Voice of Nature, Are You Listening?

· by · in Book Reviews. ·

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Humankind, love and Nature, nowhere in the history of literature anything has been written without encompassing one or more of these subjects. Since the dawn of civilization, nature is nurturing us fulfilling our every need. The cerulean sky, the verdant valleys, the vibrant waterfall, steep mountains, fragrant flowers, and roaring oceans- all these are perfectly concocted producing a coherent canvas. The invisible yet palpable brush of Almighty changes the shades every day only to make it more beaming and fulgent.

With the advent of civilization, we have acquired several techniques making our life comfortable. We have changed the face of the earth; we can now re-paint the canvas created by Him. We can re-create Nature!

But do we care for her? Do we ever think how much pain we are causing to her when we mercilessly felled the trees in the name of development? We are an inseparable part of Earth; if she thrives and flourishes, so will us. It’s time to stop the cacophony of the concrete  and, listen to the melodies of our eternal nurturer, Mother earth.

This is what Nihar Pradhan tries to remind us in his book Voice of Nature. The book is an awakening call for all of us. The protagonist here, Haiku (I especially loved the name and no points for guessing why) a little kid who visits the  Nandankanan Zoo located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, and this journey reveals Nature in a different way to him.
The zoo lies among the lush green vegetation of the Chandaka forest, along the picturesque Kanjia lake.

Here Haiku meets the tiger Mogli, a rare white specimen, of which the Nandankanan Zoo is famous for, caged and confined, away from his natural habitat and family. The tiger raises his voice to make Haiku realize the pain of being in such a state.

Then there is Bani Uncle, the quintessence of wisdom. The Banyan tree or Bani uncle tells Haiku of the nitty-gritty of Nature, of the life as it sees from above. Kuki, the little bird acts as the messenger in the story as it flies in a jiffy from one place to another, garnering all sorts of information.

All these characters exchange views, analyze and criticize the acts of humans, the way they have toppled the equilibrium of the ecosystem, blocked the natural growth of  forests in the name of development and civilization.

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Little souls are pure ones, they can understand the melody of a small brook, can listen to the loquacious silence of Nature. So, our Haiku transcends to the world of flora and fauna, understanding every gesture, realizing every word, making himself a conduit to the blockage of miscommunication. He dreams to bring back the once existing harmony between Mother Nature and her children, humans.

The name, Mogli, reminds me of the Jungle Book: Mowgli’s Story by Rudyard Kipling, the long-cherished tale of the eponymous hero of the novel, the jungle boy.

Voice of Nature is not just a children story, it makes us think of our eternal connection with Nature, the penitence we should have for breaking the communication.

The book, I think, brims up the emotion and love for nature and humans. It is equally enjoyable to children and adults.

Quotable Quotes From the Book

The Banyan Tree: Sometimes our process of producing oxygen appears dwarfed in front of the
mammoth magnitude of your egos.

Human lives have no meaning without communication. The constant conversation between the members of human community has been the bedrock of creativity.

Its education, without it your behaviour and your understanding will be no different from animals.

We all perish in the whirlwind of nature’s devastation. Nobody knows or can demystify the mystery of the cycle of life in the ecosystem.

58 responses to “Voice of Nature, Are You Listening?”

  7. The fact that you loved the book is obvious. But what really impressed me is the effort that you have put into this post. It was a pleasure reading about the book and your haiku (and I love the name too).
    By the way, your profile pic is beautiful and I really like your ear-rings 🙂

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    • Thanks, Nimi. Actually when we love something, our emotions ooze automatically 😀 Yes, the name Haiku must be appealing to you as a great haiku poet… 🙂

      And, thanks again for the last comment 😛 made my day. It’s one of my fav earrings…a terracotta parrot… ❤

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  8. Very impressed with Nihar’s work 🙂 all the best to him 🙂
    I read the review on Somali’s blog and your perspective echos the same, it is surely a beautiful book 🙂 The quotes are meaningful and simple worded too 🙂 all in all super thumbs up 🙂

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  10. Maniparna, your introduction is quite impressive. We are taking undue advantage of Nature’s Love towards us. In the name of scientific quest & rational world, we indulge in activities, like Deforestation & Construction of Concrete Jungles, and have become a Selfish Beast. I agree that we should rethink over our notion of progress. In China, most of the Smart Cities have become GHOST Cities.

    We are because of nature, not vice versa. Those who put serious threats on Nature have become extinct. Remember Dinosaurs?

    One can never experience bliss without being in harmony with nature. Retaining the innocence of childhood with mature perspective is the true wisdom. Author seems to have this rare unique combination.

    Yes, I could understand the connection between You & Haiku. 🙂 And Mogli reminds me of that Gulzar song: “Jungle jungle pata chala hai, chaddi pahan ke phool khila hai.”

    All the best to the Author for coming up with this genuine concern for nature, and Thumbs Up for You to present author’s perspective so beautifully! 🙂

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    • We are because of Nature- couldn’t agree more, Ravish. So true these words are. Nature is nurturing us and providing us all we need to thrive. 🙂

      Haha..the connection, it seems, everybody got the clue rightly… 😀

      Yes, I remember that famous Jungle Book song…that was really a sweet one… 🙂

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  12. The earth has music for those who listen! Wow!! 🙂 , I like the idea of a message wrapped up in a story. The direct way of moral education has become a little too bourgeois for many I guess. It is a nice way to go and might work really well with the kids.

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  13. Sounds like a MUST read for me. Being an environmental professional, I think this book is very important for me to read. Thanks for sharing Maniparna. BTW excellent review.

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  14. The name of the book is in itself quite soulful.. :’)
    I’d love to have a good read.. thanks for voicing your thoughts Mani 🙂

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  17. Thanks for sharing the book soul-sis 🙂 The title itself is so apt and the first quote sets the tone beautifully for the book as well as this post. Yeah I too loved Haiku for similar reasons 😛 😛

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  21. Hi Mani,

    How artistically have you described the beauty of nature and how aptly awakened human soul! Some of the reflections are beautiful poetry! I agree with you, this book evokes a host of emotions for sensitive people. In a very subtle manner it rakes all those issues, which have been plaguing humanity since the advent of modernisation at the cost of doing harm to our own selves!
    How righty did Wordsworth, the renowned nature poet point out…
    ‘have I not a reason to lament
    what man has made of man’?
    Thanks for sharing this terrific message. Look forward to more at ‘Emotional Shadows’ as it cares about all emotions.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Oh, Yes! Wordsworth, one of my favourite nature poets… 🙂 he could transform even the most trivial things into ethereal ones through his words….

      Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts about Nihar’s book..:-) indeed the author has dealt with a number of issues in a sensible and enjoyable manner… 🙂

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  23. At the outset thank you so much Maniparna for taking the pain of going through the book and sharing such wonderful perspective, with your passion for nature, it was evident that it will spill over to the review of this book which touches on nature…since you have visited Odisha, I am sure you would have gone to the Nandankan Zoo, and it was really magical years ago, now it has gradually lost some part of that magic…

    I really love some of your describe and the choice of words to the meaning it conveys;
    “The cerulean sky, the verdant valleys, the vibrant waterfall, steep mountains, fragrant flowers, and roaring oceans- all these are perfectly concocted producing a coherent canvas…”
    ” if she thrives and flourishes, so will us. It’s time to stop the cacophony of the concrete and, listen to the melodies of our eternal nurturer…”

    This is a topic we all have common interest and I must thank Somali once again for her review and we all have that common concern and able to share our deep perspective…
    This is just the beginning, topic on “Nature & Nurture” can be discussed on and on…
    best wishes!!!
    😀

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  24. It’s True 😦
    People are just brutally clearing and destroying God’s gift to us for the sake of civilization, they’ve turned blind. This book sounds to be a means of awakening in this context. Nice review Maniparna 🙂

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  25. Nice review Maniparna. Looks like we are all falling in love with the idea of listening to the Voice of Nature…and shouldn’t we? Now with grey concrete jungles fast replacing the green belts, I do appreciate the reason why town planning is stressed upon so much in some countries. The book makes one think about all such things.

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    • Yes, Somali thank once again you for your review and remark, and we (I referring Maniparna and you) all have the common topic of interest and it is such great feeling to keep debating and discussing on topic of greater significance to mankind…if message can be passed and can reach larger audience, it is only for betterment of nature (nurturing the nature…)
      😀

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