Lower thirds:

0:03  Report by / Danish Pandit and Hanan Zaffar
0:26  Ravi Kumar / Monkey whisperer
1:00  Ravi Kumar / Monkey whisperer

Script:

Ravi Kumar is a monkey whisperer

SOT Ravi Kumar, monkey whisperer
This is the sound of langur that me and my team members imitate.

New Delhi has a monkey problem...

They've been causing trouble at government buildings...
from stealing documents to blocking the entrance to parliament

Luckily, monkey whisperers like Ravi Kumar are keeping them at bay…

by mimicking langur monkey vocalizations

SOT Ravi Kumar, monkey whisperer
Since I was young, I have had an affinity towards animals. I kept langur as a pet initially. Soon, I got used to their ways and this became a source of earning for me.

SOT Ravi Kumar, monkey whisperer
For a long time, along with a langur, I worked to chase away other monkeys. Then, under minister Maneka Gandhi, a ban was imposed on keeping langurs. Since then, I have been doing the same work but without the langur.

It's the same job with a difference, and it requires special skills

SOT Ravi Kumar, monkey whisperer
This is not like any other profession; it comes under the category of special job. Only people with special skills and expertise in handling animals can do this work. It has to be done without hurting them and only through the sounds of langurs.

Kumar saw a high demand and went into the monkey business, employing around 1,000 monkey handlers.

SOT Ravi Kumar, monkey whisperer
Security guards, who have no experience in chasing away monkeys, are [sometimes] assigned to do the job. Since they don’t know anything about animals, they end up hitting the monkeys with stones and sticks to do this job.

With their talents, the monkey whisperers keep government spaces running...

by moving mischievous troops on quickly and safely

SOT Ravi Kumar, monkey whisperer
There is no better way to chase the monkeys away apart from the langur sounds, especially because we do it without causing them any harm.

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