The Legend Of Corba
By- Abhinav Chandel
Copyright Abhinav Chandel 2010
Note: First 3 chapters of the story were also published in 21 fools magazine.
CHAPTER 1
“I want to talk to Bhanu.” Ram Avtar Singh said.
A tall, lean person entered the room. Even though he was 22 years old, his features were that of a 12-year old boy. There was a thin strip of moustache above his lips and he had an army cut hair pattern. There was a hint of stiffness in his walk.
“Were you looking out for me grandfather?”
“Yes, but first close the door. I want to tell you something important.” Ram Avatar whispered.
Bhanu immediately obliged. The swiftness in his actions caught his grandfather’s attention. He noticed that and seemed satisfied that he will be replaced by someone of his calibre. Ram Avatar served as the forest ranger of that particular forest region.
Bhanu closed the door and sat near him while holding his hand.
“Son, my health condition doesn’t allow me to speak much, therefore, I have written down a letter for you. But before that I want to tell you something.” Ram Avtar said.
“Yes, grandfather.”
“I want you to have faith in me. I say this, because whatever you’ll learn or might see in the next few days will be a little absurd for you.”
Ram Avtar had sensed that this was the last time he would be speaking to his grandson, and thus wanted to use this opportunity at its optimum.
“Dadaji, you’re the only person I have had blind faith in, since childhood. I would do anything I am needed to do for my hero, for the person I have looked up to since I have opened my eyes.” A faint smile appeared on Ram Avtar’s face after hearing Bhanu’s reply.
“Do you remember, I had told you a story about a man who had saved me from four tigers and then again from a tusker?” Ram Avtar asked.
“Yes Dadaji, I do remember it, but why are you talking about those stories now?” Bhanu seemed confused.
“Believe me, those were real. Ram Avatar’s voice grew thick.
Pointing towards a trunk Ram Avatar said “And now I want you to take the red scarf out of my trunk.”
Silently, Bhanu opened the trunk and took out the red scarf. He kept it in his pocket and returned to his place.
“Bhanu I have told you all that I could, the rest is written in these three letters. I want you to read them during your journey to Ramnagar.”
Bhanu nodded in affirmation and took those letters from his ailing grandfather
“It’s time for you to leave, always remember that no matter what happens HE will be with you. Bhanu, my son, my love and blessings will always rest on you, but I have to go now.” And Ram Avtar closed his eyes. He knew Bhanu would be in safe hands and HE would take care of Bhanu in difficult times.
Bhanu sat there for some more time admiring the frail looking old man who used to be his hero once, but now was lying down in front of him waiting for death to overpower him.
Two hours later, the doctor declared Ram Avtar dead. It was 12 PM. After performing all the necessary rituals Bhanu walked out of his house at 4:30 PM the next day. There was a jeep waiting for him in the receding light of the sun. It was mid- November; winter had already arrived, and days were getting shorter.
A 30 minute journey from his native place Kashipur to Ramnagar, took him to the Corbett National Park’s headquarters. During the journey he opened the envelope containing the letters. The letters had numbers on them, perhaps a sequence that Ram Avatar wanted Bhanu to follow. He opened the one with ‘1’ written on it.
He started reading the letter. His grandfather had penned down all the instructions about surviving in a jungle. Being an ex-Chief Forest Ranger, he had already asked the staff in Corbett to take extra care of his grandson and had also made references about the safe exits in the jungle. He read the letters with utmost attention and reached the last paragraph that was written in different colored ink. He found it little weird and started reading.
“Son, now I have given you as much information as I can to help you during your stay in Corbett. But there is one secret which still remains. Remember I used to tell you the stories about a man who saved my life twice, those were true. Yes, he actually exists and he is the one who saves animal or stops people from killing them. All those anecdotes about him are true, but except me no one else knew about him. He gave me that red scarf, which I gave you before my death. Always tie that cloth around your neck before entering the jungle and he will recognize you. I have had shown him your pictures, and hopefully he will take care of you. Always remember, my blessings are with you and now the jungle is yours, take care of Corbett. Save it from all the troubles.”
Bhanu put the letter inside his pocket as the jeep entered the headquarters’ compound. His eyes were glistening. He wiped his tears while getting down from the jeep but the expression of disbelief stayed on his face. He was finding it hard to digest the facts his grandfather had written down, but then his grandfather never lied to him.
“Bhanu get inside the jeep fast, we have need to leave.” the other guide came running towards him.
“What happened?” Bhanu was finding it difficult to keep up with the pace of the situation.
“I’ll tell you everything on our way, but right now, we don’t have much time. We need to go into the forest as early as possible.” the guide replied.
Bhanu jumped into the jeep and they proceeded towards the jungle. It was 5:25 PM and sunlight was receding, to add to the guide’s worry, the trees on both the sides of the road made it much darker than it actually was. They had to switch on the headlights while entering the jungle.
Corbett National Park-one of the largest tiger reserves and now his new home; Bhanu looked around, he had been to this place many a times before, in fact he knew most of the ways around the jungle but this was the first time he was there in capacity of ‘The Jungle In-charge’ As soon as they entered the jungle, a herd of deer rushed past them.
The guide explained the situation to him. “There were three British tourists who had taken special permission to film Wildlife inside Corbett. While filming, a tiger attacked one of them and they are stuck.”
“I never expected tigers to come towards this part of the jungle, I have never seen them doing so.” the guide said.
“So, now what are we going to do?” Bhanu asked.
“There are two guns on the back seat. We need to go towards the point.” The guide said pointing towards a direction. “When we reach the point, we might have to shoot the tigers if they’re around, and once we have shot them, they’ll be unconscious for an hour or so and in this receding light we have to work fast. Who knows what might happen out there, the jungle has no rules,” the guide replied.
Bhanu sensed a chill passing through his body, there was an adrenaline rush inside him. He was not scared; in fact he always loved being around animal-, something which he had learned from his grandfather. It took them half an hour to reach that part of the jungle where the tourists were stuck. They saw the headlights of the tourists’ jeep, but more importantly, they heard the tigers’ roar.
“Oh shit there’s not just one! I guess there are more tigers out there.” the guide was visibly scared.
“What do you want us to do?” Bhanu asked.
“I think we will have to wait till the other rangers arrive probably in the next 15-20 minutes.” the guide said while trying to hide his fear. He was scared because he was just a guide and was not fully prepared for the situation. He hadn’t thought for a second and had immediately rushed to the scene as soon as he heard the news. To his luck, he had a young forest ranger with him.
“Aaaaaa….” the
y heard a long shriek which was followed by a gunshot and few more tiger roars.
“We have to go now.” Bhanu said lifting his gun.
“Are you sure? Should we should wait for the other rangers to arrive?” the guide said.
“You stay here, because we would need someone to inform others about the situation in this area.” Bhanu told him and proceeded.
Bhanu immediately took out the red scarf from his bag and tied it around his neck. He knew that if his grandfather was right then this would be the situation where he needed that man’s help the most.
Bhanu slowly trailed towards the tourist’s jeep. He was trained to walk without making any noise. Simultaneously, he also started marking the tress alongside, where he would need to climb in case things worsened. The last few rays of the sun were percolating through the dense forest. He knew that in a few minutes he would have to rely on his ears until his eyes grew accustomed to the dark. There was an eerie silence in that part of the forest, which made him feel that a big herd of tigers was present near the jeep. He had no idea how he would face those tigers. In the next 3 minutes he reached near the tourists’ vehicle and hid behind the shrubs in order to move out of the view of the tigers. He moved the leaves a little bit, to get a glimpse of the situation.
There he saw a covered jeep, around which two tigers were standing. He saw an injured tiger lying near the jeep and a tourist was pointing a gun towards the tigers from inside the jeep. He saw the blood around the shot tiger and realized that gun had the real bullets. He immediately wanted to rush before they shot the other tigers, but he saw 6 more tigers entering the fray. He took a step back, and realized the situation was much graver than he had imagined. The jeep couldn’t move as one of its tyres was stuck in the mud. Moreover, none of the tourists inside the car could come out because of the tigers. More than the tourists, he wanted to save the injured tiger but he knew that if he tried going towards the injured one, then other tigers will attack him.
Bhanu was unable to make a decision, and suddenly he felt a tap on his neck. He felt a hand moving on the red scarf tied around his neck. He immediately turned around to find someone looking right into his eyes.
There he was- an 8 foot tall man standing in front of him, while looking at Bhanu with his bloodshot eyes. It was difficult to understand after looking at him whether he was a human or an animal. The creature slowly touched Bhanu’s face and a tear dropped off his eyes. Bhanu was too dumbstruck to think about anything, he just stood there staring at the giant who was in front of him. Now he knew whatever his grandfather told him was true, whatever the press or people said were true, those tales and villagers’ anecdotes were all real.
THE LEGEND OF CORBA WAS TRUE