“Madam, yeh hai woh world famous jagah jaha se Kipling saab ne Jungle Book likha,” announced Trilok Narayan, our Hinglish speaking guide. Deep in the heart of the Pench National Park, in Madhya Pradesh, our group stood inside a tree-top wooden watchtower, gazing at the deciduous foliage. Die hard fans of the Kipling classic, with our favourite characters et al, we badly wanted to believe his claim.

Never one to miss out on a chance to slip into imaginary mode, the scene was ready to be played out on that sunny afternoon in March - Bagheera stayed atop one of the sal trees, camouflaged, as he watched over Mowgli who was prancing around by the stream that crossed the jungle. The commotion created by the Bandar lok echoed beyond their abode inside an abandoned temple. Colonel Haathi and his comrades stomped past in purposeful retreat as they headed home to their families. Kaa slithered around rock-cut caves, waiting to strike. And finally, Sher Khan sat atop a hill that offered him a vantage view of proceedings below. Rudyard Kipling’s inspiration for the world-famous children’s book had its origins in central India’s jungles, and for history and literature’s sake we hoped that we weren’t too far from where it all came together.