Tales from the wild
Inderdeep Thapar

The Scarlet Tiger and Other Stories.
The Black Beast of Mussorie and Other Stories.
Both by Hugh Gantzer. Rupa. Pages 102. Rs 95. Pages 137. Rs 150.

"TIGER, tiger burning bright..." echoes in the reader’s mind as he goes through these books. The books, however, focus not only on the striped cat and other members of the feline family but also talks about other species like crocodiles, snakes and bears, albeit fleetingly. Each book is a collection of seven stories. The description of each hunt is preceded by an introduction. The books emphasise the well-known fact that as long as beasts do not taste human blood, they ignore man. The author says that this might be due to the peculiar offensive odour of man.

The stories of the hunt hurl the reader into thick jungles with dense undergrowth and feeble light, intimidating during daytime and scary at night. The world of smoke-billowing vehicles, material aspirations and complex human equations recedes into the background and a strange world of small hamlets on the fringes of jungles, boys on the backs of buffaloes and women hurriedly collecting firewood takes shape. A new existence dusted with "were animals" (beings which are humans during daytime and predators at night), bhoots and superstitious beliefs surfaces and one marvels at the courage and cowardice of an ordinary villager living completely at the mercy of nature.

A man-eater appears and a girl disappears, then a child and many more till the reluctant villagers call the authorities and then comes the saviour. The environs are different for the different animals dealt with in the books but the pattern of the hunt is the same: the wait on the machaan or the marshy swamps always near the latest kill, the increased palpitation on sighting the carnivore, the suspense as a shot or two misses and the final relief coupled with regret as a magnificent creature slumps to death. The handling of each kill is excellent, the plots riveting, the language visual and emotive and, at times, lyrical. Outstanding are the stories The Scarlet Tiger, The Tigress of Chorchasma, The Rogue and Stokey. There is an important lesson to learn from the writer’s contention that man forces animals to change their food habits. Wild beasts kept as pets become formidable adversaries, having gained familiarity with the ways of their masters.

The books are a compulsive read. A few publishing errors of page 97 of the first book and page 22 of the second where the introductions have got muddled up with the first page of the succeeding stories, could have been avoided.

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