Mowgli and Mittu

15-11-2020   Favourite Fictional World : Jungle Book

   Mowgli looked down at his 6-year old son, Mittu as the plane began its final descent. Mittu was sleeping on his lap and Mowgli gently shook him awake and bade him wear his seat belt. “Are we there yet, Papa ?” Mittu asked. But his tone was lifeless and flat. Mowgli remembered a time a year back when Mittu was brimming with life and excitement. But then Mittu’s mother had taken ill. Subsequent visits to the hospital followed by her death had leached out the joy from their lives. A bereft Mowgli tried his best to cheer up his son, but Mittu would not be consoled. He had become a quiet, withdrawn child who answered only when spoken to.

   So, Mowgli taking a sabbatical from his job as an environmentalist and educator at a renowned university, had decided to bring Mittu to the jungle where he had grown up. Circumstances had prevented him from coming back earlier and Mowgli was eager to see how his friends in the jungle were doing. He hoped that being in natural surroundings and in the company of loving animals would cheer Mittu up.

   From the airport, they caught an auto to the village from where they could easily enter the jungle. Mowgli had packed a lot of essentials for the first few days, after that he knew the forest would provide for them. He had also brought along a hand held video game with many spare batteries as Mittu loved playing on it. The jungle had not changed from the time Mowgli had been there. As an environmentalist, Mowgli saw and fought against the destruction of forests and natural habitats and was glad to see that this jungle remained untouched by human hand.

Mittu looked around him as they walked deeper inside the jungle, but did not speak out. They first went to the den where Bagheera, the black panther lived. The initial meeting with Bagheera was uncomfortable as Bagheera had grown old and could not see very well. But once he recognised Mowgli, his joy was unmistakable. But unfortunately, Mittu seemed to be terrified of the panther with the dark beady eyes. He sat in a corner and covered his eyes and silent tears ran down his cheeks. Mowgli explained the situation to Bagheera, who told him to give him time to heal. Mowgli cleaned out a place in the adjacent den and they settled down there for the evening.

In the next few days, Mowgli reacquainted himself with Baloo the Bear, who clasped him in a tight hug, the monkeys and the elephants. The little baby elephant had grown big now and was the leader of his own herd. They were very happy to see Mowgli’s son Mittu, but Mittu sat quietly in his den, playing his video game and refusing to be drawn into any activity with the animals. The animals were sad and constantly planned on what to do to make Mittu happier. 

One morning, a few days later, Mittu was playing his video game, when suddenly a monkey snatched it away from him. Mittu shouted at it and went to get it back from him, when the little cheeky monkey quickly climbed up a tree. And then slowly lowered the device as if to hand it back to Mittu. When Mittu raised up his hand to take it, the monkey grabbed his hand and took Mittu with him when he swung from one branch to the other. Mittu was screaming loudly and he was terrified when the monkey let him go. As he was falling, another monkey grabbed him and swung him again. And so, Mittu was passed from one monkey to the other as he swung high up from the ground. Mittu who was terrified a minute earlier, suddenly felt the breeze whooshing in his ear, he felt weightless and carefree and started enjoying swinging with the monkeys. A smile which had been missing from his face for a long time, slowly broke through, followed by a chuckle and then full throated laughter. His laughter echoed through the trees and Mowgli who heard it was amazed and gratified. From that day on, Mittu started to enjoy his time in the jungle. He swung with the monkeys and ate fruits and nuts from the trees. He floated down the river on Baloo’s stomach and settled down to sleep, stuck to Bagheera. The elephants bathed him by spraying him with water from their trunks and he slithered with the snakes on the forest floor. All the animals loved and adored him. Mowgli was happy seeing this change in his son and spent his time researching the unique flora and fauna of the jungle. 

One morning, Mowgli was studying the formation of moss on a tree branch, when suddenly there was a disturbance and three monkeys appeared, who started chattering animatedly. It seemed that a lion from a neighbouring forest had been preying on cattle and other livestock from the village. The upset villagers, not knowing who the perpetrator was, had started searching in this forest. They had unfortunately caught Bagheera, who was hunting in the area. He had been unable to escape because of his advanced age and so the villagers had captured him and locked him away in the village. Mowgli went with the monkeys and saw that Bagheera had been kept inside a cage with villagers surrounding it. The villagers had informed the zoo authorities in the closest city and they would be reaching by evening to take Bagheera away. The monkeys had tried to venture near the cage, but the villagers had shooed them away.

Mowgli came back and sadly informed Mittu and the other animals about Bagheera's plight. There was an air of gloom as all the animals wondered what they could do to help release Bagheera. Suddenly Mittu hit upon an idea. He excitedly shared it with Mowgli and his friends who thought it was brilliant. Soon the plan was in place and it was time for some action.

The villagers had all surrounded Bagheera’s cage and were watching it with great curiosity. A couple of mean people even tried to prod him through the cage with a stick to make him angry. But Bagheera just lay on his paws quietly. Suddenly, there was a loud trumpeting sound which made the villagers look behind them in shock. They were terrified to see a large elephant make its way out of the jungle, but equally transfixed to see a small boy sitting proudly on it’s back.

When the elephant was within hearing distance, Mittu shouted loudly, “Hail, all you villagers. We have a surprise for you today. Quickly grab your seats and wait for the fun to begin.” The villagers scrambled to find seats on the ground as six other elephants walked in from behind the first one. These elephants had monkeys on their backs. The monkeys had a garland of flowers around their necks and leaves tied around their waist like a belt. The elephants started trumpeting as if playing a song and the monkeys started to dance and perform acrobatic stunts on their backs. After sometime, the monkeys stood on the tip of the elephants trunks. Some stood on one leg, some hung upside down and a couple stood on one hand. The crowd clapped and cheered seeing this wondrous sight. As the people stared, a bear came up from between the elephants.

He was dressed similarly to the monkeys with the flower garland and the leaf belt and he also had the top half of pineapple on his head. He performed different tricks which made the kids and adults laugh out aloud. He had brought with him many papyas which he juggled like balls and once he even stood on his hands and juggled the papayas with his legs. The villagers laughed and clapped and thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle. Soon, just as they had come in, the elephants, monkeys, the bear and the boy went back into the jungle. The villagers discussed these strange occurrences within themselves and turned back once again to gape at Bagheera. But the cage holding Bagheera was open and Bagheera was gone. When the villagers were busy with the distraction that Mittu had created for them, Mowgli had broken the lock to the cage and escaped with Bagheera deep into the forest.

There was a festive atmosphere in the forest that evening. The animals hugged Mittu and clapped him on his back and praised him for his plan which had led to Bagheera’s rescue. Mowgli and Mittu spent a few more days in the forest but then had to leave as Mittu had to start the new academic year. The animals were sad to see them go, but Mittu hugged all of them and promised to be back as soon as his holidays began!