This story by Norah Burke explores the simple, yet dangerous life of junglis (jungle and wild forest dwellers) in colonial India. A twelve-year-old girl, whose “life from birth to death is marked for work”, dreams about being able to complete a necklace she has started to make. When she saves a villager by fighting off a four-meter crocodile, she is more excited by a blue bead she later finds in the water than the danger she faced. Themes include poverty, life and survival in the forest, gender roles, perseverance, courage, reward/karma, finding happiness in small things.
The significance of the blue bead (actually the top of a bottle polished by the river) lies not in its intrinsic value, but rather what it represents… the ability to fulfil the modest dream of a hardworking, poverty-stricken girl who has few pleasures in life.
Original Text / PDF (2,900 words)