WHEN I MET THE MAMA BEAR: A FOREST GUARD’S STORY

It’s a tough call for Priya and her fellow forest guards, Ahmedji, Bhim and Anil. They were trained not to interfere in the lives of the wild animals. But how can they just stand by and do nothing? As they think of a plan that will work, Priya, a mother herself, thinks of her own little ‘cub’, her daughter Astha, who lives far away in the town with her grandmother. Priya is a single mother who lives in a lonely outpost in the forest so she can earn a living. Perhaps the Mama Bear too was ‘out at work’, foraging for food, when her cubs got into trouble. Based on a real incident, this moving, dramatic story illuminates the hidden life of forest guards, the courageous and unsung women and men who work tirelessly to protect India’s forests and its wildlife. When I Met the Mama Bear is also a powerful story of mothers—both human and animal—and their struggle to balance work with bringing up their young.