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The book’s four sections bring together writings on forest and cover history, anthropology, wildlife, ecology and environmental studies, literature and travel, all different aspects of forest. It brings together pieces that mirror the wealth and wisdom that forests offer. Canopy, the first part, includes four stories—two anonymous folklores, and a verse each by Guru Nanak (Barah Mah) and Sri Aurobindo (Death in the Forest). Since it would be disrespectful for me to comment on such great men’s verses, I move to the second section—Clearing, which includes pieces by Ramchandra Gandhi (Professor of philosophy), Kamala Subramaniam (translator of the acclaimed abridgments of Mahabharata, Ramayana and Srimad Bhagavatam), Smitu Kothari (a Delhi-based political activist and scholar) and novelist Arun Joshi. This section is a concoction of tales revealing the absorbing mysteries of the jungle. However, other than Arun Joshi’s Billy Again and Smitu Kothari’s well-researched article on the evolutionary struggles in the jungle, the other two pieces seem a little extra scholastic. A few readers, like me, would rather settle for some more adventurous and gripping pieces on forest life and how to protect it from going the way of the dodo, especially when we do have a huge repertory of fantastic stories on jungle life, that too in almost all regional languages. In the third segment of the book, Dwelling, we find the great Jim Corbett at his best in Jungle Whodunnits. An exceptional hunter who wrote classic stories of his t`EAte-`E0-t`EAte with man-eaters, Corbett had deep sympathy for the people of rural India, which is reflected in his works. Corbett gives us some stunning narrations about sharp instincts one needs to survive in the woods. The last section, Threshold, brings together stories from literature that delves deep into forest life. Ruskin Bond’s Tiger Tiger, Burning Bright is by far the piece of the section. It is a telling story of an "old tiger", his life, struggles and fears. Other stories, including Kodubuti Padal Peylash (by Madhu Ramnath) and The Jungle and Water’s edge (by Francis Zimmermann) also make a pleasant read. The book also includes works by Vishvajit Pandya, Ritambhara Hebbar, Brig-Gen R.G. Burton, Jaidev Baghel and Chris Gregory, Prakash Murthy, Vasant Sabrewal and Ashwni Chattre. Though the book is a fine attempt in bringing together "jungle writings", the focus seems to be drifting away at times. More relevant and interesting stories have been written in English and other Indian languages. Maybe, a better story selection could have made it more readable. Tribesmen being forced to become nomads in the name of forest preservation and felling of trees in huge volume by timber merchants are aspects that need to be highlighted. The book views the forest
from several angles, perhaps, one too many. Despite that, the editor has
indeed done sufficient groundwork before compiling the book. If you love
the jungle for all its beauties and want to save it from extinction, the
book is definitely worth reading. |
India is a strange
country. Everyone here seems to "understand" the significance
of forest protection. However, since most of us think less and talk
more, the action part of conservation remains largely sedentary. Against
this backdrop, the book, edited by a teacher of sociology at Jamia Milia
Islamia, New Delhi, is a righteous attempt to re-assert the priceless
facets of the jungle.