Back in Bera: wildlife enthusiast Sundeep Bhutoria on his new book

After his 2020 book, Calcuttascape: Musings of a Globetrotter, Rajasthan-born Sundeep Bhutoria’s latest is a coffee table book dedicated to the over 55 leopards of Bera. While the former is a compilation of the social activist’s columns and blogs, the new book, Bera Bond, takes us through his journey in 2016 — into the leopard colony in the forests of Rajasthan. The land where the big cats have been cohabiting with humans for over a century offered a “unique learning of coexistence and harmony that was both beautiful and bewildering”, says Bhutoria. He shares that this rare occurrence isn’t just because the Rabari tribesmen (who believe themselves to be direct descendants of Lord Shiva) consider protecting wildlife their religious duty. They, in fact, welcome the beasts as they keep other animals from destroying crops.