Kunal’s dad, Deepak, was very excited about Kunal and Radhika getting married. He spent a lot of time with Radhika and played a big role in helping Kunal plan the engagement (for those who know Kunal well, left to his devices the engagement would have been at Café Istanbul).

So when we started planning the wedding, we wanted to make sure that he was a major part of the wedding (this is a happy message so no sad “awws”, only happy “awws”). Naming a drink or a section of the hotel after him just wouldn’t do justice to his memory.

Deepak loved elephants, and always looked for ways to support their welfare. He found them peaceful, majestic creatures and it upset him that they were harmed for ivory, encroachment, sport and entertainment. To commemorate him we decided that instead of giving our guests a return gift, we would make a donation on behalf of each guest to the welfare of elephants.

We tied up with The Corbett Foundation and Sanctuary Nature Foundation to set up a special programme in Deepak's memory where the funds will be used to safeguard the elephants of Bandhavgarh through a coexistence initiative.

While we celebrate, know that because of YOU, 50-60 elephants in Bandhavgarh will roam freer, 500+ households will be protected and 1000+ children will be educated with respect to elephants. The Bandhavgarh community will celebrate with us.

Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve has in recent years become an important habitat for the Asian elephant. Madhya Pradesh did not have a resident elephant population for over a century, until 2018. These elephants defied expectations and adapted successfully to their new surroundings. Today, they are permanent residents of Bandhavgarh.

However, with expanding agriculture, fragmented movement corridors, and easy access to crops and water sources, elephants are venturing closer to human settlements, leading to heightened human-elephant interactions. As a result, incidents of negative human-elephant interactions have increased, often leading to crop damage, property loss, and occasional loss of human life. Such incidents can provoke retaliatory actions against elephants, threatening their safety and undermining conservation efforts.

Our initiative with The Corbett Foundation will promote peaceful coexistence between humans and elephants through a community-based awareness programme focused on education, mitigation, and tolerance-building.

Creation of a special book to educate children

To achieve long-term change in Bandhavgarh it is imperative that children are educated about elephants from a young age to mitigate the risk of conflict.

To this end we are developing a special illustrated story and activity book about elephants in Central India developed in consultation with wildlife biologists and artists to educate children about elephants in Central India. The book will use storytelling and activities to explain: the elephant diet, movement and behaviour, reasons for their presence near human settlements, the importance of elephants as ecosystem engineers, the do’s and don’ts during elephant encounters, and engaging activities designed to deepen understanding.

School outreach

To instill early understanding and compassion for elephants, the project will reach out to schools in eight selected villages. The schools will receive copies of the book and information posters will be developed for school and community display.

These are the villages / schools we will target:

Awareness and education Campaign

We will conduct a series of interactive awareness sessions in identified villages located around the Son River, covering Panpatha (buffer and core), Pataur, Manpur, and Khitauli Ranges. These sessions will be organised in collaboration with the Forest Department and Village Eco-Development Committees (EDCs).

Community engagement and conflict mitigation

To support mitigation of conflict on the ground, the donations will enable distribution of 100 high-beam torches among the eight target villages through EDCs. These torches will serve as a non-invasive deterrent tool during night elephant visits and help reduce property damage and panic.

We will also conduct community awareness sessions which will focus on practical strategies to reduce negative interactions. The sessions will demonstrate safe ways to respond to elephant presence, emphasise tolerance and avoidance behaviour and discuss the ecological role of elephants and the long-term benefits of coexistence.

Feedback and learning

During awareness sessions, surveys and discussions will be held with residents to explore common patterns of elephant movement, local coping strategies and potential mitigation measures for future interventions.