Mari ka Safar is a picture book about an elephant herd’s migration in search of food and water. However, it’s not just another annual migration. It’s special because it is the first of many journeys calf Mari would undertake in the years to come. On the way, Mari learns about her matriarch Rani’s survival skills, her remarkable ability to lead the herd year after year, and the extent of habitat degradation the elders in the herd have faced so far. Through Rani’s recollection of her past migration journeys, both Mari and the readers come to understand that this one is forced migration, prolonged by the expansion of human settlements and infrastructure. Predictably, the herd’s unusually long journey ends on a happy note, when they find a bountiful spot. Nevertheless, poignancy lingers, not hope. Rani, a wise guide, reminds the herd to not only enjoy the food and water they’ve just discovered but also create as many memories as possible; it’s likely that this particular spot may disappear by next year.
Rooted in facts about elephant migration, told from the perspective of elephants, and accessible to readers as young as 6-7 years when read aloud to them, Mari ka Safar is thoughtfully crafted. It successfully employs storytelling to create awareness about elephant migration and arouse empathy towards elephants. Additionally, a note at the end of the story explains and emphasizes the need to protect elephant corridors. Surprisingly, Rani, the matriarch emerges as an important character, building curiosity about the matriarch’s role in the elephant herd. Though there’s no depiction of any injury or the death of a calf or adult, the text points to increasing danger for elephants during their annual migration, which could lead to exploration of such unfortunate and now common occurrences. Similarly, a glimpse of a possible retaliation from farmers as the herd progresses deeper towards human settlements is an opportunity to further understand this particular aspect of human-elephant conflict.
The book has the potential to cater to a wide range of children. However, the younger the audience, the greater the responsibility on librarians and teachers to effectively engage them. Though the immediate concern of the book is protection of elephant corridors, the strength of the book lies in providing an entry point, particularly to older children, to raise and discuss ethical questions which arise not only in the context of human-elephant conflict but extend to other living creatures as well. Ultimately, readers must consider questions pertaining to the extent to which human activities are justified when they impact non-human species: ‘Is the world, our planet Earth, at the disposal of humans?’, ‘Which factors must guide our actions?’, and ‘Is sustainable co-existence between humans and other species an important goal for us, why, and how do we work towards achieving it?’