Rudyard tale

Whatever his views on the East being the East and the West being the West, Rudyard Kipling8217;s fiction gives us a kaleidoscopic view of colonial India. Perhaps this is what brought him the Nobel Prize for Literature. One of his stories comes to mind as the second anniversary of the tsunami is commemorated. Puran Bhagat is a civil servant in one of the smaller states at the Himalayan foothills. He leads a mundane life and feels that the future holds no thrills. If he aspires and sweats it out, he would eventually even become the dewan of his state. They may one day erect his statue, only for the birds to evacuate their droppings upon. He shudders at the prospect and decides to opt for sanyas.

He leaves his home for the jungles. In his new station as a sage, normally timid animals come to him and learn to trust him 8212; the frolicking monkeys, the gentle cheethal, the massive barasinghas. One day they come to him in an agitated fashion and nudge him uphill. The incessant rains had wreaked havoc and the precariously placed rocks could roll down and cause a landslide any time. Being an astute man he realises that such an avalanche would bury the booming town down the hill. He wastes no time and alerts the town folk. They take timely action and a major disaster is averted. Indeed, it is a miracle. Hence this story is titled 8216;The Miracle of Puran Bhagat8217;.

I am sure all of us have heard from our grandmothers that dogs can 8216;see8217; the devil 8216;kaalan8217; in the south. Those of us who watch nature channels are amazed at the way the animals scent-mark their territories and get ready to mate by merely sniffing the air. Wolves evince something akin to a sixth sense in singling out a vulnerable animal from a large herd. As we learn more about animal physiology, we will unravel the biological basis: a special olfactory apparatus? The ability to detect and decipher sub- and supersonic sound waves? The capacity to discern changes in the earth8217;s magnetic fields? The possibilities are endless.

Rudyard Kipling8217;s narrative meanwhile extols the virtue of living closer to the creation and the creator.