First Edition 1864

Now Rann the Kite brings home the night

That Mang the Bat sets free–

The herds are shut in byre and hut

For loosed till dawn are we.

This is the hour of pride and power,

Talon and tusk and claw.

Oh, hear the call!–Good hunting all

That keep the Jungle Law!

“Night-Song in Jungle” by Rudyard Kipling

In the world of literature we associate Rudyard Kipling first and foremost with India, although in reality he only spent about 12 years of his life here.  Born December 30th 1865 in Bombay to English parents, he spent his very early childhood there before returning to England at the age of 5.  In his mid-teens he returned to India and spent an additional 6 and half years working as an editor in Punjab.  Despite living the majority of his life elsewhere (England and the United States), India and his self-identification as an “Anglo-Indian” defines much of Kipling’s work.

The Jungle Book  first appeared in serialized versions but was eventually published in  1894 under one cover, with illustrations by Kipling’s father, John Lockwood Kipling.  The Jungle Book and the Just So Stories still remain among Kipling’s most beloved works. Continue reading →