TAME THE TIGER

1.       The setup was different this time around - Jim Corbett was being hunted. The winds were gushing across the lush green forest. Jim knew the jungle and its inmates well. He had a hunch that the tigress which was credited with at least 64 human kills was stalking him. Jim had his own aura over the jungle. He knew every sound and paths inside the jungles around Kaladhoongi (Nainital). He could read the minds of tigers and folklore went that he walked alongside tigers, both wary of each other but never crossing their respective lines. That day, Jim hoped that he was her next target. 

2.       Jim leaned against the rocky slope of a hill and lit a cigarette. The Chowgrath Tigress had already sneaked up on him once in this grove. Jim was trying to give her the chance to do so again. The afternoon was slipping into the evening and Jim understood that the Tigress would not try the same trick twice. The hunter was being hunted.

3.       He opted to lay one last trap for his adversary before the sunlight failed. He led a buffalo into the grove, and tied it up securely as it grazed. If the tigress took the bait she would be able to kill the animal, but would be unable to drag it off. His intent was to circle behind the nearby hill, climb to the top, and give watch to the grove below. It would be a shot of over two hundred yards, but over the years he had felled many a beast from such distances. Even if his long-range shot only managed to wound the man-eating tigress, he would at least be left with a blood-trail to track, and therefore end his months-long hunt.

4.       Jim set off at a quick pace, anticipating that the tigress would observe his departure and take the opportunity to prey upon the buffalo. As he rounded the hill in a dry riverbed his pace wasn’t so hard as to shut out all distraction: in a shallow depression there rested a pair of Rock-jay eggs. As an amateur oölogist, or egg collector, Corbett could not pass up these unusual specimens. He used some moss to wrap them up, and carried the eggs delicately against his belly with his rifle crossed over his chest. He continued briskly along the sand, hoping to make it to the hilltop before the tigress finished her buffalo feast. 

5.       He was squeezing past a large boulder which blocked most of the riverbed when his peripheral vision gave him a pause. The colors orange and black, with predator’s eyes, stood behind the boulder and ready to pounce. In that instant, Jim knew he had been outmaneuvered. With his hands full of Rock-jay eggs, and his rifle hugged against his body, there wasn’t much he could do to deflect the imminent attack. He turned his step into an anti-clockwise spin, set the rifle butt against his hip, and managed to fire a single shot. 

6.       For a moment the tigress was unaffected, and stayed coiled on the verge of springing out. Her brain was focused onto her target but the blood vessel supplying adrenalin had been pierced. Her muscles slacked and head came down to rest on her forepaws. The bullet had entered the back of her neck, and plunged through to her heart. After ensuring that the Chowgrath Tigress was indeed dead, Jim returned the way he’d come. He believed that he could not have made that improbable shot without the eggs in hand and returned them to the nest. It was the least he could do. The Tigress had been tamed, finally.

7.       There is a tiger inside each human being. It is always lurking to do something new, something different and something off-beat. No one can see the tiger inside but for the individual himself. The tiger can become a man-eater due to reasons well known. It can be old age, injury or just the taste of the human flesh and blood! The tigers inside the hearts and the minds of humans collaborate to produce the results of life. Good or bad is the by-product of the actions that humans take based upon their internal sensitivities.

8.       Humans are trainable in majority of cases. Even the special ones have an ability to understand and follow directions. So, what deters humans from carrying out the correct steps and ensure that humanity finds solutions to problems which arise from varying conflicts of life? The animal instinct inside humans lurks in corners of positivity and negativity. It propels them to take actions which can bring them peace or wrath of the civil society.  Each dispute has a solution. Wise humans find the solution immediately and some linger on for understanding the mere problem itself. The tiger inside humans is either subdued or becomes volatile. The control is all that matters in most situations and is available with the humans themselves. Patience is the only key to achieve subtle control over the proceedings.

9.       Jim Corbett did not panic when he saw the tigress eye to eye. Neither did he throw the eggs nor did he try to run. The barrel of the gun had to be positioned in the right direction and the trigger had to be pressed. He did exactly the same activity and the bullet did the rest. Had the bullet missed its mark or had not achieved the fatal spot, then Jim would have been in trouble. A wounded Tiger can be lethal. Jim would have had to fight back to live another day. Fortunately that story remains untold.

10.     Human life is all about negotiations. Even when humans keep silence or retract away from the society, they are negotiating. The circumstances never leave humans and are constant companions wherever they go. The tiger inside humans keeps rising to take a look. It hides inside the cranium crevices and deep inside the heart in various forms. It waits for the opportune moment to come out with its trademark roar. Little does it realize that the gun is loaded and trigger has been pressed. The bullet pierces and the tiger lies still. The tiger has been tamed. Trained humans do their acts effortlessly and no sweats are broken.

11.     Train the mind and the heart to keep the tiger under control. A controlled dialogue is all that is required to achieve the aim. Time is a great healer, but, why give the time the opportunity to be a great healer? Why to spend precious time in healing? Tame the tiger in the first go to heal immediately and to move on with the life. Take the positive decision and extend the best help possible to ease out the issue.

12.     2016 Olympics was the 3^rd consecutive Olympics for Usain Bolt. As the gun went off, Usain bolted off from his starting block and made history again at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio when he won gold in the 100-meter and 200-meter race and 4x100-meter relay, completing a "triple-triple," earning three gold medals at three consecutive Olympics for a total of 9 gold medals over the course of his Olympic career. Usain had trained hard to create a unique history. His competitors had also trained hard, but Usain knew the value of his win and maybe had trained a shade harder than the rest.

13.     Jim, Usain and Tiger have many things in common. They reside inside all the humans. Jim personifies aim, Usain personifies speed and Tiger is the epitome of wild energy. The energy needs to be controlled and there is then a very less chance that the aim would not be met with speed.

14. Tame that tiger which resides inside all us. Let us do something better for the society around us whether professional or personal. In the end, the tiger would lose its life, so why be a man-eater at all? Do you have it in you, eh?

THE SHADOW

Hector was a prince of Troy in Greek mythology, son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba. His wife was Andromache and they had a son called Astyanax.

Hector was considered the greatest warrior of Troy, but he did not approve of the war that had started between the Greeks and the Trojans. During the Trojan War, he was the leader of the Trojan army. It was prophesied that the first Greek who would land on Trojan soil would die. Odysseus, cunning as he was, threw his shield on the soil and landed on it. Therefore, the next person who stepped off the ship was Protesilaus and was killed in a duel with Hector, fulfilling the prophecy.

Hector later proposed that a truce be called between the two sides, and a duel should decide the result of the war. Ajax was the Greek hero who stepped forward and dueled Hector. However, the duel ended in a stalemate after a whole day of fighting, and the two heroes exchanged gifts, admiring each other's strength and skills.

The last fight that Hector gave was against Achilles. However, when he saw Achilles and while he was ready to fight him, he suddenly was overcome with fear and started running. Achilles chased him, and Hector finally decided to battle his fear and stopped running, after seeing the goddess Athena in the form of his brother Deiphobus. Achilles threw a spear against Hector, who managed to evade it. However, when he turned to get a spear from his brother, he saw no one there, and realized that he was about to die. With the last amount of courage, Hector drew his sword and died after a fierce duel. Achilles, then dragged Hector's body with his chariot, outside the Trojan gates for twelve days, before he finally accepted to give it to the Trojans, so they could bury him properly.

The story of Troy is one of marauding humans as they lived to fight. The duel between Achilles and Hector drew various shadows on various canvases of life. The physical shadows of the warriors crisscrossed each other as their weapons clashed to prove their supremacy. The shadows of pain, anger, hurt and anguish reflected on many faces as they saw the bloody duel in front of the their eyes. The pall of gloom shadowed entire Troy as Hector fell to Achilles sword.

Shadows- what a role they play in human lives! Shadow starts tracking a human from the moment he gets active. Shadows continue to change their length and sizes as humans move about in various directions and the light falls from various angles. Shadow leaves the moment darkness falls and there is no light around the human. Shadow makes a human think about various forms and figures. Humans have the unique ability to create various shapes with their own shadows and bring smiles across faces. Shadows can even create rumors and ignite emotions. Shadows emerge sometimes from nowhere and help to caution the humans before they fall!

Shadows do everything that they do, but silently and without getting entangled with other shadows. Do shadows respect each other as they go about stretching themselves or thinning out? They merge with other shadows and seamlessly. Shadows get used even in virtual format. Shadows of natural calamities loom large over humanity as outbreak happens. Man-made conflicts have cast their shadows all over the globe and pinned down humanity. Predicting shadows of various angles of humanity is an interesting science in itself. Analytics moves in as shadows get predicted and the impact can be controlled.

Shadows are everywhere around humans. There is no escape from them. Shadows integrate various aspects of human endeavor. Shadows impart important lessons to humans. The most important message is that of survival. Shadows stretch and compress without any pain to the humans. They go about their business quietly and merge or de-merge without any hurt to any other shadow around them. Shadows have no demands and no suggestions for anyone. Shadow does not interfere and does not disturb. Shadow willingly takes the shape that the humans want them to take. Shadow provides succor from heat and provide instant comfort to humans seeking shelter from the sweltering Sun. Shadow exposes the humans to chill factor when they leave the Sun’s comforts. There is a message in everything that the humans do with the shadows.

Achilles threw his shield and formed into an attack shape. He had less load to carry and more agility. Both Hector and Achilles were without headgear as the duel ensued. With the speed of lightening, Achilles moved and in one swift attack pierced the heart of Hector. Hector’s shadow merged with the ground as he fell on the ground-dead. Achilles had cast his lean shadow around Hector and mowed him down to establish the Greek supremacy over Trojans. Shadows grew longer as Trojans accepted defeat though Achilles also lost his life in the final attack. Shadow left both Hector and Achilles as they both fell to the vagaries of the battle. Hector lost his life to a Sword and four arrows took away the life from Achilles.  Shadows only leave when the human falls.

Humans can do better than what they have achieved, but, the spiral is too deep and entangled. Many shadows are circling around humans in various arenas and confusions erupt volcanically. Each learned human has a role to play to ensure a better tomorrow. They have to de-tangle the various shadows stuck inside their arenas. Think positive, think big and think for better humanity all around the globe and many shadows will de-merge to disappear. Each human can carry his own shadow well and ensure that the shadow keeps following him till he falls. The human who falls for smaller gains does not get up as the same human that he was before he took the wrong plunge. The shadow though does not change but the head of the shadow does show the strain!

Keep the chin up and poise straight- the shadow looks great and would follow as it is supposed to do. Do you love your shadow now, eh?

BREAK THAT BARRIER

The heavy transport airlift helicopter came to life as its turbines came into action. Its main blade rotor turned and generated the lifting thrust. The pilot said a silent prayer and the helicopter was airborne. The pilot shaped the course and all his passengers sat quietly waiting for the future events to unfold. They all were in for a unique mission. They were to operate with perfection and would end up breaking many barriers as the mission progressed. The helicopter crew from the Indian Air Force was ferrying a Commando Team of The Indian Army for a lifesaving mission. It was a precarious mission and many a human lives were at stake.

The big helicopter came over the hills and the helicopter crew came across the sight of the suspended cable car. In the wee hours of the morning, the crew had been briefed about the mission. The mission involved breaking of many barriers as many a firsts had to be achieved to ring in the success. The helicopter was under the command of an ace pilot who had tremendous flying experience with him. The Commando team was led by a young Major who had trained hard to be where he was on that day. The cable car hung right in the middle of the rope-way and 11 passengers including a 04 year old boy were trapped inside it. They had gone to experience the “08 minutes of pure unadulterated excitement” wherein the cable car ferried the passengers to a hill top 1.8 kms away from the start point. All these passengers wanted to break a certain barrier to feel the thrill and excitement of this 08 minute journey at the cost of Rupees 35/- per person.

The big machine had come to the drop point and both the Pilot and the Commando Team leader ran through the drill in their minds. The Cable Car had slipped from its stoppage point and had come down the rope track at a high velocity. Its door had been opened at the stop point by attendant and as the cable car went backwards, the attendant had fallen off the cliff. As the door swung back and forth and the cable car hurled, a passenger also fell out into the valley. The cable car swung ferociously before coming to a stop as the ropes entangled against obstructions and remained suspended with a drop of over 1000 feet into the rivulet flowing below. The 10 remaining passengers began an ordeal wherein each one of us started breaking various barriers of both physical and mental vagaries. They were hurt and lay still not knowing when the ropes would snap and take them into oblivion. The night fell and the cold took over the suspended passengers. There was no communication with the outside world as the mobile waves had still not penetrated the Indian skies. A slight movement of the suspended car and everyone would startle out of their stupor.

The Indian Army led the drive for the rescue mission. Many plans were discussed but the most suitable plan that could have worked was to lower a commando into the trolley and then winch the trapped persons up by a helicopter. Almost 22 hours after the ordeal began and after carrying out the survey drills, the helicopter had arrived above the Cable Car. A packet containing food and water was the first one to be lowered into the trolley. The dehydrated passengers saw a ray of hope as their parched throats became wet. The attempts were then made to lower the young Major into the cable car and finally after 25 hours of the ordeal, Major Ivan Joseph Crasto of the Indian Army entered the Cable Car through the roof hatch as the helicopter piloted by Group Captain Fali Major (later Air Chief Marshal Fali Major) hovered above. His mere sight inside the Cable Car gave a huge relief to the inmates as Major Ivan broke another barrier in their lives.

Major Ivan had a job at hand. He was a trained Commando and a daredevil at that. He now had to ensure that each passenger of the cable car climbed on the roof and was strapped to a chair before the helicopter team winched them up. The passengers were untrained, traumatized and fear of vertigo loomed large. The day ended with 5/10 passengers lifted away into the helicopter and moved away to safety. Major Ivan Crasto stayed back in the cable car to comfort the passengers and assure them of their safety. He had touched a new barrier and along with him lifted the barriers of the remaining 05 stranded passengers. As the helicopter winched away the 05 passengers, a ropeway mechanic reached the cable car from the upper end using a rope and carried with him food, water and blankets. His dare devilry was unique too and he scaled a barrier for himself.

The morning came and the heavy lift helicopter re-appeared. Within a few hours all the remaining passengers were air lifted and Major Ivan Crasto became the last one to move out of the cable car. The brave pilot kept the helicopter absolutely steady and hovered clear of the ropes even as the passengers were being forked up. The focused minds of the rescue team helped to break the barriers of uncertainty. Major Ivan Crasto and Group Captain Fali Major went on to meet the next barriers of their respective lives.

In each human life, we come across barriers of various kinds. They can be physical or mental barriers. Humans have to show courage and conviction to overcome the mental barriers and physical barriers need a fair amount of physical strength. The barrier merits an attempt and humans have to overcome the barriers to taste the proverbial success. But what happens to those humans who break their barriers? Do they change their behavior patterns after they cross over successfully? Does the challenge not trouble them anymore? Do they give up too easily as the further challenges do not excite them thereafter? It can be analyzed that human behavior does show a change when they break barriers. This leads to them gunning for more such targets or makes them complacent about their future. If they run for more such targets they achieve further milestones before various other factors make them call it a day. If they do not run for more targets, then the milestones dry up after they refuse to challenge themselves.

Humans have to fight for their survival. There is no escape from the vagaries of life. The barriers keep emerging intermittently and there is no set pattern. No days and years are alike. In human lives, things change instantly and nothing is certain. Plans can fail and hopes can disappear without any notice. But what remains with the humans is their ability to break the barriers. Humans have to decide how to take on the barriers, break them apart, move on and be ready to meet the next barrier. The important issue is to remain grounded even as the barrier emerges. After all, the humans are most comfortable with their feet on the ground. One should not become complacent as the barrier is broken as who knows when the next one would emerge. Most barriers, if not broken, lead to negative effects. No human thrives under pressure and chaos, but, the ability to judge and break the barriers makes one belief that pressure and chaos leads to the best for some.

Adrenalin pumps hard each time humans approach the barrier. Finally the pumping has to be so hard that the Adrenalin breaks its own barrier, energizes the human mind and the actions emerge which breaks yet another barrier. Are you, by any chance, staring at a barrier? If you are, then, just collect your wits, move ahead and break that barrier.

           

Do you have it in you, eh?