The Sun was saying goodbye, and the weather was slightly cold after a few showers in the afternoon. I was nursing a glass of whisky in the courtyard of a forest resort, a small fire by my side and my iPad giving me Company. Barely had I realised that it had become dark and that I should move inside, I heard a roar by my side. It cannot be a tiger sneaking into the resort, or did I down more than two glasses of whisky? It roared again, asking whether I had time for a chat and if, by any chance, I am Arnab Goswami. "Hell, No. I am not," I mumbled. "But, yes. I can listen to you, " I said as if I had any other choice. Seriously. I could translate his roar, I wondered.
Before the Tiger would say anything further, I asked him, "how does he know Arnab Goswami and why that urge to speak to him?"
He roared again, perhaps that was his ordinary manner of speaking, and said, "No. When I entered this village, I peeped into many houses. I saw some images on TV and people saying that this guy Arnab Goswami takes up causes of people, sends journalists to speak to them etc. Hence, I thought of searching for him and speaking to him about our problems."
"Oh yes. Arnab does that for his favourite friends, but then, he would harass you with lots of questions without you even replying to them." I continued, "He gets his regular fellas on the panel, like Suhel Seth, Shaina NC [ I think he dropped her], some Tyagi and some Gupta and Mishra threw in. And it would be a hellish experience for you. Think about it." Although, I did not care to watch his shows any time in the past.
I never thought a glass or two of fine whisky would ever sober me up and give me the courage to chat with a Tiger like this. Well, he relented, took a roll on the grass and before he could ask, I offered him some chicken and water and will order a full lamb by calling up room service, which would take some time.
Tiger then sat up; peering over my shoulder, he saw I was reading the judgment of the Supreme Court sentencing the Ranthambore inmate No. T-24 named Ustaad' life imprisonment in some zoo in Sajjangad of Rajasthan for the alleged 'offence' of killing a human.
Still trembling with the thought of a real tiger sitting by me, I read over some portions of the judgment to him. He roared again and commented, "That lady, Indira Jaisingh, appears to be a good lawyer defending Ustaad." For once, I could barely bring a smile to my face. He wondered while humans danced freely, lynching others or killing wild animals. Still, it's a problem if an old famished tiger, probably he was not fed by his caretaker, kills a passerby. I agreed with him as if I had any option otherwise.
He roared again to say that Ustaad was old and now suffering from a bone tumour. And then, exalting the principles of crime and punishment, the Court sentenced Ustad to life imprisonment claiming "it involves the safety of humans". Poor you, he admonished me. Although the doctors are attending him, how would you feel when you are forcibly uprooted from your home to some distant place? But then, it is common for you humans to do that with other humans. You also do that more often than not with wild animals, transferring them from one country or jungle to another.
And then, there were many cases in recent times when you guys remorselessly torture and beat up old, sometimes blind elephants, horses and camels. You don't even spare cats & dogs.
I asked him if I could address him as 'Shera'. When he agreed, I asked him what exactly was bothering him. I filled my glass, again, this time without water or a soda.
Once again, Shera roared and started narrating a few 'man-animal conflict' incidents. He said The Lion King deputed him for this mission of putting some sense into the human brain. But why me, I wondered.
I stopped him as he was about to roar again. He said sometime in February 2016; a Leopard had strayed into a School situated in the Marathahalli area of Bengaluru in the wee hours of one Sunday. Surprisingly the security guards were not dozing off and saw the Leopard taking rounds of the school. And then the whole hell broke.
Toeing the line of police, forest guards and wildlife conservationists, journalists descended on the scene. The drama went on for about 16 hours. Then, leaving behind forest guards carrying tranquiliser guns and villagers armed with lathis and shrill shouts, the journalist advanced to 'capture' the animal. Leopard was perhaps going easy with the guards and villagers but certainly not with that journalist. Obviously.
The animal was packed off to a nearby forest but gave the slip to his captors. It had a glaucoma-like ailment rendering it partially blind; he lost one tooth before he entered the school as he had lost his way. But instead of helping him, he was beaten with sticks and scared to death.
The roast chicken hadn't arrived yet, and Shera was very livid with bizarre human behaviour.
Then, he continued, a few days before the leopard incident, a cataract-afflicted jumbo lost its way on a foggy morning and entered the city of Siliguri in Assam. When the crowd started scaring him with bursts of crackers, instead of helping him to find his way, the poor jumbo got panicked and went on a rampage. Ultimately, it was tranquillised and taken away by the forest guards.
Thirdly, around mid-March 2016, a magnificent white police horse named Shaktiman, weighing some 500 kg. was attacked and scared by some protestors, including a prominent politician in Dehra Dun, resulting in multiple fractures to its hind legs. Its legs were eventually amputated. The images of the injured horse struggling to stand up and lose his legs were disturbing and horrifying. Shaktiman died subsequently.
After five years, in 2021, your Court acquitted all those powerful politicians, which I suppose is routine for your courts.
Not enough, on 15th March 2016, a tiger, with wounds on its fore and hind legs and stomach and unable to hunt its prey in the wild, was shot down near Gudalur in the Nilgiris. This Tiger had strayed into the nearby village, chased cattle and attacked an estate worker. You guys could have tranquilised him, taken to a doctor and treated him. But, no. You didn't do that.
Again after a few weeks, a carcass of a full-grown tiger with injuries was found near the forest area of some place called Yavatmal in Maharashtra.
The locals had installed electrified barbed wire fencing at their farm, which caused the Tiger's death. Here, however, the forest guards-initiated action against the farm owners for their illegal activity, only to be attacked by them. The authorities declared that the animal strangulated itself in the wire fencing. Just like humans? Have you guys lost your head?
With the lack of ponds and prey in the reserved forests, and humans encroaching upon the forest areas, wild cats, elephants, wolves etc., have been straying into villages adjoining forests. They are thirsty and hungry. But then, one will say how better the human conditions are. There is drought, unseasonal rains or hailstorms, no drinking water, food shortage and political apathy. You humans live in very inhuman conditions.
Tapping on my shoulder, Shera said, "We neither drink nor do we attack, you humans, like you guys, do to us.
You took over our forests; we did not say anything. But, then, you arbitrarily confined us to a place you call as Zoo, pelt stones at us, take photos [at times, you try even what you call these days, a "selfie"] yet we say nothing." Continuing further, you attack leopards, elephants and tigers, which are ill and think that you guys come to render solace. And, this is how you treat us? Isn't this shameful that you guys are the cause of Shaktiman's injuries and death?"
Continuing, he said things had not changed for the better. In fact, until the end of 2021, atrocities on animals have been continuing. Well, you do that to your fellow humans. Not surprising. Very shameful.
My profuse apologies to Shera did not work at all. He was enraged and in his full element. Upon his prodding, I sheepishly admitted being aware of Noah's Ark story. And, he roared to say, yet you learn nothing.
By this time, despite my having several glasses of whisky, I was sure that Shera must have been some erudite person in his previous life.
And there! The room service boy, giving me a weird smile, delivered a lamb and a drum of drinking water. Shera instantly hid behind the bushes. I told Shera that the Arnab guy is one zilch compared to his wisdom, that he should now have his meal and rest, and let us continue our discussion tomorrow. He roared to say goodnight to me.
I was still nursing my whisky, watching Shera biting big chunks of lamb and did not realise when I retired for the day.
Suddenly, I heard someone yelling and vrooming of an SUV. I could barely open my eyes to the blazing hot morning and see the mess of half-eaten large pieces of lamb, a couple of whisky bottles, glasses and a half-filled drum of water. One tall monstrous guy in some uniform, accompanied by his armed henchmen, was standing over my shoulder yelling, "Get up and pack off".
I struggled to my room, wondering why that monstrous man looked like Salman Khan's bodyguard - Shera and worrying about what could have happened to the Tiger who came to visit me.
Damned whisky!!
The pathetic picture of the inhuman treatment & the horrific atrocities meted out to the animals are really a matter to ponder over by the human beings who without even a slightest provocation,do not lose a chance to engage them in animal mayhem. Fortunately for us you gulped down some quikies and hence could draw a pen picture of the helpless conditions of the hapless animals of our country.
Really savoured the article wrote with a tinge of humour and candid anecdotes of the conditions of our animal folk. Surely, it deserves the attention of Mrs Maneka Gandhi who should take up the cudgel to stop this merciless treatment to these inhabitants of forest by giving a clarion call to all and sundry.