In the Jungle

In the heart of rural India, nestled on the edge of a dense jungle, lay a small village. The forest stood like a living giant, both feared and revered by the villagers. Among them was a young boy named Deenu, just twelve years old, with curious eyes and a happy spirit. His world shattered one evening when his mother never returned from gathering firewood in the forest close to the village. A search party later found traces of a tiger’s presence—and her scarf, lying near some lantana bushes at the edge of the jungle. The grief that followed was heavy. Deenu stopped speaking. He sat beneath the Jamun tree, where his mother once sang songs of her tribe, staring into the forest as if trying to summon her back to life. The villagers whispered about the tiger with anger. Some spoke of revenge; others demanded that the forest be cut down. But Deenu remained silent, his heart filled with sorrow and anger. One morning, a new figure arrived in the village—a tall, weather-worn man in green. His n...

  Beneath the soft, golden light of dawn, the grasslands stretched wide like a golden ocean. Nestled amidst the tall grasses, hidden from prying eyes, a female hyena lay still—her ears twitching at every whisper of the wind.  She was a fierce matriarch, a skilled hunter, and above all, a vigilant mother. Her den, dug deep into the hillside, cradling two pups.  As she suckled them, a distant temple bell rang in the distance. This centuries-old temple crowning the landscape, was renowned for its architectural beauty and revered as a sanctuary of mothers due to the presence of female deities that adorned every stone and wall.   Villagers believed the goddesses watched over every beast and blade of grass, their stone eyes ever vigilant.  One morning, however, something felt different. As the pups played and the mother hyena groomed herself, she caught the scent of something unfamiliar. A smoky odour was accompanied by the sounds of vehicles. Her muscles coile...

  Long ago, in the heart of Central India, where the jungle whispered secrets that only the souls of the forest could understand, stood a majestic Sal tree. Towering and wise, the Sal had rooted itself in the earth for over a hundred years. Its gnarled branches stretched out like arms that had witnessed countless monsoons, scorching summers, and mist-laden winters.   One twilight, as the orange sun dipped low behind the hills, a regal tiger padded silently into the clearing beneath the Sal tree. A great beast with stripes like molten gold, the tiger was old. Alone after many years of companionship with his own kind, he sought solace in his final years among the trees.   The Sal tree, sensing the tiger’s need for solitude, rustled its leaves softly in welcome. The tiger settled, easing his weary muscles against the cool earth and roots, and for the first time in many moons, he felt truly rested and comforted. As night deepened and stars blinked into the velvet sky, a sof...