Illustration: Sorit Gupto/CSE
Environment

Gobar Times: Ek Tha Jungle

In this book, Sorit Gupto contrasts two worlds, one of symbiosis, where creatures take only what nature provides; the other of rapacious expansion, where trees topple and rivers choke under the weight of human ambition

Yashita Mishra

In Sorit Gupto’s Ek Tha Jungle, a man rescued from the river by a troop of monkeys enters a world defined by trust, curiosity and harmony. He is tended to with affectionate care, especially by the troop’s leader, the Mukhiya monkey, and soon forges an unlikely friendship. They enjoy their time together, and he even builds a small boat of entwined branches, guiding them along winding waterways and revealing their own home from fresh vantage points. But as their laughter drifts across the canopy, a subtle unease gathers: the man’s explorations conceal darker motives.

To read the rest of the story, head to Down To Earth’s sister site Young Environmentalist.