#431 - The Secret Sanctuary

by Stephen Alter and illustrated by Prabha Mallya

“The Secret Sanctuary” by Stephen Alter and illustrated by Prabha Mallya. Published by Penguin. An enchanting story  of three children finding themselves in an idyllic world in a jungle surrounded by wildlife and magic.

What if you could get transported into a magical world which is a natural paradise of sorts?! A jungle where you are invisible to all its denizens. The best part is that you get to do unusual things like say, pet animals like barking deer which are usually very shy or spend a night in the lair of a bear with it being oblivious of your presence or even fool a monkey by tugging its tail and snatching an acorn from it. The wilderness is so enchanting making one wonder if this is what paradise is all about. Time here moves at a different pace as against the normal world. However there is a catch in all of this and a big one at that. The way out of this world is not known. You may never be able to get out of it you enter.

Well, this sounds straight out of a fantasy tale right. In this book, three friends Manohar, Pradeep and Kamla find themselves in this magical world when they climb an oak tree in Jabarkhet nature reserve on their way to school. Their intention was to follow a pair of Tutralis (Yellow-throated Martens) who had climbed the tree and see them from close quarters. Little did they know what they were getting into. They were unsure of what to do next when they stumbled upon an old man who had also got lost here like them. Dr Mukherjee was a naturalist and in search of an extremely rare species of Quail called Mountain Quail which is believed to have gone extinct. But he believes that it does exist somewhere deep here in the forest and hopes to find it someday. Read the book to go along with the children and Dr Mukherjee on an adventure in this secret sanctuary that they have become privy to and find out what happens next.

The book gives a vivid description of the jungle and its creatures. We found ourselves transported to this magical place as we read the book. My nine year old was fascinated by the plot and found it extremely gripping. He was eager to know what would happen next. He wondered if  they would either find the way out of this secret sanctuary or find a mountain quail finally or both. He loved the adventures that they had along the way and the bond of friendship between them. We already knew about the Mountain Quail thanks to the book “When the Jungles Whisper!”. The bird was last seen in 1876 in Mussoorie and is feared to be extinct. These birds used to be found only around Mussoorie and Nainital.

We were excited to get an unexpected opportunity to visit Jabarkhet at the time of reading the book. We couldn’t help enjoying the walk there recounting the events in the book and wondering if the lone oak tree which is a landmark on the hiking trail was the same that transported the characters in the book to the secret sanctuary. We spotted some of the birds mentioned in the story and were happy to see that the story had made our visit so enjoyable with such vivid descriptions of the place. We were lucky to get a signed copy of the book where the reserve merchandise was being sold. Jabarkhet is a private nature reserve near Mussoorie and the first of its kind in Uttarakhand. It was created in 2015 for conservation of the wooded area that was on the verge of being encroached gradually. Below are some pictures of our visit to Jabarkhet.

Recommended Age

The book is apt for children aged 9/10 and above.

Reasons to Read

1. For the love of nature, wilderness and adventure with a generous dash of fantasy, magic and friendship.

2. The book creates awareness about the Jabarkhet nature reserve and the Mountain Quail (Ophrysia superciliosa). It also creates hope that maybe the bird is not really extinct but present somewhere deep in the forest.