A visit from the laat sahib was always prestigious for royalty. The bandobast was pukka to the last detail. Natives pitched tambus tying machhardanis (mosquito nets) with gussalkhanas having ‘thunder boxes.’ Tents of some maharajas even had a brick floor with Persian rugs, fireplaces being done up like English country houses. Bearers donning starched white pagrees, hovered around guests serving pulaus stews, curries, sherbet, bacon and even ovaltine from mud kitchens. The entourage included khansamas, khidmatgurs, coollies, beaters, etc. Beaters and villagers beat tom-toms and played flutes to drive tigers to awaiting hunters. The Maharaja of Rewa had 5,000 beaters to drive 16 fully grown tigers for Lord Curzon’s hunt.

Lady Dufferin wrote, "... a thousand beaters were employed and only 24 birds killed..." A century ago, a beater was paid Re 1 and 8 annas daily. To help them, the retinue included ‘a collection of canines’ usually named tipoo, whiskey, soda, poppy, lancer, Caesar, Douglas, Johnny and such English-named Indian dogs.

Despite memsahibs’ general inability to stand the heat, there were lady shikaris too. Writes Ann Morrow, "As a courtesy... Vicereine or Commander-in-Chief’s wife Lady Chetwode — would be offered the first shot. They may have looked frail with their porcelain skins and appealing in their becoming jungle skirts made by the dhurzie, but they would lie for hours on their stomachs resilient and elated."

To pamper their egos, every tiger shot by the goras was declared as invariably ten-feet long. If the laat sahibs were not good shots, beaters gathered every bird shot and "put them in a flattering pile beside the imperial butts." Imagine a few staggering figures of ‘bags’ — animals killed for pleasure. Bengal civil servant George Yule bagged 500 tigers in 28 years, Maharaja of Surguja killed 1710, Duke of Windsor shot 17 tigers in one week in 1921, while two were shot later during the visit of Queen Elizabeth to Ranthambhor in 1961. The Cooch Behar Maharaja alone bagged 365 tigers, 311 leopards, 438 buffaloes and 207 rhinos.

‘Bizarre blood sports’ Included lesser shoots of antelopes, barking deer, bear, boar, jackals, hogs, etc. The English stalked for rhinos in the terai region bordering on Assam or Nepal and Karakoram’s rare Ovis Poli. The scrapbook of a district collector in 1900 mentions the accuracy required to shoot a mugger in an alligator hunt down the Ganges near Allahabad. "Skins were sent to leather tanneries at Cawnpore and returned as handbags and briefcases." Tiger, panther and crocodile skins were shipped ‘home’ by P&O steamers. Dead elephant’s feet held umbrellas while tusks were used for gongs.

‘Shot for the pot’ included quails, partridges, jungle fowls, wild ducks, sand grouse, etc. Sir Montague Butler, Governor of Central Provinces and Jashpur’s Maharaja, shot no less than 527 ducks. When Lord Reading went to Bharatpur to inspect flood destruction, he managed to bag 1700 ducks. But Lord Linlithgow’s record bag of 4,273 birds only puts them to shame.