The Last Will and Testament of the Tiger

[marksman]

An interesting poem I came across... thought I should share with IFGians.
Here it goes.....

The Last Will and Testament of the Tiger



When you have stolen my skin from my entity
and removed the roar from my life
O hunter wield that thunder stick
with some grace some skill
I too have hunted and killed many many times

but every kill
was a prayer in praise of the Creator
My movements were always clear clean and merciful
Such is the way of true believers

Do you now slice slash and pare clean O Skinner
I pray only that you leave no part of me behind
to be eaten by the Jackal and the Hyena
I have ruled this forest on behalf of the creator himself
and there is no honour in a king becoming carrion

So send the sacred colour from my coat
back to the maker of sunsets
Return the darkness of my stripe
back to the shadows and the undergrowth
Send the white from my fur back to the frost of a new ice age
that it return to avenge me
Send my roar back to my maker
that he fill the universe with my rage
at this shabby end for a true king

Send my claws to the young of the high born
to save them from their own nightmares

Send my teeth to Tibet that their aspirations find new Teeth

Send my bones to China that they find a cure
for the fear that builds such great walls

Send my fat to Singapore so they learn to make a balm for pain
that is mine not only in name

Send my Shit to the Alchemists
for that is the only substance they have not yet tried

Give my entrails to whoever shall take them
But hang on to my eyes you puny murderer
That your tribe might know that you did not kill a creature beneath you
that I looked you in the eye and did not flinch when you shot me

Instead I have turned away
Released
from the cancer of your footprint

Amit Dahiyabadshah


Cheers !!!
Marksman

[hvj1]

Wow! Wonderful, magnificent, loved the shit part and the teeth part and goddamn everything else, great stuff, brilliant, made my day. If you are so moved again, please pm me some more.
Best Regards

[nagarifle]

excellent work

[jonahpach]

I recently had a chance to chat up with some old timers and they have some very interesting tales and personal experiences to tell regarding local folklores about tigers. One such folklore is about the tiger not ever harming anyone unless he/she had commited adultery and not confessed about it to anyone!

One of the oldtimers even had a personal experiences where a tiger had appeared in the bedroom of the village chief a number of times. He was quite perplexed untill his wife finally broke down and confessed of having committed adultery with the school head master! This happened as recently as 1986 and the tiger never appeared again after the confession.

Makes one think that maybe this is true.. and that this is one of the reasons there is a prevalence of sexual permissiveness and moral decadence in these modern times.. Too little tigers to teach us lessons in morality..

Jonah

[prashantsingh]

Beautifully written. There can be nothing more majestic in the Indian jungle than a Tiger. No one can forget the experience of seeing a tiger (in the wild) for the first time. I was speaking to an old relative (a retd. forest officer) the other day and he was sharing his experiences and stories with me. In the good old days tiger sightings in the thick terai jungles were quite common. At times a tiger would walk in when you least expected it and at times would stay ellusive when you were out looking for him.When I asked him about his first sighting , he had this twinkle in his eyes and said "I saw this tiger cross the jungle road. When he was half way through he stopped and took a good look at all of us (in the jeep)......and then walked on casually as if we were non entities. I have never felt so small in my life as I felt that day. Everyone in the Jeep was spellbound by its beauty and even after the beast had dissapeared into the thick jungle on the other side I could still feel the goose pimples all over my arms."

-- Sat Mar 13, 2010 2:04 am --

I love your stories Jonahpach.

[Sakobav]

Very well written ...as Jim Corbett and others said Tiger is a Gentlemen of the Jungle"
Jim Corbett
""Tigers, except when wounded or when man-eaters, are on the whole very good-tempered...Occassionally a tiger will object to too close an approach to its cubs or to a kill that it is guarding. The objection invariably takes the form of growling, and if this does not prove effective itis followed by short rushes accompanied by terrifying roars. If these warnings are disregarded, the blame for any injury inflicted rests entirely with the intruder"- Jim Corbett"
— Jim Corbett

[Olly]

An excellent piece.... !!

[marksman]

This poem was emailed to me by none other then Latika Nanda Rana (Tiger princess) yesterday itself and I wasted no time sharing it with our IFGian pals. She along with her husband Nanda Rana, also a naturalist specializing in Tigers, now run a Tiger camp near Kanha called "Singinawa". I would strongly recommend the place to true lovers of our flora and fauna. It's their passion for our wildlife that makes this particular place so special.
Cheers !!
Marksman

[HydNawab]

Beautiful, beautiful poem.

[hvj1]

I have seen Latika Rana and her husband's devotion to the Tiger on Discovery. Jonah's story and Prashant's story bears substance definitely. Here is another real story.
My Guru and his colleague, meditated in the dense forests of Mahabaleshwar for 12 years. They chose an inaccessable spot (humans) near a few rock caves and spring. There they commenced meditation. For some reason, his colleague, decided to move further into the interiors, where a larger cave was available and the 'feel' of the place was extremely conducive for meditation.
The next evening, as dusk stole softly around them, a brilliant orange form materialised from the dense foliage. A tiger walked straight upto them, stopped about 30 yards away and stared at them. Both sanyasins looked calmly back at the tiger. The tiger looked at them then broke eye contact and stared at the rock cave, which was slightly higher (10-20 ft), then looked back at them. As if to say, that "Gentlemen, while I appreciate your endevour, that cave happens to be my resting place too". Both sanyasins resumed their meditation, the tiger walked all around them, keeping his distance, then flopped down not to far away staring at them. Finally he dissapeared.
The next evening,the Tiger came back, this time he was impatient, he gave a huge snarl and once again resumed his pacing around them, yet keeping his distance.
The third night, the tiger did the same thing, only the whole night he roared his displeasure, but he never charged them or directed any threat towards them.
That night, the sanyasins had a dream, where they were told that the cave belonged to the Tiger and it would be better to do the decent thing by leaving the place. Which they eventually did.
It is an accepted fact amongst those who are sanyasins in Mahabaleshwar and else where, that the tiger himself is a supreme 'sanyasin'.

-- Sat Mar 13, 2010 1:33 pm --

This poem was emailed to me by none other then Latika Nanda Rana (Tiger princess) yesterday itself and I wasted no time sharing it with our IFGian pals. She along with her husband Nanda Rana, also a naturalist specializing in Tigers, now run a Tiger camp near Kanha called "Singinawa". I would strongly recommend the place to true lovers of our flora and fauna. It's their passion for our wildlife that makes this particular place so special.
Cheers !!
Marksman

Marksman,
I would truly appreciate it if you could forward this poem to the great lady;

To all the fallen beauties, dead and gone
Who fell afore they could see another dawn
My friend, Tell me then?
When I walk the dim forest trails,
will I find them again?
With a heavy heart , I will trudge back then
to admire them in sepia, in my modern den.


Am I so noble,
to alone deserve
the morning sun, the crystal dew
the rosy sunsets, the mystery nights
Gone forever the silent tread
The creeping shadow, the molten eyes,
The chilling roar, the anguished screams.
Alone among the sighing teaks,
An owl flutters, beckons and sweeps,
a mice squirming in its beak.
for thats all the romance left,
Slowly I turn back then,
to make do with the sepia, in my den.

[marksman]

Marksman,
I would truly appreciate it if you could forward this poem to the great lady;

Dear hvj1,
Done.

Marksman

[hvj1]

Thanks Marksman
Regards

[fantumfan2003]

A Thorough Gentleman, The Tiger was I say.....

And what did we do when he or one from the feline family intruded our homes ?

Outnumbered him 100 to 1, created a racket in his home the jungle (haka) and shot the poor soul.......

Many times, hundreds of times, thousands of times....

M.

I have seen Latika Rana and her husband's devotion to the Tiger on Discovery. Jonah's story and Prashant's story bears substance definitely. Here is another real story.
My Guru and his colleague, meditated in the dense forests of Mahabaleshwar for 12 years. They chose an inaccessable spot (humans) near a few rock caves and spring. There they commenced meditation. For some reason, his colleague, decided to move further into the interiors, where a larger cave was available and the 'feel' of the place was extremely conducive for meditation.
The next evening, as dusk stole softly around them, a brilliant orange form materialised from the dense foliage. A tiger walked straight upto them, stopped about 30 yards away and stared at them. Both sanyasins looked calmly back at the tiger. The tiger looked at them then broke eye contact and stared at the rock cave, which was slightly higher (10-20 ft), then looked back at them. As if to say, that "Gentlemen, while I appreciate your endevour, that cave happens to be my resting place too". Both sanyasins resumed their meditation, the tiger walked all around them, keeping his distance, then flopped down not to far away staring at them. Finally he dissapeared.
The next evening,the Tiger came back, this time he was impatient, he gave a huge snarl and once again resumed his pacing around them, yet keeping his distance.
The third night, the tiger did the same thing, only the whole night he roared his displeasure, but he never charged them or directed any threat towards them.
That night, the sanyasins had a dream, where they were told that the cave belonged to the Tiger and it would be better to do the decent thing by leaving the place. Which they eventually did.
It is an accepted fact amongst those who are sanyasins in Mahabaleshwar and else where, that the tiger himself is a supreme 'sanyasin'.

-- Sat Mar 13, 2010 1:33 pm --

This poem was emailed to me by none other then Latika Nanda Rana (Tiger princess) yesterday itself and I wasted no time sharing it with our IFGian pals. She along with her husband Nanda Rana, also a naturalist specializing in Tigers, now run a Tiger camp near Kanha called "Singinawa". I would strongly recommend the place to true lovers of our flora and fauna. It's their passion for our wildlife that makes this particular place so special.
Cheers !!
Marksman

Marksman,
I would truly appreciate it if you could forward this poem to the great lady;

To all the fallen beauties, dead and gone
Who fell afore they could see another dawn
My friend, Tell me then?
When I walk the dim forest trails,
will I find them again?
With a heavy heart , I will trudge back then
to admire them in sepia, in my modern den.


Am I so noble,
to alone deserve
the morning sun, the crystal dew
the rosy sunsets, the mystery nights
Gone forever the silent tread
The creeping shadow, the molten eyes,
The chilling roar, the anguished screams.
Alone among the sighing teaks,
An owl flutters, beckons and sweeps,
a mice squirming in its beak.
for thats all the romance left,
Slowly I turn back then,
to make do with the sepia, in my den.

[Sakobav]

Great stories Jonah and Hvj..do they have any tigers around mahableshwar? With all that commercialization..

Is it possible to have a map with the locations for sanctuaries / forest where Tigers, leopards, lions --the cats are still found in India? For example not sure whether Tigers are in AP or Karnataka jungles; Does pakistan have any tigers left?

is there a link to Rana's site?
Cheers

[hvj1]

Ngrewal,
I have personally not seen one, which is not surprising since I have yet to go into the real interiors of Koyna Forest. But the FD claim 12. Believe it or not - Ripley.
Regards