Having always loved being in close proximity to nature, Chandra Vijay decided to run a wildlife and health resort. He believes that nature and wildlife have a wealth of knowledge to impart to humans.

Chandra Vijay Singh is a Naturalist managing Shikar Oudi, a wildlife resort near Udaipur.

Chandra Vijay hails from a village, Bara Kheda, near Kota. His family lives in the village, but he currently resides near Udaipur at Shikar Oudi, which is a wildlife and wellness resort.

Chandra did his schooling from Mayo College in Ajmer and his graduation from Jai Hind College in Mumbai. From the very start, Chandra always wanted to work in the vicinity of nature and not sit behind a desk. He applied for a job in the tea gardens and was placed in a rubber plantation field near Kerala.

Soon, he smelled an opportunity when a South African company, Conservation Corporation Africa, wanted to expand its footprint in India. He joined the company and enrolled to become the nation’s first naturalist. It was a two-year course, and after its completion, he got a chance to work in Hampi, in central India. He also worked with the former chief minister, Vasundhra Raje, to organise boat rides and safaris at her property near Chambal.

Unfortunately, he had to come back to Udaipur because his father was very sick and passed away eventually. Owing to the circumstances, he wanted to stay near his family, and therefore he joined Shikar Oudi, which gave him the flexibility of being near his home and also provided the kind of working conditions that he had always wanted.

With a good education and strong family background, Chandra never faced much struggle in life. He always did what he loved, and with his determination and hard work, he has reached good heights in life.

For Chandra, his role model in life is Jim Corbett. He says he grew up reading his books, and that inspired him. It was because of him that he developed such an interest in wildlife. He also loved to watch and read The Jungle Book in his childhood. Chandra also feels that, apart from humans, the wildlife and nature have taught him a lot of things, especially patience.

For youngsters who want to join his field, he advises them that nature and wildlife studies are fairly new in our country and have a lot of scope. Especially after COVID, people want to be close to nature, and he thinks it is a very good opportunity to learn not only about wildlife but also about human behaviour. He feels this field provides a person with ample opportunities to learn new things, and they just have to be true to themselves and enjoy what they are doing. He says if you treat the visitors to your lodge nicely, you will forever remain imprinted in their hearts.

Remembering an incident from Panna National Park, Chandra says once he was driving a car with four American women when he suddenly came across a deer giving alarm calls in the middle of a river. When he further looked around, he found out the deer was surrounded by a pack of wild dogs. Upon zooming his binoculars he saw there was also a crocodile approaching the deer, while the deer’s concentration was completely on the wild dogs. The crocodile snapped to catch the deer by its legs, but somehow, after a long battle, the deer escaped and was free from both wild dogs and the crocodile. Watching this incident, Chandra learned the value of being alert in life. He learned to be thankful to God for the life he has given us. He says watching the entire incident helped him understand how difficult life in a jungle is, where one’s food is someone else’s life.

Chandra also believes that education is important to be able to work technically and intelligently.

Even if he could go back in time in a time machine and change things, Chandra would want to change nothing because he loves his life as a naturalist. He says money is not everything; being able to help nature and educate people about it counts a lot more. To be able to contribute towards the betterment of nature is what he desires the most.

Recalling his childhood, Chandra says he comes from a landlord family. He was sent to a hostel when he was three years old and did his entire schooling at his hostel. Then he moved to Mumbai, where he did his graduation, and realised his heart did not belong to the city, and he wanted to be where nature is. So to stay close to nature, he decided to do something that allowed him to do so, and therefore he chose to be a naturalist.

Apart from his work at the retreat, Chandra loves sketching and bird watching in his free time.