. Mowgli, Bagheera, Baloo, Kaa, Akela, Sher Khan. Many have grown up with these names in the subcontinent. First made famous in Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 stories, ‘The Jungle Book’ the story of Mowgli, a “man-cub” growing up in the wild, raised by wolves, has held a fascination like no other. The enrapturing tale of Mowgli whirls around a little boy lost in the jungle amidst a bloody encounter between Sher Khan the tiger and humans. Brought to safety and raised by wolves under the fierce protection and guidance of Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear, Mowgli is a loved misfit. A wolf boy, a boy wolf. Inspired by mythology and lore from the stories in Panchatantra and Jataka Tales, the tale of Mowgli has been interpreted and adapted in various forms. To the child, Mowgli’s is a fable of a world of dreams where animals talk, adventures happen as one dives into the ever captivating realm of child-like mystery. A light-hearted feel-good story with amusing characters. To others, Mowgli is an embodiment of a child becoming an adolescent. And finally to a few it is about a much darker side which versions of Disney as we know it, erased. It is about the shadows and fears of humanity. An orphaned Mowgli in his inevitable exile into the jungle, confronting the moral dilemmas of civilization. The jungle is Mowgli’s childhood, one which will soon be left behind to adulthood. Bagheera is the voice of reason, Baloo a symbol of hedonism, careless pleasures. The fire that Mowgli is acquainted with in the story is a manifestation of knowledge, bringing form into chaos. The knowledge that ultimately leads to Mowgli’s freedom and victory. Rudyard Kipling was no benefactor of India and overtly used colonial stereotypes. His poetry boasts of poems like ‘The White Man’s Burden’. However, in ‘The Jungle Book’, via the magic and mystery of fiction that haunt the imagination, Mowgli came to us and enthralled our imaginations. The ‘man-cub’ somehow became a friend to us all, his life reminding us of a recovered memory, of the innocence of childhood. . Shot by Ace Lensman, Photographer extraordinare, Rushabh Javeri, deep in Bandhavgarh National Park. Bagh Tola Jungle Lodge.