Payal

Adama, can I come with you?" I asked my uncle.
He paused, sipped his tea and said, "Why not?" 
I turned to Mother. She nodded saying, "But only
for ten days, not more. Remember your school opens
soon afterwards." 

And that is how I managed to board this launch
travelling to the green island of Sunderbans. Mama
was a forest officer of Pakhiralay island and I always
wanted to roam the forests with him. 

We got off near a small jetty and walked the rest of
the way through the trees. Mama's bungalow was in a
clearing in the forest. Sambhu saw us and came rush-
ing to open the garden gate. He was an elderly man
who did Mama's cooking and other household work. 
"How are you, Sambhuda?" I called out.

"I'm all right," he said, "but Payal isn't." 
Mama, who walked ahead of us, stopped.
"Why Sambhu, what is wrong with her?"
"From the day you went, she has not been eating 
properly."
Mama looked perturbed. 
"I know I shouldn't have left her lor so long," he
said. 

"Who is Payal?" I asked Sambhuda.
"Why! Don't you know? Here she is." 
I turned round. My heart skipped a beat. There
was Payal, a Royal Bengal tigress, giving Mama a
tremendous welcome by licking his face. 
Then she caught sight of me and came forward.
I stood still while she sniffed me all over. I could have
died of fright. 

Mama and Sambhuda were laughing.
"Move Payal! Move! Now go!" Mama ordered. 
Payal obeyed disdainfully as if I was a dirty rag not
worth looking at. She walked ahead of us, her tail
waving proudly in the air. 
"There's nothing to be afraid of," said Mama.
"But she's a tigress," I protested.
"Payal is only a year old. You can't call her a 
tigress. She is a mere cub. As harmless as a year old
baby!" 

Well, she certainly doesn't seem to be innocent
and playful. 
While Sambhuda helped me unpack, Payal sat
near my bedroom door watching us keenly. 
"Sambhuda, how did Mama get Payal?" I asked.
"Payal's mother was killed by poachers for her 
skin. The villagers found three cubs. Two of them had
starved to death. The third they brought to your
Mama. She was only ten days old then." 
I felt sorry for Payal. "Hello!" I said.
She did not flex a muscle and her silent stare 
drained all my friendliness away. 

* * * 
We sat in the verandah. Payal turned over while
Mama tickled her belly. 
"Don't let Payal lick you," he told me. "Her tongue
is rough. In fact, all tigers' tongues are. It may bruise
you." 

"O.K." I said, shuddering at the thought.
Soon Mama left for work. The morning was quiet 
and I wondered how to pass my time. There was a
small pond behind the house and I liked to sit beside
it watching the breeze ripple its smooth surface. I got
up. Immediately Payal moved her tail to signify she
had seen me move. I could bear it no longer, this feeling
of being constantly watched by two silent eyes.

"You can go to hell", I shouted and walked off in
a huff, hoping she would understand. I sat beside the
pond wondering why I disliked Payal. She behaved as
if she owned the place and I was a trespasser. I could
not go anywhere without being followed. That too in
my own uncle's house! What audacity! But Mama
also paid more attention to her than to me. It naturally
hurt my ego. 

WOOSH! ! ! I heard a splashing sound.
I looked up. Payal had dived into the water and 
was swimming in the pond. Soon she came out of the
pond and sat panting in front of me, waving her tail. 
Intolerable! Impossible! Her arrogance was unbearable.
She was doing it on purpose. I knew it. I jumped to my feet.
And Payal growled.

'She is offended. That's why she growled,' I thought. 
I took a haughty step forward.
Payal growled again. This time there was a note of 
urgency in her growl. I could not help turning back
and looking at her. 

She was crouching, every muscle in her body tense.
She was staring at something in front of me. 
I turned my gaze in the same direction and broke
into a cold sweat! 
Less than six feet away swayed a cobra, ready to
attack! One more step would have brought me within

striking distance of its reared hood.
For how long I stood frozen I do not know. Payal 
kept growling behind me all the time as if warning
the cobra to keep off. 
The cobra slowly backed away. Then in a flash it
was gone, into the undergrowth. I heaved a sigh of
relief. 

"Payal! Payal! Oh sweet Payal! Oh lovely Payal!"
I found myself hugging Payal. She turned over and 
I tickled her belly. She rubbed her neck against my
knee and I rubbed my cheek against her neck. She
licked me and I did not mind. We were now the best 
of friends.

From that day on Payal and I could never be 
parted. Swimming in the pond or taking a walk, we
were always together. And no matter how far we went
into the forest, Payal never lost her way and always
brought me back home before sun down.