Ta'igara: An adventure in the Himalayas

Claudia Gerini,Sunny Pawar

Legend has it that the guru Rinpoche once flew through the Himalayas on the back of a female tiger. They landed in a cave almost 10,000 feet above sea level. The monastery built on that sheer cliff face became known as the Tiger's Nest.Little orphan boy, Balmani, has grown up with his mother telling this strange story. One night, after escaping the orphanage where he's living in since the earthquake that destroyed his house, he finds and snatches a tiger cub from evil poachers and goes on the run with her. In the beginning he decide to leave the cub in the jungle, where she can live with the other wild animals and head home to Kathmandu. But the little tiger, that has now no mother (the poachers killed her), follows him. Balmani, then, decide to take the road for the Tiger's Nest, where he believes they will be safe. A strong emotional bond develops between the boy and the cub as they travel from the lush grasslands of central Nepal, through the modern mayhem of Kathmandu, and on into the spectacular but lethal landscape of the high Himalayas, meeting a lot of people of different cultures that will eventually help them in their journey across the country. The journey is made still more dangerous by the poachers who are determined to recapture the priceless cub. Meanwhile Hannah, the woman who runs the orphanage, is also searching for Balmani, worried for his safety. It's an epic, heart-stopping adventure, but after many twists and turns Balmani is happily reunited with Hannah and the cub finds an unexpected new home.