“Finish
him!” the lion roared, perched on a boulder at the edge of the scene. A mile
away, rabbits scurried into their burrow, birds burst out of the trees and
reptiles shuddered in fear, the kingdom knew that some poor animal’s fate was
sealed, the perceptive ones deciphered that the victim was some giant beast.
Probably a buffalo or maybe even an elephant...
The
elephant never expects to be hunted, so when the lionesses manage to separate
him from his herd, it isn’t just fear that hurts him. The giant refuses to
believe that his majestic life will have to fall before a bunch of cats, but
when the king roars and the pride pounces, his knees buckle and the end flashes
before his eyes. The rest of the herd realises that nothing can be done. The
children peek through their mother’s feet to have a last glimpse of their
relative. The herd is helpless against the King of the Jungle.
Once the
prey succumbs to its fate, the lionesses step back and the king prances towards
his meal. He can smell the hyena crouched under the grass, he can see anger and
resentment flaring in the eyes of his victim’s family... he could be more
concerned about fleas pricking his mane. “This is the law of the Jungle. This
is the way things are”, he thinks. The lion tears open the elephant’s belly.
The pride feasts. Life’s good...
“Got
it!” Harish shouts as the bang deafens the grassland and the bullet blasts into
the King’s mane. He falls instantly and the pride scramble in fear as a jeep
looms into view. They have heard this sound before and instinctively knew that
it to be the harbinger of death. The pride scatters and flees in fear, the cubs
peek through their mother’s feet to have a last glimpse of the majestic
patriarch who lay at his victim’s feet. The pride is helpless against the Gods
of the Jungle.
“The
lions know what’s good for them huh...” Vinay coughs as he remarks about the
rest of the pride that fled their dead king. They do. They know that the odd
looking ape that approaches them has the power to destroy them and everything around
them. Their food, their water, the grasslands, the trees, the forests,
everything succumbs to its might. They decide how many animals live, where they
live and how they live. The meaningless life of the animal kingdom is sometimes
a plaything, sometimes a means of leisure, and sometimes a pathetic attempt to
quench their greed.
The
hunters are a proud duo, they only want what they have earned. So they remove
the lion away from the elephant and click pictures of just their kill, posing
with feet on its head and gun in their arms, all the while making plans as to
which photo would become their display picture and which ones just an Instagram
story. The tour guide asks if they want the lion to be carried away, or maybe
cut out the elephant’s trunk. “No we’re good”, Vinay replies, coughing all the
while. They are pleased with the pictures and potential adulation it will bring
them on social media. Life’s good...
Back
at the camp, Vinay Patel has wrapped himself with a shawl. Incessantly coughing
while sipping his hot black coffee, he tells his partner, “I can’t wait to
upload the pictures. But you sure there won’t be any issues?”
Harish
Nair just emerged from his room after a shower. Placing himself at the dining
table he responds, “There are going to be some environment geeks who try to
make some noise. Don’t worry! I will make sure the media doesn’t take it up.”
“But...”
unable to complete the sentence, Vinay starts to cough.
“And
there is not going to be any issue from the Botswana Government relax”, Harish
reads his mind. “Our company has made an investment of fifty million dollars
and will make another hundred more in the next couple of years. I asked the
minister directly that I wanted to go on a hunt and he assured me there won’t
be any issues. You just sit and relax. Did you take a tablet?” Vinay coughs and
nods.
“Our
venture will provide jobs to hundreds of people in this country, they won’t
complain if a few trees are cut or a couple of lions are dead in the process”,
Harish grins. “Oye, is the wifi ready?” He shouts for the caretaker of their
bamboo hut.
“In a
minute sir”, comes a distant response.
“At least
turn the TV on”, Vinay shouts back and badly regrets raising his voice.
The
caretaker, a member of the tribal community that lived in the surrounding
forest, walks in to turn on the TV. He places the remote in front of their
guests and walks out of the room.
“They
told me we would get some Indian channels also”, Harish scrolled for Malayalam
channels but realises that would be too much to ask for in the forests of
Botswana. He settles for an Indian English news channel, which Vinay also prefers.
After a few minutes of beauty product advertisement the news was back on and
Harish watched in horror.
“Rains
unleash havoc across Kerala! Idukki dam opened! All districts in Red Alert! North
and mid Kerala severely hit!” Harish grabs his phone and tries to make a call
but there is no network.
“What
happened?” Vinay, who now started shivering, asks innocently. He could sense the
panic in his friend’s demeanour. “My house is in one of the low lying areas.
God Damn it!” He curses and throws the phone. “Connect the God damn Wifi will
you!”
Soon
they get connected to the wifi but the network is too slow to make a call.
Harish scrolls through his WhatsApp messages. “Heavy rain... school
cancelled... How’s your trip?” His wife had messaged him two days back. But
nothing after that... He drops a message which is sent but not delivered.
“Relax
man... (coughs)... They will be alright”, Vinay tries to console.
“The
Dam has been opened. That’s not good. Water can get several stories high”,
Harish starts to tremble. He quickly walks out of the room and has a word with
the caretaker. Vinay starts to realise the gravity of the situation as he
watches images of houses being washed away by the flood water. Relief efforts
are progressing but the storm is hindering all rescue efforts.
“All
the airports in Kerala are shut down...” Harish’s face sinks into his hands.
His children, ten and six years old, wanted to come with their father on this
trip. The helpless father knows that the house will be washed away along with
his family unless rescue efforts reach them on time. Even if they do, his
parents’ health may not survive the relief camps, their health will deteriorate
badly if they miss their medicines. “There is no power or cell-phone signal
across the state for over 24 hours now.” Harish closes his eyes shut, terrified
of the sights on the television. The people are helpless against the God of
Gods.
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