by Ranjit Lal
‘The begum and babies beckon, eh?’
Thug grinned back. ‘Looks like your kids are calling you again, too!’
In the doorway, four young faces looked out eagerly at Shaan-Bahadur.
‘Papa, let’s go and hunt porcupines!’
‘I think we’ve had enough of porcupines for one night!’
Thug paused. ‘Um…there’s one more thing…’ He looked irritably at Caligua and Taimur who had stopped pacing and were all ears. ‘Haven’t you two got anything better to do?’ he snapped. The tigers withdrew. Thug cleared his throat.
‘Um… I’m sorry for all…all the trouble we caused you and your family…’ he muttered. ‘Never realized… it was unforgivable.’
Shaan-Bahadur nodded. ‘It’s okay, times change. I learnt that too… Some traditions are plain stupid.’
‘It would have been most dishonourable…’
‘Forget it, Thug.’
‘Yes, boss!’
Crouched down in the temple veranda, Ayesha of the silken tresses kept her eyes glued to her viewfinder as the astonishing events unfolded before her that night. At last she switched off her tired cameras, hardly believing what she had seen and filmed on this brilliantly moonlit night. She didn’t know it then but her film would win her eight awards at the following year’s Oscars.
There is not much to add.
Khoon-Pyaasa, with Col. ‘Cuddles’ Khujlimal still attached to his rear, just disappeared and was never seen again.
Lieutenant Col. Kabab-me-Haddi went berserk and after stabbing several members of the Gigglers who had been hanging around near the village, backed into a tree so hard, he jammed his quick release mechanism and got stuck there, until the cubs found him the next day…
The other members of ASKAA disappeared underground.
Dum-kutta is still hoping his tail will re-grow and has been consuming all sorts of weird herbs and gross animal parts towards that end.
The Diclo-Fenacs, alas, only heard of what had happened the following morning. Tragically, there were no dead bodies strewn around in Taboo Valley as they had hoped.
Rana Shaan-Bahadur retained his title as alpha male of Sher-kila National Park. He and his cubs are now getting a bit tired of being treated like celebrity film stars, but there’s nothing they can do about it except growl and bear it .
Thug has his paws full dealing with his three rambunctious cubs and readily relinquished the position he had usurped from Shaan-Bahadur.
Razia recovered completely, but pretended she hadn’t for several months after she actually had, so that Thug could properly bond with the cubs and she could chill. Both she and Resham privately admitted that Rana Shaan-Bahadur had done a pretty good job as a daddy to his cubs.
The cubs, Hasti, Masti, Phasti and the lordly Zafraan, would remain with their father (and hunt porcupines) for around two years before setting off to make lives for themselves.
As for the lovely Lolita, well, she’s First Tigress now and soon thereafter disappeared into a cave whose location is unknown…
‘Congratulations, huzoor! Three beautiful babies!’ Naradmunni came rushing up to Shaan-Bahadur one morning, shortly afterwards. ‘Two boys and a girl this time!’ He smiled. ‘And that dhimchak chick photographer from the National Geographic —she’s back. She wants to make The Tigers of Taboo Valley 2.
‘Oh God,’ groaned Rana Shaan-Bahadur shaking his shaggy head, ‘it’s starting all over again!’