1973 was a year of heavy rains. In Amaban the rains had been exceptionally severe. Amaban was a small village. It was surrounded by rich dense forests. The rains had replenished the earth and rejuvenated the greenery surrounding the village. Its population was small and most of the people who lived there were dependent on agriculture. As Amaban was based in a forest region, the area for cultivation was less. And this small land was divided among the villagers. Seeing all this, it would be safe to say that Amaban was not a very prosperous village. The farmers there could scarcely grow enough to sustain themselves and hence, were unable to sell any of their own produce. Whatever was grown, the farmers in the area bartered it among each other. This sharing had, to say the least unified, the village. But this year was different. The ample rain that Amaban had received this year had promised a good produce for each farmer. There was much joy. Some farmers even thought of going to the market and selling their excess produce. In that village, apart from the farms, there was a ration shop. It did good business being the only shop in the entirety of the village. It was sufficient. The owner of that shop Mohanlal, used to keep everything in his little shop. You could find anything ranging from a toothbrush to batteries to toys in his shop. A little further from his shop was the police station. There was not much staff in there and it was sufficient to keep the village in order. In that particular station, there was one sub-inspector and two police constables. The sub-inspector's name was Mahendra. He was a young man not more than thirty five. He was known for his honesty and his diligence. There was little criminal activity in that village, and most of the time he was free. He regularly went on patrols none the less. Everyone in the village knew him. Whenever he went on patrols, he was accompanied by one constable. The names of the constables were birendra and jitendra. Both of them were brothers. Life went on at a slow pace in the village. No one seemed to be in a hurry. The daily affairs began at ten in the morning which was pretty late in comparison to the big cities. The people were in high spirits. Some of them were already celebrating. Whenever Mahendra went on a patrol he would find people working in their fields and singing. Mahendra owned a jeep. It was very old as he had inherited it from his father, but it worked just fine. Mahendra was not used to the life in Amaban as he had been transferred here only recently. He did not even know about this village until his transfer. Before this he had been posted in a pretty big town. There he had been very busy with work day and night. He liked Amaban but the only complaint he had with the village was its laziness. He was active and woke up every day at 6:30 in the morning. The only person that had been happy with his transfer was his wife Kunti. They had been married for eight years now and had a five year old daughter. Mahendra loved both of them dearly. While he was in town, Kunti always complained that Mahendra did not spend enough time at home with his family. 'It is my job, dear and I cannot compromise with it' mahendra always told her. When he was transferred here, Kunti had been overjoyed. The only problem in the village was their daughter's education. Mahendra's daughter, Riya was now five years old and it was about time she received formal education. But there was no kindergarten or any such school in Amaban. Mahendra was about to plea to the senior officer to cancel his transfer, but Kunti decided to homeschool her. Kunti was a smart woman and Mahendra was confident that Kunti would be able to teach as good as any teacher. So, Riya's homeschooling began and Ramesh shifted to this village almost simultaneously. Kunti had loved this village, especially the forests and the greenery surrounding it. Seeing his daughter and wife happy, Mahendra was also overjoyed. The two brothers that worked under him as constables were the natives of this village. They knew all the villagers and had introduced Mahendra to some of them. Mahendra was grateful for such a cooperative staff. They were very polite and also interpreted the languages spoken in the village for Mahendra. He had also met the village leader or Sarpanch. His name was Rambhihari. He was a robust man even though he was seventy years old. In the village his wisdom was unparalleled. Mahendra had long discussions with him regarding various matters including those of the village. Rambihari spoke in a charming manner in his village accent. Even though he was senior to mahendra he would always address him as Sahib. Rambihari was uneducated, but he had learnt much from his experiences. When he was young, he was a wanderer. His passion was travelling to different villages meeting different people and learning much. He used to walk to different villages on his own and sometimes with his friends in his youth. The adventurous tales of his youth always charmed Mahendra. He had once gone to Benares. There he had tried hard to find a guru and had succeeded. He had found a saint who used to meditate on the banks of the holy Ganges. At first the saint had refused, but had finally given in to Rambihari's pleas. Rambihari had been a young man of twenty four. His wander lust had taken him to Benares, but when he found the saint, he had found a purpose. The saint's name Swami Subramanyam. He was an old man nearing a hundred years. He had a completely white beard which suited his fair face. He was always clad in a completely white dhoti and kurta. His eyes sparkles with wisdom of all the years. Swami told Rambihari on his first day as the disciple, 'Listen to me, son. I have meditating on this same spots for years and will continue to do so until my last breath. I liked your energy and that is the only reason that I am making you my disciple.' Rambihari had nodded in his eagerness. His stay in Benares had lasted for three months. During this time period, he had learnt a lot from Swami. Swami's first rule for him was cleanliness. Swami told him one day, 'Son, for me God is the purest being and I think in order to attain him, you yourself must be pure. Cleanliness is the first step towards purity. Now this is the task that I am going to assign you. Every day, before you come to me, you have to take a dip in this holy river. Will you be able to do it?' Rambihari had then said, 'I will do as you wish'. As he stayed with Swami, Rambihari learnt much. He learnt philosophies that are taught in the Hindu scriptures. He learnt about mythology and history. Most of the teachings of Swami was in the forms of stories. He would tell a story to Rambihari every single day and then ask him, what he had learnt from it. The stories picked were sometimes historical and sometimes legendary. Swami had such story telling skills, that he would sit mesmerized from him. It seemed to Rambihari that the knowledge of Swami was infinite. He once remarked, 'Swami, your knowledge is never ending and infinite, how is that?' Swami had smiled at this and replied, 'Son, nothing in this universe is infinite except God and I am a mere human. What I know is less than a drop of water from the immense ocean of learning. Observation is the simplest path to knowledge. You also must learn to observe.' Sometimes their conversations stretched for hours. After the three months were over, Rambihari was a changed man. He had observed Swami and hence learned much. Rambihari told all this to Mahendra one evening when they were talking and when he finished, there were tears in his eyes. 'I have never met a man like swami. A few years ago, I had gone to Benares again but could not find him. There was no trace. It is as if he had disappeared from Earth'. Mahendra said, 'Swami seemed like a good person, I wish I could have met him.' Then he left. It was evening and Mahendra was still thinking about the Swami. Rambihari had passed on the teachings of Swami to Mahendra and he was grateful. That night when he went home, he told Kunti about all this. She also liked the teaching. Not long after this there came a time when Mahendra was able to save his life due to the very power of observation.

In the forest regions surrounding Amaban, a ferocious female tigress had migrated. Tigers are solitary predators and they generally mark their territory. Tigers seldom change their territory or migrate to other forest regions. But this tigress had just given birth to two cubs. To raise her cubs in a safe place, the tigress had come all the way to these forests. The excessive rains had made the forest dense and a safe habitat for her and her two cubs. Forests of Amaban were not home to any wild beasts. There were only the usual jackals, monkeys and other small animals. This forest was perfect. Hunting was easy and there was plenty of food. There was also a water hole in the forest from which she fetched water. As a mother she was very protective of her cubs. She had come all the way here just for them. There was no competition here for her. With time she grew big and fat with ample of food. Her cubs had also shown some growth. As they grew up they became more agile. They became independent and roamed here and there. The tigress knew that the forests were safe and did not stop them.

The villagers did not have the slightest idea that their own forest had become home to tigers. If they had realized this, maybe some lives would have been saved. It all began when two woodcutters Abdul and Rahim went into the forest to fetch wood. They were brothers. Both of them had been cutting woods for years now. Cutting woods was not their main occupation. Both of them owned a small piece of land on which they cultivated potatoes. Only to earn some extra money, they cut the wood. They were not the only ones in the village to do so. During that time makeshift stoves were used which required wood for fuel. Many of the villagers also went to the forest to fetch wood. The day they went on into the forest was a dry one. The clouds had cleared from the sky and there was no sign of rainfall. This was very well for them as they could fetch some dry wood. The people of the village who followed the same occupation as the two brothers generally cleared wood from the boundaries of the forest. They would simply fell a tree at the outskirts and cut it up for wood. But the brothers were professionals. They knew that good wood could only be fetched at the heart of the forest. They knew that there were no wild animals in this forest, so there would be no problem. They went straight into the forest. As they walked Abdul said to Rahim, 'Brother let us go deep in the forest and fetch some really good wood.' Rahim also said, 'Yes that would be a good idea' and both of them walked on. Both of them carried a heavy axe in their hands. It was very sharp and heavy. Abdul always said, 'A good axe to cut a good tree'. He took particular care of his axe and sharpened it almost daily. Rahim on the other hand did not care much for it. Abdul would always remind Rahim that he should take good care of his things. They were walking slowly. They had the whole in front of them. Just as they were walking, they heard a rustling sound from the bushes just in front of them. Both of them became attentive at once. 'It is just a jackal' remarked Rahim. But both of them went on to see anyways. When they emerged out from the heavy bush, they were flabbergasted. There were two small tiger cubs chasing each other right in the open. The cubs did not even notice them in there play. Abdul and Rahim looked at each other. Abdul said to him quietly, 'Do you think we should take them? They are still young, we could easily carry them.' Rahim not taking away his eyes from the cubs replied, 'yeah, why not? If we find the right people, we can easily sell them at the right price.' Abdul said, 'I am not so sure. What if their mother is around? I am sure that she would eat us.' Rahim said to him, 'Shut up! The mother is not around anywhere. We can easily lift them up in our arms and carry them back in no time at all.' Abdul still looked uneasy. Rahim again insists, 'We will earn a lot of money. There will not be a single problem. Just believe me.' Abdul nodded in agreement. The forest was amazingly tranquil. The morning sunlight came through the thick canopy of the forest. The tiger cubs looked beautiful in the sunlight. As they were chasing after one another, they got separated. Abdul and Rahim planned to catch them from behind so that they would not run. That is what they did. Rahim picked the bigger one first. The cub was waiting for its sibling to catch it, but just then someone else caught it. Rahim did not even give the cub any chance to escape. He had big muscular arms and the held the cub tightly and safely. Both of them had separated to catch the cubs. Rahim who had been more sure of himself had caught the bigger one and now it was Abdul's turn. Abdul was a bit afraid. He still believed that the mother of the cubs might be watching them. He thought of giving it up and go right back to cut the woods for which they had come to the forest. But Rahim would scold him and tease him. So Abdul did as he was asked. The cub he was after was very agile. It had almost loosened itself and got away from Abdul, but he finally managed to catch it. The tiger cub whined and cried a little. Its tiny claws scratched Abdul's arms but he did not mind. He had also caught on to Rahim's greed. The prospect of getting rich excited him and he caught on to the little cub more tightly even as it whined. Abdul gave a hand signal to Rahim and joined him. He was pleased to see that Rahim was also successful in catching the cub. In their excitement both of them had forgotten even the possibility of another adult tiger being in the forest. But the tigress was there. She had gone to the waterhole to drink water. When she saw her cubs struggling in the arms of two men, she was enraged. She prowled through the bushes soundlessly and efficiently. She did not roar because she did not want them to realize her presence. She was the apex predator and she had never failed to hunt before. This seemed to be no different. And the tigress pounced. Rahim and Abdul did not even realize it. They were walking down the path that they had followed. Out of nowhere, a monster pounced on Abdul. It was a tigress. It was the biggest that they had ever seen in its entire life. Abdul never even had a chance. The tigress was enormous. She outweighed Abdul and he fell to the ground. She roared in triumph and teared out Abdul's throat. Abdul's eyes bulged as if he had not realized what had happened to him. It did not even matter much because minutes later he was dead. As the tigress roared, Rahim's paralysis broke. He ran for his life. Even in this situation, Rahim had managed to think. He thought that the only option he had now was to climb a tree. A tree big enough so that the tiger would not be able to climb and he spotted it. It was not far from the spot where they had been ambushed but it was high enough. Rahim used all the force that was left in him to climb the tree. He climbed on to the uppermost branch of the tree. When he looked down, he saw a sight which horrified him beyond all measures. The tiger was still upon Abdul's body. His throat was ripped apart. There was blood everywhere. Abdul's lifeless eyes seemed to stare directly in his soul. Now the tiger was feeding on him. Abdul's still eyes were accusing Rahim of murder. Helpless tears were dripping from Rahim's eyes. His own brother was getting devoured by a monster just in front of his eyes and he was unable to do anything. Now Rahim could see the insides of his brother's body. So much disgust and misery, Rahim had never experienced in his entire life. Rahim knew that he was going insane. The gory sight with all the blood was making him insane. Rahim vomited and cleared his entire bowels in one go. But it did not make him feel any better. He thought that he was empty from the inside, and this thought horrified him even more. Even as he was going insane, Rahim thought, 'is it a tiger or a tigress? It is a tigress, yes, that is what it is'. Eventually the tigress was full and she left with her two cubs. What was left of Abdul's body was still sprawled across the same spot. He was mutilated, his left arm and right leg below the knee was gone. His stomach had been torn open by the claws. So was his throat. No one could have guessed looking at the body that it once belonged to a handsome man. If there was some sanity left in Rahim, it was all gone after he saw the remains of Abdul and heard the tremendous roar of the tiger. He could not forget the sight of the tiger. He blamed himself over and over again. His greed had destroyed them. Rahim stayed up the tree the entire night. He could not get down because of the constant fear of the tigress. He imagined her all the time during the night lurking in the bushes waiting for him to come down. 'I will not come down, I will never come down. No! No! NO!' he shrieked to himself. The forest echoed with his shrieks but no one heard him. Slowly Rahim went to sleep. He was so delirious that he did not even realize it. He woke up in the morning. And when he woke up he saw an entire crowd of people surrounding the tree that he was perched upon and the body. The mutilated body of his brother had also slept with him that night. Rahim looked at it and wept.

The next morning, as Mahendra was on his way to the station, he knew that there was something wrong. He was cruising his jeep on the dirt paths of Amaban. The village was unusually quiet. The silence was unsettling. The only sound he could hear was that of the engine of his jeep. As he cruised past the farms, he noticed something else. They were all empty. There was not a person working on the fields. It seemed pretty strange to Mahendra. At this time, the work in the farms had generally begun. The farmers would generally look up at him and wave as he passed. But not on this morning. In the morning breeze, the crops rustled playfully in the field. Mahendra could only see the scarecrows staring lifelessly at the growing crops, keeping watch, no one else. He did not think much about this. When he finally arrived at the office, he met Jitendra. He was pale and sweating profusely. Mahendra confronted him and asked, 'What's the matter Jitendra? Is something wrong? And also where is Birendra? He should be here by now'. Jitendra looked at him as if just realizing that Mahendra was there. He stammered, 'Sahib, there is a tiger in Amaban's forest. A villager h-has been k-killed by it. Birendra has gone to the forest to check.' Mahendra fetched him a glass of water and calmed him down. Mahendra then said, 'Jitendra, come with me. Both of us shall go in my jeep. You can tell me the way'. Jitendra nodded still looking like a ghost. The quickly settled on the jeep. Mahendra was driving. The engine of the jeep revved to life and Jeep started with a roar. Jitendra was seated beside Mahendra. He said something. Mahendra asked, 'What are you saying?' 'Nothing, Sahib. It is just that I am still amazed that a tiger roams in these forests. I used to play there when I was a boy.' He replied speaking more to himself. Mahendra did not say anything. After a while mahendra asked, 'Do you know the man who was killed'. Jitendra replied, 'Yes Sahib. As per the rumours, the man killed by the tiger is Abdul. I know him very well.' 'And do you believe the rumours to be true, Jitendra?' asked Mahendra. 'Absolutely, Sahib. Abdul and his brother were woodcutters. They would often go deep in the forest to cut wood. Yes sir, the rumours are true, I guess.' Jitendra said. They drove on in silence. They finally reached the outskirts of the forest. Mahendra parked the Jeep. 'From here we go on foot, jitendra. Come on' he said. Both of them walked on. The first thing that Mahendra noted was the huge crowd. It seemed as if everyone from the village has come to see the body and maybe they had. This explained why the fields had been empty. There were women with their faces covered by the veil of their Saris. There were men of all ages. Everyone was here except children. Jitendra cleared up the path for Mahendra. He kept on saying, 'Move, move. Sahib is coming. Give way'. They were finally able to reach the scene. There were only two people standing there. One was Birendra and the other was Rambihari. There was also a woman. She was surrounded by women. She was the wife of Abdul. She was crying uncontrollably as the women tried to calm her down. The entire forest was filled with her shrieks. As Mahendra emerged out of the crowd, Birendra and Rambihari turned to look at him. Birendra gave him a salute. Mahendra nodded. Their faces were grim. Just by seeing their faces, Mahendra realized that it was serious. Mahendra asked, 'Is it true?' Rambihari answered him, 'Yes. It is pretty gruesome. The man's name was Abdul. He was only thirty years old. Completely mutilated.' Mahendra then asked, 'Was he all alone when the attack happened?' This time it was Birendra who answered, 'No Sahib, he was not alone. He had come here yesterday with his brother Rahim.' 'What happened to him? Is he also killed?' asked Mahendra. 'No sahib. He managed to climb a tree in order to escape. But he has gone completely mad. He had witnessed his brother eaten alive by that monster of a tiger. He had puked while sitting on the tree. He spent the entire night on the tree. He was too afraid to come down. He did not come down even when we came here. We finally managed to convince him to come down, but I am afraid that he is a gone case.' Rambihari seemed terribly old as if he had aged twenty years since the time they last met. There was silence among them. Mahendra finally said, 'Show me where the body is. And also how do you know that it is a tiger. How can you be so sure?' Birendra said, 'We managed to take this information from Rahim. Also the marks of its claws. We are convinced that it is a tiger. They led Mahendra and Jitendra to the body. Abdul was covered in white cloth. They slowly took the cover away. Mahendra when he saw the mutilated body torn out completely, felt sick. The body was smelling. Mahendra said, 'We should take the body with us. We cannot leave it here. His wife and his brother have the right to perform Abdul's final rites.' Rambihari called four sturdy man. They carried with them a wooden stretcher. They laid what remained of Abdul on to it and carried it. Abdul's wife started crying again. Mahendra said to the others, 'We should go now, I have a lot to do about this situation. But first we have to clear this place up'. And that is what they did. Rambihari being the head of the village addressed the people then and there. He told them to disperse and also that the forest is an unsafe place and no one should come here alone. They did as they were asked. Most of them dispersed quietly. But the stubborn ones tuck around. They kept on asking Rambihari and Mahendra about what they will do now. Mahendra got tired of saying, 'Do not worry. I will do my duty and this whole problem will be sorted out in no time'. These people had to be then pushed out of the forest. Finally when everything was cleared up, it was afternoon. Mahendra was sweating from the heat. It was yet again, a sunny day. The body of Abdul had been sent for postmortem. Mahendra was now only waiting for the report. Although he was convinced that it was a tiger attack, he wanted to be completely sure. Mahendra thought about what he should do now. Everyone in the village was scared. No one was even willing to go near the forest now. The farms located near the forests had been abandoned. Rambihari once again addressed the people of the village. This time the venue was not the forest but the village center, just outside Mohanlal's shop. The shop itself was closed for the day and Mohanlal was among the people who had come to listen to Rambihari. This time however the crowd was very small. Only a few had been able to come. The crowd comprised entirely of men. The children and women had decided to be in the safety of their homes. Rambihari was a bit discouraged to see the small gathering. But he continued anyways. He was pretty much shaken by the incident himself, but he would have to be courageous in order to calm the agitated crowd. People sat close to each other. Rambihari finally started to speak. There was utter silence. Rambihari said, 'to all the people present here, I just want to say one thing. Please do not panic. The tiger is not going to come to the village. But I will also say that there is a need for caution. Caution is necessary so that what happened to the unfortunate Abdul will not be repeated. In the forests of Amaban, there roams a bloodthirsty man eating tigress. Please stay as far from the forest as possible. Keep a watch on children. Be careful until the matter is sorted. It will be all clear pretty soon. Mahendra Sahib and I will do all that we can to get the tiger caught. Then our forest will be safe again'. With this the speech of Rambihari was over. Rambihari could see with satisfaction that his speech had calmed the agitation of the villagers. But he was very anxious himself. And even as the crowd was dispersed, he thought of Abdul's lifeless eyes. Mahendra worked till late night in the station. Throughout the day the station had been full with villagers. Some people came with queries for their own personal safety while others came with suggestions. He answered the questions of the people as best as he could. He satisfied some people a least. The same questions were asked over and over again. 'What if the tiger comes into the village? How will you get rid of the tiger? It is your duty, what will you do?' Mahendra was completely tired. As to those who came with suggestions, Mahendra would only reply, 'Okay, I will try your suggestion. Yes, I will see to it.' Some suggestions were plainly ridiculous. There were rumours that the animal was not a tiger, but a monster which had come to devour them. This was the strangest story that Mahendra had ever heard. But even more strange was that some people actually believed it. If Mahendra would not have been so stresses about the recent incidents, he would have laughed. Jitendra and Birendra had also been with him but he had dismissed them a few hours ago. Now he was all alone in the station. It was past midnight. Mahendra had finally decided on what he will do when the post mortem report comes and confirms the tiger attack. He got up from his wooden chair. He back ached and he felt slightly feverish. He had worked hard the whole day and now he wanted to sleep badly. He started his Jeep and rushed home. It was completely dark in the Amaban. 'People are afraid to even turn on the lights' thought Mahendra. The night was even quieter than the morning. He could hear the chirps of the crickets. The bushes were full of crickets. Hearing the chirps and the grinding of the wheels of the jeep over the dirt made Mahendra drowsy. As he was driving, he suddenly saw two bright green eyes staring at him. They sharp and were constantly staring at him. Mahendra blinked and then the eyes were gone. Mahendra thought that he had imagined it and went on. The eyes remained in his mind. 'Weren't those the eyes of a tiger' he thought. He then laughed at his own foolishness. 'It cannot be a tiger. A tiger would never come this close to a village' he thought and drove on. He finally reached home but there was an unsettling fear in the back of his mind. He tried to forget about it but as he went to sleep that night, those bright green eyes were the last thing he thought about. The next morning he woke up refreshed. But his refreshment did not last long. It suddenly evaporated when he saw the furious look Kunti was giving him. Mahendra was sure that a storm was brewing. Kunti asked, 'Why do you not come home on time? I was so worried. Do you forget that you have a family to manage?' Mahendra was pretty brave in general but in front of his wife all his bravery vanished. He managed to say, 'Dear I have my job to do. Especially since the recent incident. I am sure you have heard about it. Please, try to understand. I have to go early today as well.' Kunti seemed less angry now. She said, 'I allow you to go but you have to promise me one thing.' 'What is that?' 'You have to promise that you will be careful, okay. I am afraid for you.' Said Kunti in a low voice. Suddenly Mahendra realized how worried his wife was over him. He said, 'I promise to you, Kunti, I will be very careful'. With this he left. Mahendra was already late and when he reached the office, he saw that the post mortem report had arrived. He went through it. It was gruesome, the way Abdul died. The report mentioned every single injury. The only good thing about this was that most of the injuries happened after Abdul had already died. Another good thing was that it was confirmed that it was the attack of a tiger. Mahendra on seeing the report sighed with relief. This meant that he could proceed now. Mahendra without wasting any time tries to establish contact with sub divisional police officer. He knows that this is a matter of serious concern. He dials directly to the station where the senior officer was posted. The sub inspector there picks up the call. Mahendra tells him that he needs to talk to the SDPO. It takes some time to fulfil the formalities. When he finally connects, he narrates the entire tale to the SDPO. The officer's name was Rajesh. He listens with patience the entire tale. Rajesh reassures Mahendra that he would be coming to Amaban the next day. He would also bring around 40 police men along with him. There will be constables and sub inspectors in the unit. Mahendra asks the officer, 'Sir, but why forty men?' 'I will explain it to you when I get there. In the meanwhile you manage the village and the people. I have heard that in Amaban's police station, there are two constables and you head them. Is it true?' 'Yes sir. They are good men. All of us are sufficient to handle the village situations. But this one, I do not know how to handle it. I am relieved by the news that you will come yourself. Thank you very much sir'. With this the telephone call ended. Mahendra felt happy. He was now sure that the SDPO will clear up the matter. What he did not know was that Rajesh was not a good man. Rajesh was a corrupt officer. He was greedy, a man with no principles. He had robbed poor people and boasted the power of his uniform whenever and wherever he had the chance. He had reached his current position by bribing. He was a shrewd man. As Mahendra had narrated the tale to Rajesh, he had already started to lay down his plans. Rajesh wished to steal the glory. That was the reason that he was taking action so soon. Getting forty police men would be an easy job and he will manage it. By making the men do this operation, Rajesh would comfortable sit and then have all the fame. After the call was cut, Rajesh laughed. It was a golden opportunity and it had walked right down to him. 'This is going to be so much fun' thought Rajesh. Mahendra on the other hand was in a good mood. He thought that his part was over and he could finally get some rest. But he was wrong. Mahendra's good mood did not last. Just as he was sitting on his table, Birendra hurried into the office and gave him a quick salute. Mahendra asked him, 'What is the matter?' Birendra replied, 'Sahib, a farmer's cow is missing. There are traces of blood leading to the forest. The traces start right at the spot where the cow was tied up.' Mahendra looks at him gravely and asks, 'Are you sure it is a tiger'. 'Sahib, it is certain. What else can it be? The tiger dragged it into the forest. Should we go and check?' Birendra looked anxious. Mahendra relieved him by saying, 'No need for that. I have contacted a senior police officer. He will come here tomorrow with a unit of forty police men. He will do what is required. In the meantime, you just go to that villager and calm him down. Promise him compensation for his cow.' Birendra looked greatly relieved at the mention of the policemen. His face lit up. He said, 'Yes Sahib, right away' and took his leave. Mahendra sat quietly behind his desk on the wooden chair. His relief was slipping away quickly. He had a feeling that his role in this was not over yet. On the call officer Rajesh had sounded good enough but Mahendra had his suspicions. He had heard rumors about his workings and it they were not good. Also why were forty men required to capture a single tiger. The SDPO should have contacted the forest department. That was what Mahendra would have done if he had been in Rajesh's place. This is a matter of animal welfare and the forest rangers should be here to handle it. But why had Rajesh not done so? He pondered upon this for long but then pushed the thought aside. He thought more closely about the disappearance of the cow. 'I should have given the matter more attention' Mahendra thought. He suddenly remembered the two green eyes he had seen last night and suddenly shuddered. 'It was not my imagination after all' he thought. The eyes of the beast were scary and the gaze unwavering. They had looked at him as if scanning him and deciding whether he was good to eat. Mahendra suddenly decided to go on a patrol. He had a mild headache now. The news of forty police men arriving in the village had spread like a wildfire. The panic had almost gone. People thought that the tiger will never trouble them again. On patrol, Mahendra saw farmers and workers in the field. It was as if nothing had happened. Everything had become normal even before the problem was solved. 'They should not be celebrating so soon', thought Mahendra. Even after all this the farms near the outskirts of the forest were still deserted. This was acceptable for Ramesh. He wanted no more casualties now. He met Rambihari on his way. Rambihari greeted him with a big sky. He was sitting in the shade of an old banyan tree. Mahendra smiled back and drove on. Finally his patrol was complete. He had already cleaned and organized the station. He had given clear instructions to Birendra and Jitendra not to entertain any more questions from the villagers. After this he had taken leave for the rest of the day. Kunti was delighted to see him come early. Mahendra greeted her with a smile and then lifted his daughter in his arms and played with her. Kunti asked him, 'What's up with the tiger?' 'Well, the problem will be finally over tomorrow, dear. I have already contacted the SDPO and he is arriving tomorrow with a unit of forty men.' Said Mahendra. 'Wow! So soon. I thought matters like this took some time. And why is the forest department not involved in this? This comes under their jurisdiction.' She said. Mahendra gave it some thought and finally said to Kunti, 'to say the truth, I have also been puzzled over this. But the officer is senior to me. He probably must know how to deal with the situation.' Kunti was really happy. Her husband had looked so tired yesterday. She cooked a big dinner, after esting which, they went to sleep. Mahendra got up early the next day. He quickly got dressed in his khaki uniform. He checked himself once in the mirror, he must look tidy in front of the officer. He finally reported to the station. Jitendra and Birendra were already there. They were looking nervous. Mahendra gave them an encouraging smile. 'Okay, are you both ready? You should be happy.' He said. Both of them tried to smile. An attempt in which Birendra half succeeded and Jitendra completely failed. There was no movement, it was as if all of them were frozen. Mahendra had a document in front of him, but he wasn't really reading it. He was listening with all his might for the sound of the police jeeps. There was a distant sound of an engine. It sounded just like the engine of his Jeep. As the sound grew louder, Mahendra rushed out of the station, with Jitendra and Birendra at his heels. There were a total of 9 vehicles. In the front was the Ambassador, entirely white. Following it were eight police jeeps. As the station approached the Ambassador halted and so did the Jeeps. The door of the Ambassador opened up and Officer Rajesh stepped out. He was a stocky man edging slightly towards fat. Mahendra, Jitendra and Birendra gave him a salute. He said in stringy voice which did not really suit his stature, 'I presume you are the SI Mahendra and you were the one I talked to?' 'Yes sir' said Mahendra instantly. 'Well Mahendra, we are not going to stop here. We are going to go directly to the forest where the tiger attacked. I do not wish to waste any time. I trust your word. You will escort us to the forest.' 'Yes sir, right away' said Mahendra. He found this to be strange. The man Rajesh had a shrewd look on his face just for a moment. But he did as he was asked. He took out his own jeep and Jitendra and Birendra sat in it with him. He led the procession with him all the way to the outskirts of the forest. Here they parked their car. The forty police men got out from their jeeps. They looked at Rajesh for further orders. So did Mahendra and Jitendra and Birendra. When all of them got out and stood in a line, Rajesh said, 'Men, here we are at the outskirts of the forest. In this forest dwells a tiger. To say more precisely, it is a man eater. Now all of you must know that tiger is an endangered species and we cannot kill it. We will drive it away by scaring it. Now how would that be? First of all we will have to give it a bait so that it will come out right in the open. Then you all will make a chain by holding hands. You must move forward all at once. You would have to CHARGE! Only then we can scare the beast away from this forest. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?' Rajesh must have thought that he was inspiring the people, but Mahendra liked the man less and less by the moment. The way he had emphasized on you, it was as if they were the bait for the tiger. 'This entire plan is ridiculous, I must do something' thought Mahendra. He suddenly asked, 'Sir are you sure that this plan will work?' All the police men stared at him. Jitendra and Birendra remained neutral. Rajesh slowly moved towards him and eyed him with his piggy eyes. Rajesh thought to himself, 'Now this SI can prove to be a problem. He is a fool and I will crush him right now'. Rajesh said in a booming voice, 'DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE THE SAME DOUBT?' No one answered. Rajesh knew that they were afraid but will not disobey a direct order. After a while Rajesh sneered and said to Mahendra, 'Looks like you are the only one, SI. You doubt my plans. I am senior to you in both age and rank and yet you doubt. Your job is to follow my orders, you understand?' Mahendra did a slight nod instinctively as he did not know how to respond. 'Good and if you don't suggest me a better plan right now? If not, SHUT UP and follow my ORDERS!' he shouted his last words. Other police men looked at him sympathetically but no one uttered a peep. Mahendra could feel himself flushing. He muttered, 'Sorry sir' and slipped back. Rajesh smiled in triumph. No one would dare question him now. Jitendra and Birendra were still with them. Birendra suddenly whispered, 'that was quite brave Sahib. This officer does not look good sir. I think he is gonna slouch and make us do all the work'. Jitendra nodded. Mahendra was happy that he was with them. Finally things went according to Rajesh's plan. Rajesh had brought with him deer meat to lure the tiger. The meat was bright red and so much that it made Mahendra nauseous as he was a pure vegetarian. It was about noon now. The rest of the police force moved their vehicles to make a semi-circular boundary around the outskirts. They were packed in now by the jeeps. They were eight in all. The ambassador was standing outside the boundary. Mahendra's jeep was inside it. He said to a passing sub-inspector, 'Sir, what about my jeep? Will it not be moved?' the man who was dark skinned and taller than Mahendra looked at him and then at the jeep. Then he said slowly, 'Rajesh sir has ordered it to remain inside.' 'Why so' Mahendra asked. 'Rajesh sir himself would sit in your jeep and supervise the action' the reply came and the man hurried on to make the final preparations. Mahendra was now angry and regretted his decision of contacting Rajesh. 'I should have called a forest ranger and this would have gone much smoother' he thought bitterly. Rajesh had chosen his jeep to mock him. 'Let him do as he likes, I am not going to lose my temper' Mahendra promised himself. Ramesh was already inside the jeep and was now barking orders at the constable and sub-inspectors. Mahendra, Jitendra and Birendra also fulfilled their parts. There was also a wooden platform set up in the middle of the area. On it the gigantic piece of meat was set up. In the afternoon heat, it reeked badly. Mahendra tried to cover his nose but it was no good. Slowly, he got used to it. The boundary was made up of jeeps and Mahendra's jeep was to the left of the platform. It was not in the front like the platform but pressed back. Mahendra had helped in setting up the wooden platform while Jitendra and Birendra had lifted the piece of meat and kept it on the Platform. They did this without complaining. Now as everything was done, only the second to the last step was left. It was waiting. All the police went into their jeeps. They crouched in in the jeeps and were cramped together uncomfortably. Mahendra was also accommodated in one of the jeeps. So were Jitendra and Birendra. It was hot, and Mahendra was feeling sweaty and dusty. Mahendra's jeep was occupied by Rajesh who also crouched. If someone, who did not know what was going around here, saw the scene, he would have thought that there were eight abandoned jeeps kept to make a semi-circular boundary, a jeep in the middle and an ambassador on the outside. He would also have noticed the platform right in the center and the piece of meat. But there was no one there. Rambihari had previously told all the villagers that the forest area was out of bounds for everyone until the operation is finished. It was a warning little needed, as no one was willing to go there. But the police men were there in the jeeps and so was the tigress in the forest. Her little cubs were playing by the water fall. The tigress did not have a decent meal since she had eaten the cow. And now she was really hungry. She smelt the aroma of meat. Her sharp nose determined the source of the smell was somewhere on the outskirts of the forest. She did not want to go out in the open during the daytime. But the smell in itself was overpowering. She was drawn to it. She sensed danger also but she did not heed. Her basic instinct for food was overwhelming. Her senses had sharpened and she walked without any noise despite her massive size. Outside the men waited. There was a man, a constable who was reputed for his sharp eyes, who was keeping watch. He was in Mahendra's jeep along with Rajesh. He was not crouching but sitting low, keeping an eye out. Suddenly, he noticed that there was a sudden movement behind the bushes. The next he saw a giant shadow pass. 'Good God! That is one big tiger' he thought and then tapped with his knuckle sharply on the gleaming metal of the jeep. This was the signal. The men braced themselves. The tigress had eyes only for the meat but she still looked around. There was no movement around except for hers. As she passed through the bushes, she heard a sharp sound. She ignored it as the sound did not repeat itself. She thought the bay was clear and emerged out of the wilderness. The man held their breath at the size of the tiger. Mahendra did not expect the tiger to be so big. He was awestruck and he also realized that it was a tigress. The tigress moved forward towards the meat. She moved slowly and steadily. The high grass slid beneath her paws without making a sound. She finally began to feed itself. There was so much meat. She ate without stopping. Cutting and tearing off the meat in chunks repetitively. Mahendra was hypnotized by the tigress. But he abruptly came back to himself. Suddenly all the doors of the jeep flew open and all the men within the jeeps poured out in an instant. In the next instant, all of them were holding hands. Mahendra was holding hands with the tall dark man he had met before and some unknown police constable. Even though they did not know each other, they grabbed each other's hands with great force as if afraid that they might be pulled lose by some force. The tiger looked up suddenly alert at the sight of the men, all of them in a group. The tiger growled and its green eyes flickered. Mahendra saw the tigress's face clearly and thought, 'those were the same eyes I saw, yes, now I am certain.' The final part of the plan began which was also the most dangerous. One mistake and someone can lose his life. Rajesh along with the watch man were the only ones who remained in the jeep. For a moment none of them moved. Then the men began moving forward, very slowly towards the tigress. The tigress analyzed the situation and roared. Its roar was deafening and for a moment their chain was almost broken. But the grabbed again for the hands of their partners, this time desperately. The tiger moved forward, trying to scare them off. But they stood their ground. In whichever direction the tigress moved the, chain moved further back while the rest of the men progressed towards it. The tigress was completely surrounded on all sides except that of the forest. But the tigress did not give up easily. It was enraged now. It roared. It advanced rapidly and bared its long fangs. The police men also panicked. All of them had their rifles hanging on their shoulders and none of them had the permission to use them. It was a dilemma. The tiger did not seemed afraid. There was only rage in the eyes. The tiger was above the initial surprise. Rajesh who was sitting in his jeep thought, 'It is only a matter of time. Even if one or two of these men are killed, it will not matter'. He was safe here or so he thought. The tigress found the jeep in the middle intimidating. It diverted its attention from the men and advanced towards it. Rajesh realized and panicked. The man beside him was pale from fear. 'We are dead, we are dead, we are dead', he kept on muttering to himself. Rajesh himself was paralyzed with the fear. He did not know what to do. And very suddenly the tigress was very near to the jeep and glared at it with rage, its complete attention on it. The tigress moved towards it and grazed her mighty shoulders against its surface. With the force of the tigress' push the entire vehicles shifted on to one side and was for a brief minute on the two side tires. The jeep groaned at the force and its metal door was pushed inwards with the immensity of the force. The side on which the tigress had pushed was the driver's side or the right side and Rajesh was sitting on the seat. For a moment just before the push, Rajesh saw the eyes of the tigress filled with rage and peed in his pants. He felt the metallic door of the jeep getting pushed inwards and felt the pressure. When the jeep fell back to all four of its tires, Rajesh fainted. The tigress seemed satisfied and then moved on threateningly towards the chain. Right then, a young constable broke the chain and ran. The tigress at such close quarters had completely terrified him. He ran for his life and the entire chain was broken. Mahendra at that moment remembered the teachings of Swami and observed the situation. He felt surprisingly calm. Maybe he was at his limit and could not feel more afraid and that is why he felt so calm. Everything was clear. For a moment it was as if his vision had cleared. He saw the panicked men running in the confusion and the tigress about to leap, and about to kill. He assessed the situation and he did the only possible thing he could do. He in an instant took out his police rifle and aimed it at the tigress. He aimed right at its head and was about to pull the trigger. But just then he changed his aim. He did this at the last moment and he shot at the ground near the tiger's paws. "CRACK!" The sound of the rifle going off was deafening. It was as the sound of an explosive. A sound loud and sharp. Everyone was quiet right at once. The tigress realized that she was in mortal danger and fled at once. There was silence and it was peaceful. Mahendra collapsed to the ground completely exhausted. Jitendra and Birendra helped him up. The tigress had fled in leaps and bounds. The sound of the shot hurted her ultrasensitive ears badly but she was glad to be alive. She went straight to the water hole. And with her cubs, she left the forests of Amaban forever and never returned. Everyone on the scene praised Mahendra for his bravery. When Rajesh woke up and heard what happened, he was enraged. But he could not do anything. There was nothing wrong in what Mahendra did. He was congratulated by all forty men and was the star that day. For his bravery in a crisis, he was even awarded a promotion later on. The stories about him and the tiger became famous among the police department. He was given the nickname "Sherdil". But that was later on. Rajesh's disgrace was almost immediate. When he should have helped his juniors, he sat comfortably in a jeep. The story about him peeing in his pants became famous or rather infamous. Mahendra later on said to his friends that the only regret he had that day was that his jeep's seats were ruined due to Rajesh's leakage. He became the hero and went home proudly. His wife was relieved that he came home safely. She had heard from Rambihari that he was going after the tiger. Since then she had left everything and prayed to God all day for his safety. Kunti was crying tears of relief when she saw him come home. Their daughter Riya also played with her father that night. She was too young to realize the situation her father had been in. Mahendra became the village's hero as well and everyone celebrated his victory over the tiger. With this the tiger incident of Amaban ends.