The Trees of Our Land
Indians have long held a close respect for the rhythm of nature, working in close consort with the environment. But recent big-ticket government projects have ignored ecological concerns, threatening India’s rich biodiversity and causing severe damage to forest lands. By Vipin Labroo
Excerpt: ‘FERAL DREAMS: Mowgli & His Mothers’ by Stephen Alter
In his novel Feral Dreams: Mowgli & His Mothers (2020), award-winning author Stephen Alter revisits Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, taking forward Mowgli’s story, transposing the classic jungle tale into unexplored terrain. Here is an excerpt from the first chapter of the book.
Short story by Debi Mukherjee: “Unlike the little girls I see outside temples, draped in their pano bhaju’s stringing garlands of Marigolds, I dare not play with the flowers in our garden. Papa cautions me against the rows of Mogras, Shoe-flowers, Frangipanis and a multitude of others. He says that I must not be lured by a flower’s fragrance.”