Krishna
You can imagine how many people have seen the movie Jungle Books by Disney and how many people of those would have read the original series by Rudyard Kipling. So, it is not surprising that the movie version is the one that people will remember.
And also, most people know that Rudyard Kipling was a poet and a serious writer, and that the story will not be funny like the movie version, aimed mainly at children and adults too. (And the songs in that movie! I digress.)
And knowing Disney has a reputation of twisting the fairy tales to suit its taste for happy endings, especially in the past when it made Jungle Books, I fully expected to read a completely different book when I took up this one to see what it is really like.
It is amazing how much Disney has not deviated from the book, while making it still fun and entertaining. You have Akela, the wolf pack. Mowgli (meaning ‘frog’ according to Rudyard) and Baloo the bear.
Overall, I would say that it is a narrative work, no deep meanings, no thought provoking ideas, but it keeps you engaged. Hindi words are used here a lot – Sher for Tiger (with a honorary title of Khan), Baloo for bear, Bagheera for panther, Hathi for elephant and Dewanee for madness, Bandar Log for monkey people, all literally true.
On the other hand, Mowgli and Kaa are not borrowed from Hindi but seem to be invented
Talking of Kaa, he is very different in the book but close enough to be recognized. The movie wisely leaves Sher Khan until the end (climax) whereas the book keeps him constantly intriguing against Mowgli.
Another interesting thing is that the book is episodic, which is like a collection of short stories about Mowgli and the Jungle. (Incidentally, the word ‘jungle’ itself originates from Hindi). The first story in the book is about how Mowgli is expelled from the wolf pack by the younger group seeking to overthrow Akela; the second is about Bandar Log kidnapping Mowgli – so you realize that the order in which the story is told in the movie is also different.
How Sher Khan dies in the book is interesting – I understand why it was not inserted into the movie! And the stories about seals (Sea Catch and his wife and the baby seal) is not included for the same reason in the movie. Riki Taki Tavi is interesting but a sidebar to the main story. There is an elephant called Kala Nag (stands for Black Cobra if you go for the literal translation) but no Colonel Hathi. There is a story related to Little Toomai the elephant mahout, not anything to do with Mowgli.
Then there is a story about army animals (camels, mules, bulls) that is soooo boring and pointless.
What an imperialist attitude especially in the story about Mowgli’s return to the village and banishment! Only the white man can stop savages (native Indians) beating and killing each other; only a white man can arrest Jungle from taking over a village and destroying it. The hidden paternalism and condescension is fascinating. I know Rudyard loved India and spent most of his life there but his ideas and attitudes reflect the times he lived in (the book was written in 1894) and are interesting and anachronistic to read today.
A story about a sannyasi (as Kipling spells it) who had a white man’s education and therefore was wise, who saves a village from destruction through mud slide. Purun Dass who becomes Purun Bhagat.
A very different proposition from the movie, you realize as you read on. It is a jumble of stories, all unrelated to each other, continuity being given only with the repeating characters and their past experience.
The biggest surprise is the colonial attitude that drips from each page. The English got the filthy natives to clean up Calcutta. And only they can save the natives who are needlessly slaughtered by other natives in the same village… And of course, only a white face will dare come hunting a crocodile.
The one cute thing is that everyone spouts poetry at the end of (almost) each story. Rather like a story turning to a musical at the end.
Kaa’s relationship with Mowgli is very different in the book(s). It is a mixed bag. There are stories which are only mildly interesting and some are plain boring and a pain to get through.
Disney I think got it right when they decided which parts to choose and which parts (Colonel Hathi) to invent.
This is one of those cases where the movie is far better than the book
The book gets a 4/10
– – Krishna