A troop of Gray Langurs visit our neighbourhood in Powai, Mumbai every few months. It is a large community of more than 15 adults and several infants and adolescents. They feast on all the fruits they can find at that time- from sapota to coconuts, guavas and the bananas we enjoy giving them sometimes. They live around the Sanjay Gandhi National Park which is not very far away and occasionally, in search of food most probably, visiting these concrete jungles. I also read newspaper articles about people from Powai and Chandivali complaining about the monkey problems. And what strikes me is the very language we use to describe these acts. The use of the word 'straying into a human settlement by a monkey', has a lot of value judgements in it. Notions of human-wildlife separation, and urban-wildlife conflicts are so ingrained in our language. Who is straying?
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