How many books, good, bad and indifferent, have already been written on sport and travel in Kashmir, I wonder? Such a prodigious number at any rate, that one naturally thinks twice about adding another to the already large collection. However, it has been my custom to keep a diary illustrated with rough sketches and photos and moreover, there are many wet days in camp to be “got through” and long hours to be spent on the hillside waiting for an evening stalk, during which one may sketch and scribble notes. It was the suggestion of kind friends who took an interest in these notes and diaries that finally persuaded me to put them into book form. With regard to the object of the book, I will only say that if it proves to be of any assistance to anyone shooting in Kashmir and helps him to appreciate to the full the beauties and mysteries of Nature in the mountains, thus feeling the fascination and experiencing the almost indescribable joy which they never fail to afford me, I shall consider the object of the book achieved. Most of the folklore stories are the outcome of long talks with shikaris and even the most “jungly” of coolies, on the hillside or over the camp fire. As far as shikar is concerned, far be it from me to say that this or that is the correct way to do a thing. Each sportsman must first of all have the love of it born in him, after which he must please himself and learn by his own experience. What suits me may not suit him and at most it can be hoped that from the record of some of my experiences he may learn enough to base his own upon.
