Very soon we had a visitor from the town. It was noon. The visitor looked to me a kindly person; he held no whip in hand. He had a companion and down below on the forest track there was a cage on wheels. My Master and the visitor were engaged in a long talk. My Master was saying,‘Keep him well. Remember he is only a tiger in appearance ... He is a sensitive soul who understands life and its problems exactly as we do. Take him as a gift from God; only please don’t put him in rough company. He is magnificent though he is not at his best now. After a few days of regular feeding at the zoo, he will get back the shine on his coat.’
‘We’ll take care of that,’the other said.
‘Raja, come,’commanded my Master for the last time.
I came out of the shrubberies and covering. The visitor was rather startled at first and remarked,‘Oh, truly the most magnificent of his kind, regal, of grand stature, although you think he is faded. We have our own system of feeding and improving with tonic and he’ll be record-breaking. Our zoo can then claim to have the largest tiger for the whole country.’
My master assured him,‘He is quite safe.’
At first sight, I could understand that this man was fearless and used to the company of animals, and had sympathy, and was not another Captain. He asked my Master,‘May I touch him?’
‘Yes, certainly,’said my Master, and patted my back. The man came near and stroked my back, and by his touch I could see that I had a friend.
‘May we go?’he asked.
My Master said to me,‘Raja, will you come with me?’and I followed him. He opened the cage and said,‘You may get in now, Raja, a new life opens for you. Men, women, and children, particularly children, hundreds of them will come to see you. You will make them happy.’The others got into the jeep to which the cage was yoked. Before we drove off my Master thrust his hand through the bars and whispered to me,‘Both of us will shed our forms soon and perhaps we could meet again, who knows? So goodbye for the present.’
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BY THE SAME AUTHOR
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also published:
My Days: A Memoir
and, translated by R. K. Narayan:
The Ramayana
A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic
A Tiger for Malgudi Page 16