Manisha's rakhi brother, Sonu

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

Last Raksha Bandhan, Manisha Bhil tied a 'rakhi' on her 'kid brother', Sonu, who promptly nibbled at the ribbon and cut it off. There was a bond of love between this 12-year-old schoolgirl and her adopted sibling, an Indian hare she had rescued as a tiny, orphaned waif from her family's 'bajra' fields more than a year ago. Instead of 'rakhi' symbolising the protection that a brother pledges to his sisters, it was the other way around for Manisha and Sonu. But the bonds were fraying after 18 months: Sonu's act of clipping the rakhi with his sharp teeth foreshadowed a heartbreak. Manisha with Sonu in happier times.
On Monday last, the Rajasthan forest department picked up Sonu from Manisha's home in village Lathi (Jaisalmer). Her father, Ghewar Ram, had requested officials that the hare be rehabilitated in the wilderness as he feared that cats/dogs would kill it since Sonu had begun to wander afar. But Manisha wept inconsolably, her trauma similar to that of a mother torn from her child. Or of a mother when bidding farewell to her daughter as the 'doli' (wedding entourage) departs the parental home. As Sonu left in a box, Manisha sat huddled in a corner, her head buried in her knees, her frail frame wracked by a child's fathomless cries, angrily repulsing her father's entreaties with a lash of her arms.
'Sonu will not be able to live without me. I have nursed him from the time when he was a few days old, initially on goat's milk and later on vegetables. Biscuits and bananas were his favourite. He clung to me like a little brother, I bundled him in warm clothes during winter. He knew his name and would respond to our calls,' Manisha told this writer.
God or Devi Mata truly dwells in the hearts of humans. I asked Manisha, what led her to care so intensely? 'It is because these creatures cannot speak. They cannot express themselves when they are in pain or require help. I sensed Sonu's distress in the bajra field, I sensed he missed his mother, I sensed he was in danger as dogs could find him,' said Manisha, who is otherwise a cricket-crazy youngster of the village's 'gullies' with a dream of being an international cricket star.
Sonu's last time in Manisha's lap before he was taken away by wildlife officials and (right) Manisha weeps inconsolably after the separation. (Vikram Darjee)
From Manisha's warm lap where she fed him his last tomato on Monday, her hot tears dropping like an emotional cloudburst on his sandy-golden fur, Sonu was sent off in a cardboard box with small, prison-like holes for air. Wild creatures so adopted and cared for acutely feel the pangs of separation though, initially, they may appear impassive.
Sonu's fate, when released into the wilderness by the department, is clouded in uncertainty as he is imprinted with human familiarity and protection. Sonu has little idea of how to evade predators, a grooming his natural mother would have given him. One can imagine how bewildered Sonu will be without his Manisha when death stalks him, how desperately his eyes will seek her protective lap.
Though traumatised, Manisha is made of sterner stuff. Displaying a maturity beyond her years, she told this writer: 'I guess, Sonu belongs to the jungle. He must return there. I had to let go.
Other distressed creatures may come into my life and will fill the void created by the separation from Sonu,'
she said. On August 15 Independence Day celebrations, Lathi's government school honoured Manisha. The rakhi story made headlines in the local media, and adult eyes struggled to hide tears at the broadcast of the Manisha-Sonu separation video.
The schoolgirl's compassion is path-breaking in the larger social and historical context. Bhil tribals were once associated with Rajputana royalty as hunters and trackers of game. Adept in jungle craft and guerilla warfare, Bhils were allies of Maharana Pratap in battles against the Mughals. 'Unlike the Bishnois, who are born wildlife protectionists, Bhils descend from a tradition of hunting. Manisha's inspirational act challenges the traditional thinking of her community's elders and it will encourage other Bhil children to show compassion towards wild species,' principal of the SBK Government PG College, Jaisalmer, and professor of zoology, Shyam Sunder Meena, told this writer.