Monkey Business

In the green heartland of central India, washed by mighty rivers like the Narmada and wrapped by dense primeval forests, a troop of tufted gray langurs chance upon a shiny cellphone. The advent of this gizmo of the Tailless is the first in a series of encounters with human civilisation, which transforms the peaceful simian way of life into a resource hungry economy of langur traders, gamblers, plastic money and the nouveau riche. Soon a scheming golden langur emerges as the prophet of this new order which, driven by greed, inevitably leads to inequality and ecological stress.

Matters come to a head as tree markings, which are signs of ownership, begin to disappear, the currency exchange collapses and disgruntled langur traders and rebels challenge the power of their prophet. Will the pristine forest habitat and its simian community survive these upheavals or will it descend into a tailspin of chaos? Weaving careful research into a quicksilver plot, this satire-laced tale is a modern-day fable about environmental damage and the pipe dream of limitless growth.