Inspiration Behind Tala the Bengal Tiger with Beverly Jatwani

The YEAR…2018…Pre COVID! Life was so simple back then and at the time we thought it was so complicated!!

The MISSION…to write a story about the endangered Puerto Rican parrot. 

The INSPIRATION….the mascot of the children’s nursery that I co-founded back in 2011. 

The PLOT…Love!!

I often act intuitively but little did I know that the start of a playful and flirtatious stint with writing a children’s story in Bali would take me on my own journey of self discovery, exploring the symbiotic & inherent relationship that children share with mother nature.

Writing became my happy place, my inner sanctum where all my senses came alive,  a space where I could shift paradigms and create harmonious narratives based on the very basic pillars of a child’s foundation… Love, Courage, Compassion, Kindness, Respect, Integrity and Gratitude creating the birth of  The Together Series. 7 Books, 7 Continents, 7 Values.

The first book of the series was probably the most challenging story to write as although I knew that this book had to be about LOVE, I found myself vacillating between protagonists and plots.

Having completed the first book, I realized that although LOVE is fundamental to our existence, it needed something more and if I could somehow write a series of books and build a connection between each story, I could create something magical that could convey a stronger message to our future generation.

I decided to use a ‘piece of a puzzle’ as the bridge between the stories….hence each story concludes with the child finding a piece of a puzzle with the ‘important value’ learnt through the story etched on it.

Every story so unique yet this common element links them all...and when all seven characters unify in the epilogue of the seventh book in their quest to change the world…one realizes more than ever the collective power of working together.

The second book of the series, Tala the Bengal Tiger is set in the mystical mangrove forests of India where the elusive Bengal Tiger freely roams.

Being Indian and having strong roots to India despite relocating to Dubai, almost 26 years ago made me want to create a special narrative about this vibrant country.

Since this book is about COURAGE, I felt it very fitting to use the endangered Bengal Tiger as the protagonist.

Why does little Veera feel a deep connection with the tiger? Why is she so fearful of tigers however still feels a strong need to protect them? Do you feel that Veera can overcome her fear of tigers?

“Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let your fears stop you.”