#374 - Ranthambore Adventure
by Deepak Dalal
“Ranthambore Adventure” by Deepak Dalal. Published by Penguin. A riveting and fast paced story of three teenagers and their adventures when they find themselves in the thick of action against a poacher who is responsible for killing many tigers for their bones at the mind boggling rate of one tiger a day!
The story starts off with a tigress giving birth to two cubs in a valley nestled between the steep cliffs of the forest of Ranthambore during winter. The male cub is called Genghis by the forest department and it is he who is the main protagonist of this story. The story narrates his evolution from a helpless little ball of fur dependent on his mother and sister to a mighty predator who becomes the king of the forest. But dangers are lurking around for him. He has to fight for his survival when confronted with ruthless human poachers who are after his skin and bones.
On a parallel track, there are humans who can help and protect the tigers. Three teenagers Aarti, Aditya and Vikram who study in a boarding school are having their summer holidays. Vikram’s father Govind headed a wildlife organisation called WCI (Wilderness Conservation India) based out of Delhi. As per plans, Aditya would be heading for a few weeks to Ranthambore to be with Vikram before heading back to their school. Aditya finds himself in the thick of action when he figures out a connection who can help him collect evidence against Shanker Chand who is responsible for the mind boggling rate of one tiger being killed a day for its bones. Aarti inadvertently ends up joining a thrilling chase when the poachers try to get away. They end up going all the way to the magnificent forest of Ranthambore. Read the gripping tale to know what awaits Genghis, Shanker Chand and the teenagers when their worlds collide.
My 8.5 year old son and I enjoyed reading every bit of this engrossing book. The chapters alternated between the stories of Genghis and the teenagers. We were at the edge of our seats till the end to know what would happen next. It was a nail biting finish! It was a heady combination of so many topics like the life of a tiger, adventure, poaching issues, problems faced by wildlife conservationists and the lives of the forest department officials. The setting of the story in one of India’s prime destinations to spot a tiger in the wild was like the icing on the cake. Having visited Ranthambore a couple of years ago, we could visualise the beauty of the terrain being described through the story. This book is the first one of the “Vikram-Aditya” series which has eight books in all. My son has ensured that he has most of them already. Though this was for older readers, he insisted that I read this to him as he loved Deepak Dalal’s writing style in the “Feather Tales” series for middle readers (his age group). And we were both happy that we read it :)
We couldn’t help remembering the pictures of the tigress with her newborn cubs taken in Panna National Park that we had seen in one of our favourite books called “Our Tigers Return” by Peeyush Sekhsaria. Books like these are much needed for children to be aware of the problems being faced by tigers and conservationists alike. Tigers are the kings of our Indian forests and they need to survive. We need to help them in whatever way we can! Hopefully a day will come when they can roam the forests freely without the fear of being caught in a trap set by poachers!
Recommended Age
The book is apt for anyone above 12/13 years for self reading. However it can be read aloud to slightly younger children as well like we did :)
Reasons to Read
For the love of tigers, nature and Indian forests!
Where to buy from?
An independent bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.