Flute in the Forest by Leela Gaur Broome

Author:Leela Gaur Broome [Gour Broome, Leela]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9788184754193
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2012-01-11T00:00:00+00:00

Rangappa

The sun was up early next morning, almost as if it knew Atiya was about to embark on a new phase in her life. She gobbled up her breakfast and told Angasammy she would be home late. He packed the usual generous lunch in a hamper for her. The days were getting hotter, but there was a growing humidity in the air. The monsoon clouds were building up more each day. Atiya knew the rains would soon be here.

Atiya got into the bus. Two passengers behind her talked loudly. They were discussing Rangappa, the rogue elephant’s latest escapades on the sanctuary edge. The animal had become quite a menace in the region. Some were demanding that it be shot before it harmed more people. ‘Already,’ one man said to the other, ‘he has nine deaths on his record. Ranger Sardare will soon have to do something about that!’ They were discussing Rangappa as if he was an evil criminal.

Atiya had quite forgotten the story of the trampled German photographer. Now she recalled the episode again. Kronhaage was a great man with a fabulous talent for wildlife photography. Why do we humans always think we can reason things out better than the animals who share the earth with us? If Kronhaage had given some more space to Rangappa; if he had not invaded it with total disrespect for the animal, things could have been different.

The new driver hooted as the bus rumbled round a sharp corner and began to climb a steep hill. They reached the top shuddering along and suddenly, there on the top edge of the road, Atiya saw—Rangappa! At the same time everyone else in the bus saw the rogue elephant. A collective cry of fear rose from the passengers. The driver jammed his brakes hard. The bus ground to a halt, just thirty feet away from the animal.

A deadly silence filled the bus, amidst whispered words of ‘Rangappa’, ‘Aanay’, ‘dangerous animal’. Atiya held her breath, watching the elephant—what would the animal do now? The driver could hardly take the bus down quickly in reverse on such a steep slope. The elephant couldn’t walk up the steep bank on either side of the road at this point. The animal had only one option. Walk back up and away from the bus, along the road until it found a way back into the safety of the jungle on the side of the road, at a point where he could do so with ease.

Atiya realized the new driver was petrified, quite unused to dealing with this kind of emergency. Terrified, he tried to frighten away the animal. He revved his engine and hooted his horn twice, making Rangappa furious. The elephant mock charged once, then backed off, his ears flapping in fury, his front feet and trunk stirring up the mud on the roadside in a mass of brown dust. The driver revved up some more and hooted again. Rangappa trumpeted like the truly infuriated elephant that he now was. Suddenly they heard the most terrifying sound from the animal’s throat.

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