Mo and Jo, a newly-married couple lived in one of the metro cities of India. Mo was a beautiful woman, writer and a huge animal lover. Jo was a fit man, an artist and a huge nature lover. The couple wanted to shift to a place closer to the nature so they started searching for the perfect place. On one random exploration, they came across Honnavar.

On the banks of a river, Honnavar was a beautiful village surrounded by huge mangrove forests, lush green coconut and palm trees and rich flora and fauna. It was a dream place for every nature lover to be so Mo and Jo decided to shift here.

A month later, Mo and Jo rented a beautiful bungalow in the village that belonged to a person named Ranade. The bungalow was located between the forest, was small, cozy, shaped like a hut and it’s backyard was the beautiful river bank.

There were around 100-200 people staying in the village of Honnavar and soon Mo and Jo became a topic of discussion amongst everyone.

Roy said, “Did you see that guy and girl who have shifted into Ranade’s bungalow? They look like kids. Why did this Ranade allow outsiders to shift into our village?”

Nair said, “People shift from village to cities.. are these kids mad to do the exact opposite of the world? I don’t think they can live here for longer. I know these city people very well. They randomly take decisions and then bother people around them.”

Mir, the village head said, “We can’t do anything now, they are already here.. Let’s just wait and watch if they fit in with the village’s routine and people.”

A month passed and Mo and Jo had adjusted quite well to the village life. Soon, the monsoons arrived and the village started hustling and bustling.

Mo and Jo stepped out to know what was going on.. They walked a few miles and saw Mr. Mir.

Mo asked, “What is all this buzz for? Why is everyone so excited and what are they prepping up for?”

Mir said, “Every monsoon, hundreds of birds and fishes migrate to Honnavar.. The mangroves protect the fishes from getting caught in floods and our lush forests provide the birds with enough food and shelter. Throughout the monsoon, Honnavar is home to these beautiful animals.. And, some species are so majestic, that I bet you would have never seen such creatures in your life.. So, to celebrate their arrival and beauty, the hunters trap and sell them in the animal market. On this Sunday, you guys will see the real Honnavar. There will be a gleaming and beaming animal market where the hunters will sell all the trapped birds and fish. It is like a festival, everyone in the village dresses up, visits the market, looks at the displayed creatures, and tries to buy the best-looking creature for themselves.”

Hearing about trapping the poor animals, Mo said, “What do you mean to sell the birds and fishes? And, what hunters? Who has given them the right to…. Before Mo could complete her sentence, Jo jumped into the conversation and said, “Wow, Mr. Mir that really sounds like a fun festival. We both are looking forward to being a part of this amazing event. And Mo, don’t you want to buy the groceries. Let’s hurry up or the shops will close.” Saying this Jo dragged Mo and they started walking towards the shop.

Mo, “Why did you cut me off? How can these hunters trap the poor animals, this is so unfair. I am going to stop this. Be it police or government, I will reach out to anyone and everyone but not let the poor animals be sold like objects.”

Jo said, “I know how you feel. But we want to live in harmony with these people. Police or government will give rise to unwanted fights and fighting with village people will just make things worse for us. Breathe and think, these people have been buying birds and fish for years now.. it is an event of celebration for them, they don’t even know they are doing something wrong.. if you say anything against their tradition, it will hurt their feelings.. Instead, think of how you can save the animals and not hurt the people’s feelings too..”

Well, Jo was right. Battles that can be won with brains don’t need brawn. That entire night Mo thought and thought..

Next morning, she heard some buzz in the forest and on the river banks. The hunters had arrived.. They were catching the birds and fish by laying food traps for them. The poor, trapped birds kept on chirping in the nets and the fishes tried jumping out of the glass jars.

Looking at this, Mo’s blood boiled but she breathed and told herself, “Calm down… breathe.. remember what Jo said.. brain over brawn..” And, just then Mo got an idea.. She ran to Jo and excitedly said, “I know what to do.. We have to go the grocery shop and get a few things..”

From the next day on, Mo kept bowls full of grains and worms all over the bungalow and every 4-5 hours, she went to the river bank and threw some food in the water. With each passing day, the birds and fishes started trusting Mo.

But on the other side, Sunday arrived and the animal market was set up.. Village people visited the market in huge numbers and started buying the birds and fish like crazy..

Meera said, “I have bought this majestic fish for 5000rs, doesn’t she look amazing..”

Roy said, “Mine looks better than yours.. I have bought it for 7000rs.. ohh my godd, look at what Nair has bought, it is such a rare-looking bird.. I bet it is over 10000rs..”

The show-off of animals went on for the next 10 days.. some birds and fishes died within a few days and the others that were alive would get sick every now and then..

Meera’s fish died on the 5th day, she cried in front of everyone saying, “I lost my 5000rs.. the fish didn’t survive even for a week.. I gave it food on time and followed all the instructions.. still it died.. 5000rs in water..”

Well, Meera was not crying for the fish but for the lost money… she didn’t even get time to build a bond with the fish.. On the other hand, by this time, Mo had built a bond with half of Honnavar’s birds and fishes. Her house and backyard were surrounded with the most beautiful birds and fishes. Not only that, the birds would let Mo touch them and the fishes would eat food from Mo’s hands.. Seeing this, everyone again started talking about Mo and Jo..

In the Panchayat, Mir said, “Without spending a single penny these kids have their house surrounded with the most amazing birds and fishes.. They have led an example of how nothing is impossible.. they have gained the trust of those animals who we thought had no brains.. Well, the animals have more brains than all of us it seems.. We all bought animals from the animal market and caged them.. due to lack of freedom and extreme trauma some of them died and the others are sick right now.. I think we should all follow Mo and Jo and free all the animals that we have bought.. Didn’t you see how happy the birds and fishes look around those kids.. and in our house, caged, they just look depressed and sad.. I also want to propose that from next year now, we will not have this animal market set up in Honnavar.. if we don’t buy the animals, the hunters won’t trap them and everyone can live freely..”

Everyone suddenly realized that Mir was right.. The village people then freed all the animals they had bought and started keeping bowls full of grains around their house. That was the last year Honnavar had the animal market.. Now, everyone lives in absolute harmony with the forest animals and the animals also trust humans more than anything..

That was the story of Mo and Jo. Let me know in the comment section if you like my story.