Unconcerned

 Have you read "Life of Pi"? At least watched the movie? Remember the terrible tiger, Richard Parker, Pi Patel's companion, quite some "character", in that book? Remember the end of the novel? Richard Parker almost jumping over the prostrate body of Pi on the sand and vanishing in to the forest near the coast without even a glance back, much a wound almost to the hurt heart of Pi?

Well, i saw a short little video of a Bengal tiger, too, who, after being treated for whatever its troubles, was being towed towards the Sunderbans. Midstream it suddenly jumped off the boat, swimming superbly and faster than even an Olympic gold medalist. The moment it reached the shore, it broke in to a hasty run, and just vanished in to the mangrove mesh, without a look backwards, as Pi puts it.

Unconcerned, it appeared. True, we tend to assign a character, a personality, and/or qualities to and impose value systems on the clean and judgement free lives of animals. Yet, i do not know why the tiger never appeals to me despite its handsome looks and super fine grace. To me, a tiger always has something vicious, raspy, nasty to its personality, and downright cruel and self-centered, almost selfish the animal appears. 

The lion does not seem to have that kind of meanness. It appears quite laid back,  almost gentle and gracious in its attitude. If the tiger is more a fiercely ambitious person, the lion is a kind of "cool" type who seems happy enjoying the feel of doing whatever is happening. I can imagine a lion smiling, even guffawing. The tiger could only smirk with a snarl, i suppose.

Actually, i do know it is wrong on my part to thus dismiss the tiger. Unconcerned it actually is to all our equations and suppositions. Yet the tiger, burning bright, in the forests day n night, does not appear divine to me, actually it looks devilish and evil, rather like certain human beings, always unconcerned, come rain, come snow, chilling thee to the bone?

Pratima@So it is with the household pets. For a dog, you are God. For a cat, she is god. Having literally brought up a kitten that had not even opened its eyes, and whom its Mommy dear just left to die, i think initially i had almost turned Manu in to a loving doggie, but which magic spell it was that made her attack and bite me viciously, like the unkind, actually unconcerned, tiger, her  relative as per the lore!?!