Prachi Raje

Tragedy Action

4.6  

Prachi Raje

Tragedy Action

Wounded Tiger

Wounded Tiger

5 mins
392


In 2010, I was posted in the interiors of the state of Chhattisgarh. Being dedicated to my duty as a Forest Officer, I did not seek a life full of comfort. I had mostly been away from my family, travelling around the country and living in remote areas surrounded by dense jungles. Everywhere I went, I was allotted huge quarters to live in. There was staff available anytime I needed anything. But I always missed my family deeply.

With similar emotions, but with a new zeal to work in this place, I had joined my duty. Later I was accompanied to the bungalow where I had to stay for the next three years. But this bungalow had something different than all the previous ones I lived in. Right at the entrance to the main door, I met him. He greeted me with a wagging tail and a friendly bark. I patted him with love. While he licked my palm, I asked my subordinate about him. “Sir, we call him ‘Tiger. He is very brave. He is here for the premise’s safety.”

Tiger was a brown-white Pye-Dog. He had been seen wandering around the bungalow since last few months only. Initially, the maid used to throw leftover rotis at him, but gradually, he made a place for himself in the bungalow. They said he refused to leave and stayed up all night at the gate, barking at the slightest of suspicion. Since the area was scarcely populated, with a small settlement of locals living around, I did not have any fear. But I was well aware of the Naxal activities all over the jungle. Though Tiger was an untrained stray dog, more of a pet, yet his presence gave me a sense of peace. And above all, we both developed an unknown bond from the very first second we met.

I clicked his pictures and mailed them to my 5-year-old son back home. “You can play with him when you visit me here”, I wrote to him.

Soon Tiger became a special part of my life. I spent all my spare time with him. He ate from my plate. He often accompanied me to the small Chowki which served as our office. All day he waited outside my room for my work to get over. He joined me on all my expeditions in the nearby villages and jungles. I felt happy around him. It seemed like both of us needed each other. Both of us were looking for a family and had found it in one another. But that day, everything changed in a minute!

I conducted many successful operations over a year. I tried my best to curb many illegal activities in the jungles. I led a few plantation projects too. One day, my team and I had set off to raid a specific forest area where reportedly, some villagers had been chopping off Rosewood trees to smuggle their trunks to the cities. Rosewood trunks are in high demand for making high-quality furniture and other wooden artifacts. On such missions, we always carried some arms for our safety. We reached the given coordinates and started walking towards the extreme interiors in hope of finding the men. But to our surprise, there was nobody around. As we kept walking deeper inside, Tiger, who was chained by his collar, started barking vigorously. I held him back and tried to shut him down, but he just refused to obey. I ordered my men to continue walking behind me. Everyone became suspicious due to Tiger’s barks, but we had no idea what was in store for us. We came across a few square meters of land where the land was cleared of trees. We knew this is our spot to catch the men. “Let’s take our positions”, I said aloud. But as I took another step ahead, Tiger viciously managed to release his chain from my hand. He continued barking and ran towards the barren chunk of land.

Within seconds, 3 to 4 Landmines exploded in front of us!

It was a clear trap by some of the people who evidently hated us. But they failed!

My fearless, wounded Tiger lay on the ground, growling in pain. We were not sure of how many more landmines had been planted in the area. I asked my team to back off and decided to save Tiger myself. But Tiger hinted me to stop by rolling over and enabling one more mine explosion.

He sacrificed himself to save our lives. He died right there in front of my eyes.

My team insisted we leave before we got attacked further. We went back and called a backup team of police officers immediately. But by that time, it was all over for me. I was in tears. My colleagues gave me some water and comforted me. That night I cried and cried. He had come into my life for this! I could not believe that a mere ‘Pet’ saved my life. I wished he had some other way of telling me about the danger ahead. But the fearless animal went on to show me the danger himself.

Over all these years, I still have not forgotten that expedition. No matter where I go, Tiger’s memories, his courage, his fearless nature and above all the sight of his wounded Body gives me the courage to keep fighting the enemy.

He keeps me going on!


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