I was on a tour of Kerala recently. A nice, clean and beautiful place. A lot could be said about that not in this post. This post is for that one event in Thiruvananthapuram zoo. One of the tourist attractions in this state capital. I was one amongst the hundreds who wondered around those caged animals in that hot, sunny afternoon.
I must say, its a good zoo. laid out well and clean. At one end of the zoo, they have tiger cages. I always imagined them to possess this natural strength. Strength to rule their territory. Strength to instill fear in the hearts and minds of animals on the lower levels of the food chain.
With their muscle strength and claws and teeth and the roar. The deep bass thundering sound declaring their sovereignty. If you here this sound you are supposed to run your non-tiger behind off! Fear and respect the might of the king. That is what it means.
Or so I thought.
Half a dozen of these kings of the jungle, these majestic beasts were displayed for the flocks of onlookers. One of them especially uneasy. pacing hard up and down. fierce but caged and hence helpless. People were passing by the cages. Taking pictures, marveling (?) at the terrible beauty in front of their eyes. And then they moved to the next cage. As I had.
Then it happened. Perhaps, teased by a tourist, or frustrated with the cage or simply due to its nature. One of the tigers snapped and let out a loud, teethy roar.
And what I saw? The tourists looking at the other caged animals nearby, all rushed to see the angry tiger. Ran right towards the angry tiger! Not away from it!! Angry, fearsome, deadly but caged.
The cage had translated the fierce and fearsome roar into a sound of amusement...
