Black Panther
by Aravind Krish Bala and illustrated by Ashok Rajagopalan
Black Panther by Aravind Krish Bala and illustrated by Ashok Rajagopalan. Published by Tulika. This is a true story of the author’s friend Natarajan’s first encounter with the elusive Black Panther in the Anamalais.
Natarajan who was an Irula tribesman had been roaming the Anamalai mountains which run through Kerala and Tamilnadu for more than forty years. He knew about every bird and animal that could be found there. But one animal evaded him. True to its reputation as the ghost of the forest, the Black Panther was something that he yearned to see. And his son sighted the magnificent beast first.
Later he also managed to sight it with his son. The book narrates the story of this encounter with the Black Panther through the voice of Veera and Kari in place of Natarajan and his son. Ashok Rajagopalan’s (of “Gajapati Kulapati” series fame) stunning illustrations add to the charm of the story.
The author used to trek in the western ghats and is a journalist now who writes about environment and wildlife conservation. He wrote this book for his little daughter. Natarajan told him about his encounter with the black Panther as they were perched on the treetop near a waterhole in Parambikulam reserve forest in Kerala. They were waiting to sight a tiger! We also loved the book “Magnificent Makhna” by the same author.
This lovely book caught my (then) six year old’s attention as we were browsing the Tulika website. He kept asking me to buy this book and seemed captivated by the cover picture. The book worked like an edge of the seat thriller for him and at the same time evoked his curiosity to know more about this magnificent creature. So much so that decided to do his school (integral) project on the Black Panther! :) Below is a picture of the mind map that he put together from his questions.
Where to buy from?
The publishers Tulika books here.
An independent indie bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.