The Champa, The Kharga And The Katana by Bibhas De - Free

Near the beginning of this story set in British India, on the rugged mountain highway at Vairengte in the Lushai Hills, Deputy Commissioner Shamsul Huda Khan looks out on the vast expanse of primitive jungle, and says to his childhood friend, the Hindu monk: "... The jungle is very old - it is the first sentient life nature created..."