A Tale from Kaziranga

Hello everyone!!

How are you? Hope you are enjoying the summer holidays with your kids, their friends, pets, animals and nature. Life with all it’s elements. Speaking of life and its elements of enthusiastic kids, pets and animals, I cannot help but go back to the world of ‘Beatrix Potter’. Recently on the 28th of July, we celebrated the 150th anniversary of ‘Beatrix Potter’. The classic tales ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit, ‘The tale of Tom kitten and the Tale of  Jemima Puddle Duck’.  To be honest, I didn’t not grow up reading these classics. But I read them in the later part of my life.  Came to know a bit more about Beatrix Potter through documentaries and films such as Miss Potter starring Renée Zellweger. Trust me there is a reason behind going on about Beatrix Potter and her love for animals. Inspired by Beatrix Potter, here’s my tiny meagre effort to tell you a tale from Kaziranga. A tale of the plight of animals of Kaziranga National Park, swept away during the recent floods in Assam, India. 

The Tale of Kobi and Sobi

Once upon a time, in the north-eastern part of India, in a beautiful national park (called Kaziranga National Park) in Assam lived a one horned rhinoceros. He was mighty big for a 10 year old! He was thick skinned but only in physical appearance. In the heart of his hearts, he was mellow, he was a poet. His friends fondly called him Kobi (Kobi means a poet in Assamese language).

I walk along the river deep in my thoughts

My gracious steps shaking away the moths

Sometimes I wear my boots

and jump through the chutes

I have just one horn apparently

which makes me unique, surprisingly!

The same river where I walk along graciously

has an annual fever unfailingly.

And I dread for the day when it reaches it’s peak

Because everything becomes dreadfully weak

Kobi was applauded with claps and whistles when he recited one of his poems to the little  animals in the park. The little animals keep asking him about the dreadful flood of the previous year. How did it happen? Was their any warning? Was their any sound? How deep was the water? Was the water dirty? Were their any human beings? How did he survive? Did anybody help him?

The tiny animals were spiralling him with a hurricane of questions. He didn’t want to scare the young animals and was trying to come up with a strategy to warn the little ones without scaring them off. Just when Kobi cleared his throat, he felt a tickle in his tummy. It was Sobi, the deer.  Sobi was 20 years old, experienced and well travelled. Career option, family, holiday destination,  she knew it all. Sobi wriggled her ears in to his tummy making him laugh and giggle. Kobi was ticklish and had a contagious laughter and hearing him laugh, all the animals couldn’t control their laughter. They rolled out laughing, snorts started flowing out of their nostrils. Kobi tried holding on for a minute, pressed his lips really tight but failed miserably. A big piece of solid snort, blocked for ages came flying out and an even bigger sound of laughter echoed along the distant corners of the park.

Sobi winked at Kobi. She wanted to talk to him alone and discuss the matter before disclosing about the floods to the little animals. Kobi being an obedient soul went to Sobi. Sobi had a squeaky voice and was very direct. She said, ‘have you lost your mind? Why do you want to introduce the little ones to that bullying and hostile noise of the flood water? Do you really want to tell them the tale of our survival? Or rather how are we still living, losing our loved ones?’

On a personal level, Kobi didn’t particularly like Sobi. The squeaky voice and her unending spaghetti like questions, were not a good combination. But they had one common taste – Poetry. They loved poems. Tagore, Wordsworth, Keats they had read them all.  They were introduced in a poetry conference organised by the Tiger association of Kaziranga. All the animals of the park were welcomed and they had to be at the top of their games because the worst poet was not allowed to return home. Rules of the park. Tiger eats the worst poet.

Sobi and Kobi decided to come up with a poem telling the tale of the devastating floods in Kaziranga.

I was looking for my mummy

I was looking after the baby in my tummy

Just the night before I was curled up with my mummy

Just the night before I was ready to be the mummy

It was raining and I was having fun

It was raining and I too was having fun

The morning came without any warnings

no sound, no noise, it was only raining

But after a while, it was beginning to get a bit noisy

We were all running, rolling, and falling.

The little animals burst into fits of laughter when they heard them saying running, rolling and falling. ‘Shh…let them finish’ called out an excited little animal.

The water was very yucky

It almost reached my tummy

I couldn’t jump, I was worried about my baby

So I held on to Kobi in the hope of saving my baby

I even saw a little girl floating on a piece of wood

and for a second thought of climbing on to the same piece of wood

I was looking for my mummy

I was looking after the baby in my tummy

I was beginning to feel scared without my mummy

for I was loosing hope of finding my mummy

I held on to Sobi and closed our eyes

Before you know, it would be all over my lovelies. 

I was looking for my mummy

I was looking after the baby in my tummy.

Please do leave your thoughts!

Much love

Suranjita

Suranjita Bhagawati

Hello and welcome to 'Mumways'. I am Suranjita and I live in London with my three lovely kids and husband. Mumways is for inspiration - Writing about parenting, well being and lifestyle. I hope you enjoy going through it and thank you for visiting!