Jungle Nama

I just finished reading a book called ‘Jungle Nama’ written by Amitav Ghosh. This book is an adaptation of an episode from the legends of Bon Bibi (A tale widely told in the villages of the Sundarbans). The book was released on the 21st of February,2021.

The story is expressed poetically, and the plot centres around a rich man called Dhona, who after succumbing to his greed and lack of contentment in life, enters the territory of a shapeshifter, named Dokkhim Rai. Dokkhim Rai used to be the ruler of the Sundarbans, who hunted humans in form of a tiger before he was finally stopped by the siblings Bon Bibi and Shah Jongoli. The pair defeated him and divided the Sundarbans, giving the southern part of the forests to him. The invisible boundary from then on separated the human realm and Dokkhim Rai’s territory (The division happened a long time before the events of this story). Dokkhim Rai is enraged by Dhona's intentions of stealing from his territory and thus decides to teach him a lesson. He demands from Dhona the handover of Dhona's nephew, Dhukhey, for his feast. Dokkhim Rai tells Dhona that if he complies with the demand then he would be sent home with great wealth, but in case of failure to do so, his crew and he will face the wrath of death. 

I liked this book because of its poetic rhythm. This form of writing captured my attention. Each adjective used to tell the story added a new characteristic to it. The illustrations by Salman Toor are beautiful. The pictures required good observation and careful reading of the lines that cryptically explained it, to understand the events depicted in the picture. In all, I think this book is perfect for a person who is interested in reading old fables and poems. It is a short read, very engaging and entertaining.