For children’s book author Zai Whitaker, Mumbai will always be home and where she grew up even though the naturalist moved to Chennai in 1974 and later helped start the Madras Crocodile Bank. Coming from a family of naturalists, her interest in wildlife and conservation almost came naturally. “We lived in Andheri where there were jackals, and you could just walk across the fields to Juhu beach,” says Whitaker, whose oral storytelling is as immersive as her writing in books for children. 

Recently, Whitaker was in Mumbai at the 14th Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest to discuss her latest book, ‘Termite Fry’, about the Irula tribe in Tamil Nadu, and she believes it was a story waiting to be told. She shares, “It is a very powerful and a true story, and I was seeing it happening in front of my eyes. The Wildlife Act had come into effect in1972 and I was there in 1974, and it was the transition phase, where they suddenly couldn’t catch snakes. What else are they going to do, as that is the only thing they know how to do. So, they can’t really use the forests.”