets not forget it and preserve it as our own child.

The essence of human life is from the mother nature and what it offers. One day we all will thaw in it !!

Ashish