RUPA PUBLICATIONS: Man Eaters of Kumaon by Jim Corbett

Read a page from this book. Close your eyes for 2 minutes. Read another. Close your eyes again. Repeat this, until the chapter you've been reading is over. No wildlife based television show would ever be able to provide you with a better and more enchanting view of the life of hills and around of long ago, under the menace of dangerous man-eaters, like this one.

'Enchanting' be the one word, if I am to describe my thoughts upon reading this book.

This book is a compilation of ten tales of Corbett's various escapades, mostly spine-chilling, with tigers and leopards, who had gained notoriety due to being man-eaters. Having dealt with wildlife over a long period of time and having observed them from close quarters, Corbett has been able to outline the possible thought process or the reason for the beasts’ behaviours almost as deftly as he has been able to describe the human reactions and responses to the former’s threats.

As a reader, my personal favourite certainly is the story “Robin”, which in some sure sense resembles a typical work of Mahadevi Verma, delicately and lovingly outlining the life of a favourite pet. The protagonist of the story is Robin, Corbett’s faithful spaniel, who had accompanied and helped the author in many of his hunting adventures. In his own words, the canine was “the biggest hearted and the most faithful friend man ever had”. From how the pet came into the care of the author, to how he started training, to how his skill oftentimes became their savior, to how eventually, he bid adieu to his loving master, it is a beautiful story that leaves the reader yearning for more.

As Ruskin Bond aptly puts in the introduction, “Corbett’s exploits brought him fame as a hunter. His book turned him into a legend.”

If you consider yourself an adventure lover or are simply looking for some thrilling stories, here’s the deal. Just read this book. 

RUPA PUBLICATIONS: My Favourite Nature Stories by Ruskin Bond

Title: My Favourite Nature Stories

Author: Ruskin Bond

Price: INR 195

Genre: Non-Fiction

ISBN: 978-81-291-3768-5

The sure worst part of the book was that it eventually got over. Each word devoured and each page gulped. I am still in denial and start re-reading every now and then, and yes, coming back to it is one of the best feelings ever.

Brought out by Rupa Publications on the occasion of the author’s 82^nd birthday, this wonder of a book is a beauteous collection of 21 nature and daily life inspired pieces of prose by Ruskin Bond. To explicate why I refer to it as wonder of book, may I point that it had I, a self-proclaimed, hard hearted detractor of non-fiction genres, loving each of its stories and longing for more… and yet more.

Each of the stories is short, more like a compilation of penned down thoughts at different points in time during the author’s long association with the mountains and of brief periods away from them. The stories are straight from the heart pieces and the narrative is so real that as one reads them, one can totally imagine oneself as actually being in the place and situation described.  

From trees to insects to a walnut thief grandmother to the ancient wells of old Delhi to birds that sang and flowers that bloomed and snakes that didn’t kill to what humans are doing to the mountains to the tube train journey that could remind the author of mountain bears making away with ripe pumpkins, the book takes the reader though a variety of topics and places. And suddenly, somewhere in between the text, when you least expect, a funny line or two crops up. For instance, in the context of sweltering heat of the dusty lanes of Old Delhi, the reader gets to sample this:

“Shopkeepers nod drowsily beneath whirring ceiling fans. The pavement barber has taken his customer into the shelter of an awning. A fortune teller has decided there is nothing to predict and has fallen asleep under the same awning.”

There are some important lessons for us humans as well, case in point:

“While the green-backs took their plunge, the red-heads waited patiently on the moss covered rocks. I thought they showed more discipline than a crowd of people at a city water-tap.”

And some food for thought, like:

“For every time I see the sky, I am aware of belonging to the universe rather than to just one corner of the earth.”

The book also talks of how simple things like sweeping the verandah or meeting the river or the sound of some insects could be of importance and a source of happiness.

All in all, a very satisfying experience reading the book. A must read for all who’ve been to the mountains and cherish the calm inspired mountain life.

Although, I would request the publishers to get the book proofread as there are a few errors here and there, I would like to thank them for their praiseworthy endeavour in bringing out this book.

Whims, Wits, and Whiskers: A Californian Pet Tale

Author: Sieglinde C. Othmer

Illustrator: Clare Rosean

Rating: ****

What do you expect from a story that has animals? Not few but many. What do you expect from a story that has some six dogs and two cats coming together under one roof and then all of them going out into the open and joining a number of other animals and singing what some hummingbirds had taught? Sounds weird, right?

Well, 'Whims, Wits, and Whiskers: A Californian Pet Tale' is a very beautiful and exuberant take on a situation similar to the above one. Three pet dogs, bored with their routine life are happy to host two of their cousins (dogs). They discuss and realize that they all want to do something amazing, but are really unsure what this amazing thing could be. All are independent and have their own likes and dislikes and thus are unable to come to a consensus.

What follows is the sudden arrival of two of their other cousins, this time, cats from Hollywood. The cats are artists and know a great many skills. With the help of these cats, and of course, little hummingbirds, who interestingly join the story at many places, the cousins are able to find what they would love to do. Just like the famous line from Paulo Coelho's novel "The Alchemist", 'When you really want something to happen, the whole world conspires to help you achieve it', things start falling in place and an unexpected journey to another of their cousin's place enables them to achieve their dream. A dream they could live. All seven of them.

What holds the story is the innocent narration that allows the innate nature of the animals to come out so brilliantly. Each animal has a unique identity and a unique nature, their own strengths and weaknesses, their hopes, aspirations and desires from life and from others, much like humans. The way the natural surroundings are described, does not leave a feeling that something might be missing or that it wold have been better had their been something more or something different.

And it is not one of those goodie-good books that have all things going as per the best possible. The cat and dog fight, the brief fight for supremacy, the conflict of opinion, the sudden death of a benefactor, the crashing of dreams and thinking that all was over, all make the story really realistic and far more acceptable than an ordinary ever happy storyline might have been.

Having grown up on those numerous animal stories of Panchatantra and Jataka and the others, to get me to read an animal story from start till end, without my getting bored and then smiling, speaks a lot, a real lot about the book. 

And yes, the book also has a little gift, an audio CD of the 'Fiderallalla' song these animals make. Some music lover friends of mine, who listened to the song, really liked it, despite having not read the book or knowing the context of the song. So, even the music scores as well as the book.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Title: Animal Farm

Author: George Orwell

"Life will go on as it has always gone on – that is, badly." The animals in the Manor Farm live a hard life. Human beings control them, use them, abuse them and misuse their powers. A wise old boar, who is on his deathbed, calls all the animals and tells them that a rebellion against the human cruelty is the only way the animals could ever think of escaping the hardships in their lives.

All the animals are very charged and with fire in their bellies, they start chalking out the plans for a rebellion though they don't know when it would be possible. The chance comes fairly soon and the animals are able to overthrow the humans and establish a rule purely by the animals and for the animals.

The ideals with which the 'Animal Farm' (the new name of the Manor Farm) work begins are pristine, pure and divine. There is the advent of education. Over time education creates a basic divide between the wise and the not-so-wise. The pigs, the most intelligent and the ready witted of all, slowly start establishing their supremacy. The humans try to regain their lost control, but the united animal force is too much for them to handle and thus, they have to retreat. Little by little, changes start happening. The pigs don't seem to agree on any one point and then, we see, one of the pigs, Napoleon, drives away the other and becomes the leader. Extremely slowly and gradually, the leader, Napoleon, establishes total control over the lives of other animals, all the rules the Animal Farm was established with, are violated. The pigs become more and more human like  they walk on two legs, they sleep in beds, wear clothes and drink alcohol. The commandment of "All animals are equal" is changed to "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others". The tenet of "Four legs good, two legs bad" is changed to "Four legs good, two legs better" and many more. Over time vices corrupt the leader class to an extent that they are blinded by their addiction and would rather get their wounded best worker slaughtered and get money than spend money and get him operated upon.

Once, the totalitarian control is established, the pigs rename the farm "Animal Farm" to "Manor Farm". And as Benjamin, the wise donkey said, "Life will go on as it has always gone on – that is, badly." 

Though the book is based on a similar problem that occurred in Soviet, I feel, India too has undergone a similar pattern. The long years of strife under the control of the British Raj led to the uprisings and rebellions, and ultimately, the war of independence and then freedom. The values we began with have been altered and interpreted to suit the ones who have, against the have-nots. Education, improperly distributed, created a class divide. Eventually, the good and the 'high class' befriended the oppressors of the past and many were engulfed in vices of sorts.

Overall, a good but depressing book. Wonderful vocabulary.

Rating: 3/5

(Picture Source: Internet)

Kalila and Dimna by Ramsay Wood

Title: Kalila and Dimna: Fables of Conflict and Intrigue

Author: Ramsay Wood

Publications: Madina Publishing

Illustrator: G M Whitworth

A sequel of Kalila and Dimna: The Pancatantra Retold - Book One (reviewed here), this book picks up from where the wise Dr. Bidpai had decided to halt his storytelling at the close of the previous book.

Though majorly a continuation of the previous book, a few changes have been introduced here, which include the fact that King Dabschelim now has three children who have been told about the amazing treasure and who are also to be the beneficiaries of the knowledge. Mimosa, rather interrupt-me-not (Mimosa is also the other name for touch-me-not plant) sister of Dr. Bidpai and a superb storyteller herself, enters and takes us through most parts of the story.

An amazing amalgamation of fables of personified stupid donkeys, of henpecked crocodiles, of wise, revengeful and storyteller monkeys, of normal people turned greedy, of wise idiots, and many more, the collection of stories presents an eye-opening insight into the feelings and thoughts of living creatures, both evil and gentle.

The stories, though meant to somehow relate to the rules of the conduct appropriate to the kings, give us, those far from the blue blooded races, a lot of meanings and moral lessons in ways both expressed and implied.  A micro list of the lessons I learnt includes: If we wish for something stupid and against the laws of nature, we are inviting our own doom. Exceptional greed leads to our own destruction. Blindly following the others, with putting in little logic could be tragic. A safe and strategically maintained distance and even friendship between enemies could be mutually beneficial .. and many more. How so many stories have be connected and put together as a single big story makes the work truly remarkable. 

Through the story, Mimosa comes across as a better storyteller than even Bidpai. The book completes the wise advise being given to the king, he gets his royal illustrators, calligraphers to put the stories together for us, the future generations.

To sum up: A wonderful book. An enjoyable read. An enriching experience.

Kalila and Dimna by Ramsay Wood

Title: Kalila and Dimna: The Pancatantra Retold - Book One
Author: Ramsay Wood
Publication: Random House India
Price: INR 225

Having been born in a typical Indian family, the tales of Panchatantra have been everything to me - from being bed time tales to moral stories to pieces of traditional literature. This book looks at some of the same stories in a peculiar, novel and interesting way, along with some folklores of other lands as well. The story begins with a tale of a fickle minded king Dabschelim who accidently lands up in a lot of treasure and a strange letter from a king of the past. As mentioned in the letter, he gets a certain learned man, Dr. Bidpai to make him understand the contents of the letter. 

The letter contains several 'rules of conduct proper to the behaviour of kings'. The best part of these rules is that many of them even though meant for a king can be easily applied to our lives as well. Say for instance, we must do good, as if we do good, good will be done to us. Or one should be mild and friendly in nature and so on.

Bidpai, in his elaboration of the first rule stated in the letter, starts telling the tale of 'Kalila and Dimna', two jackal brothers. Kalila is the wiser of the two and advises Dimna against his foolhardy behaviour, but to little avail. A lot many other stories have been intertwined with this one. Just as the first rule stated that a king mustn't dismiss any servant at the request of the other person, for a people are bound to be jealous of a servant close to the king, this story of Kalila and Dimna ends in sad end of a faithful subject, due to a foul game of a jealous courtier.

The second story, or a array of stories, I must say, is that of 'Zirac and Friends'. Apt description to the rule that the ministers, counsellors and the likes, if preserved well will together work for the welfare of the state, the stories teach us that friendship which is pure and not based on any kind of expectations or benefit lasts longer, better and stronger.

It is really interesting how Ramsay Wood has connected all the little stories and presented them so logically, basically as a single story.

The little quotations, often at the beginning of the stories and at their close, give an insight into the values being taught or the central idea of the stories.

As the main purpose of the Panchatantra tales, a moral or a meaning can be drawn up everywhere. After reading the book, one feels refreshed and positively motivated. For those of us who have grown up on these tales, this book appears like a harbinger of novelty, a morphosis, a time to look at the past with a new perspective.

A perfectly delightful read for those who want the values of yesterday in the light of today.

Impeccable Petunia by Katie Christine

Title : Impeccable Petunia (Part I : Claws, Paws, Feathers & Jaws)

Author : Katie Christine

Pictures By : Jonathan Edward

I always maintain that animal stories are a sure way to entice a young readers's heart.  Here in 'Impeccable Petunia' the readers actually get to peek into the high drama life of a chicken who happens to have unusual tastes and likings.

Petunia is a chicken who has fascination and appreciation for everything colourful and beautiful and this talent of hers makes her stand out from the rest of her mates. The other hens are happy following the regular routine and are not into trying anything new or different. But Petunia's quirky nature does not go very well with the hens at higher pecking order and this gives rise to many gossips and interesting incidents in the hen house.

Various characters join the storyline - Silkie the kind woman, Macy the house cat,  Ronald the one-eyed fox and many more. Each character is beautifully sketched and their unique personalities add flavour to the story. The adventure packed days in a chicken's life make a delightful read.

I liked the subtle message of how sometimes the pressure to conform builds too much but still standing for what you believe in and not wilting under the pressure is the best way to go about it. It is very important to appreciate the uniqueness in every individual and just because an individual is different does not make him/her bad.

A very cute, interesting and engaging story and author does a brilliant job of bringing the animal characters to life.  However I feel the vocabulary is a little overwhelming for the target readers. I like the challenging vocabulary in the books for children but it should not be to that extent where it becomes a dampener and the effectiveness of the book gets compromised. I guess, a right balance is very important. Having said that, I would look forward to Part II of this series.

The illustrations by Jonathan Edward take the story to an entirely new level and the bright colours of the pictures beautifully reflect what a palette of vibrant colours does to Petunia and her inner feelings.