Who is Mowgli

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I wanna be like you...

I loved Mowgli long before I saw the Disney movie.  As a character in Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book" I was fascinated with this wild boy.  I often wondered how cool it must have been to have been raised by wolves and to have a panther and a bear as your best friends.  The Disney movie did nothing to quell my wonder - it simply expanded it to now include the beautifully drawn universe of the Disney Mowgli and his singing friends.  I nearly wore out the vinyl album of the soundtrack to it - bopping around to Baloo telling me he wanted to be like me. Another thing that the Disney movie did for me was to give Mowgli something something to wear - I admit to finding it mildly disturbing that the poor child had to run about the jungle naked. Let me show you a little of this beloved character:

...The Law of the Jungle ~~ stanza 1

Now this is the Law of the Jungle
- as old and as true as the sky;
And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper,
but the Wolf that shall break it must die.

Mowgli At A Glance

Mowgli is a fictional character of a feral boy who is raised by wolves that originally appeared in Rudyard Kipling's short story "In the Rukh" (collected in "Many Inventions", 1893) and then went on to become the most prominent and memorable character in his fantasies, "The Jungle Book" and "The Second Jungle Book" (1894-1895), which also featured non-Mowgli stories.

The Mowgli stories including "In the Rukh" were first collected in chronological order in one volume as "The Works of Rudyard Kipling Volume VII: The Jungle Book" (1907) (Volume VIII of this series contained the non-Mowgli stories from the Jungle Books), and subsequently in "All the Mowgli Stories" (1933).

(...from Wikipedia)

Mowgli In The Movies Available From Amazon

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...The Law of the Jungle ~~ stanza 2

For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf,
and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.

Mowgli's Stories ~~

"In the Rukh" describes how Gisborne, an English forest ranger in India discovers a young man named Mowgli, who has extraordinary skill at hunting and tracking, and asks him to join the forestry service. Later Gisborne learns the reason for Mowgli's amazing talents: he was raised by wild animals in the jungle.

After "In the Rukh", Kipling wrote the stories of Mowgli's childhood in detail. Lost by his parents in the Indian jungle during a tiger attack, a human baby is adopted by the mother wolf Raksha and Father Wolf, who call him Mowgli the Frog because of his lack of fur. Shere Khan the tiger demands the baby but the wolves refuse. Mowgli is raised with and runs naked with the pack, hunting with his brother wolves.

Bagheera, the black panther, befriends Mowgli-- partly because Mowgli as a human has dominion over beasts whether he wants it or realizes it. Bagheera is by no means a pet, but he cannot withstand Mowgli's gaze. Baloo the bear, teacher of wolves, has the thankless task of educating Mowgli in The Law of the Jungle.

Mowgli has many adventures among the talking animals in his jungle paradise, assuming ever-increasing mastery as he approaches manhood. Shere Khan regards Mowgli as fair game, but eventually Mowgli finds the one weapon he can use against the tiger - fire. After driving off Shere Khan, Mowgli returns to the human village where he is adopted by Messua and her husband who believe he is their own long-lost son Nathoo. (In fact we never find out if this is true.)

While herding buffalo for the village Mowgli learns that the tiger is still planning to kill him, so with the aid of two wolves he traps Shere Khan in a ravine, where the buffalo trample him. The tiger immediately dies and Mowgli sets to skin him. Seeing this, the villagers persecute Mowgli and his adopted parents as witches. Mowgli runs back to the jungle but soon learns that the villagers are planning to kill Messua and her husband, so he rescues them and sends elephants, buffalo and other animals to trample the village and its fields to the ground. During his time in the village Mowgli wears clothing, but discards it again to run naked when he returns to the wild.

These are but a few of Mowgli's great adventures. It is worth a look to see what they all are and to read the songs.

Books Featuring Mowgli Available From Amazon

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...The Law of the Jungle ~~ stanza 6

When Pack meets with Pack in the Jungle,
and neither will go from the trail,
Lie down till the leaders have spoken -
it may be fair words shall prevail.

Mowgli's Music Available From Amazon

I can't believe that you can still buy this soundtrack...although, with the recent re-release of the movie, I shouldn't be surprised.

I dare you to buy it and listen to "The Bare Necessities" and not dance around a little. Can't be done.
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A Jungle Book Quiz

Mowgli Videos Found On YouTube

Kaa; 1st encounter with Mowgli + Shanti
by Olcas | video info

714 ratings | 1,659,487 views
curated content from YouTube

...The Law of the Jungle ~~ stanza 19

Now these are the Laws of the jungle,
and many and mighty are they;
But the head and the hoof of the Law
and the haunch and the hump is - Obey!.

So, What Do You Think Of Mowgli?

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Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit.

Do you have a favorite Mowgli story, or do you prefer the movies?

Leave your thoughts here, or just leave a note to say hello.

  • Beautiful-Bridal Apr 10, 2012 @ 10:12 am | delete
    I love Mowgli!
  • 7thStone Feb 28, 2012 @ 8:39 pm | delete
    I've always loved Rudyard Kipling; one of the first VHS tapes I owned was The Jungle Book and when Riki Tiki Tavi would show on TV it was always a family event (I have that on tape also) My Mom had read these to me as a kid and seeing them in cartoons was such an event :) Thanks for posting such a fun lens!
  • akarki Oct 3, 2011 @ 1:40 pm | delete
    Kipling's books are wonderful, all of them, and the jungle books also, movies can not do the same what Kipling can do in the books.
  • AvinashKunnath Dec 21, 2008 @ 9:11 am | delete
    The Jungle Book was awesome! Mowgli was a little annoying in the Disney movie, but he was so much cooler in the books.
  • Atreyu Dec 16, 2008 @ 8:14 pm | delete
    I learned about Mowgli thru Disney and have lived him ever since. Stay with Baloo dude!
  • MusicMadness Sep 10, 2008 @ 2:45 pm | delete
    I loved the jungle book. It was one of my favorite movies as a kid. Baloo is the best. 5 stars for you.
  • enslavedbyfaeries Sep 4, 2008 @ 10:21 pm | delete
    Congratulations! This lens was a winner on the Squids Choice Awards lens where it will be featured for the month of September. I will send your badge and invitation to join the Squids Choice Awards Winners group soon.
  • funcoolcollectibles Jul 15, 2008 @ 8:22 pm | delete
    A great entertaining lens! We love Mowgli!
  • mowgli May 25, 2008 @ 2:05 pm | delete
    I love mowgli
  • rms Mar 18, 2008 @ 11:02 am | delete
    Wonderful topic for a lens. I love that little Jungle book boy!
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GypsyPirate

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