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Hope springs eternal in their hearts, Even in the worst of
circumstances they are not deterred nor does their faith waver: O
father of universe.../O mother of universe.../cleanse us of
fear, suspicion and panic/heal us of hate, /give us that we
need.../Come forth, O come forth/cleanse, heal and sustain/All
thy sons. In the evenings they observe silence and meditate,
trying to reach the unreachable when "all is
tranquil-animal, men and birds".
The village priest
is not a corrupt Brahmin, anxious to garb whatever comes his
way, but a strong-willed old man, a saviour and a teacher. In
"New Experiences" Kalu, the grocer, refuses to repay
his debt to the priest. Yet the priest has no ill will for him.
This might seem unbelievable today but for a priest in the 1920s
such behaviour was not unexpected. Instead he prays: May I
suffer so that it will purify me! May my pain be so pure that it
will remove the stone that is blocking the entrance to brother
Kalu‘s memory.
Besides, there are
as many "beasts and birds" as there are "fancies
under a lunatic’s skull". Ranging from the ferocious to
the peaceful ones, they are as compassionate as human beings.
Amidst all this
lives Ghond, an exuberant boy of about 15, unmindful of
materialistic pursuits, always his natural self, at peace with
himself and with the world. Born almost an orphan, he lives with
Aunt Kuri. But for her he has no one to call his own and hence
the tendency to build a bond with every creature he comes
across.
Ghond -The
Hunter is all
about the first 15 years of his life, his initiation into the
mystery of the jungle, his encounters in the wild, his love for
Aunt Kuri and his close observation of all that surrounds him.
The remarkable
thing is not only his love for nature but also his capacity to
derive pleasure from it, be it the blooming of a flower, the
piercing cry of a koel or the cooing of a turtledove. Even the
tiniest of creatures — insects — do not escape his eye. His
insatiable curiosity puts him in strange situations, whose
description keeps the reader engrossed.
In "The were
tiger", Ghond and the priest try to solve the mysterious
killing of cows but to no avail. Yet the story is no less than a
thriller, capable of sending shivers down your spine. In another
hair-raising incident, Ghond finds himself in the company of a
huge cobra. Guess, what follows next? Well, Benji, the mongoose
comes to his rescue.
Then there is this
heart-rending tale of how a young tiger is taught to catch its
prey. In the end the mother leaves her cub all alone in the
jungle to live all by itself, never to meet again. Be it the
village festival, the rath yatra or the Janmastami
festival, life in Mayavati is never boring.
Originally written
for an American audience, the book throws open the doors to a
whole new world, a world much larger than the one could ever
imagine, a world somewhat similar to the Ruskin Bond’s Rusty:
The Boy From The Hills, yet not quite.
Written in a
lively, at times lyrical, style, it is a fitting reminder to a
world which has ceased to respond to nature.
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"I inhale great draughts of
space; The east and west are mine,
