The STORY OF THE VEGETARIAN TIGER

INCEPTION REVIEWED – The STORY OF THE VEGETARIAN TIGER

It was the cold wind trumpeting. Typically a snow storm. People suffered from lack of air as the oxygen cylinders were running out of stock. It’s the third day out we were stranded directionless in the mountains of hindhukush. Survival was tiresome. As the leader of the pack, each and every life was my responsibility. Fourth day, Weather was better and the sun was visible to a part. We started walking towards the sun, hoping to find ‘the light’. The ice below our feet were atleast 2 metres deep denoting the ages the place was buried in cold. I was standing at an edge of a ice block looking for miracles. Suddenly the whole place shook, the ice broke, and I was separated from my crew. I was falling down, falling down, falling down..That is all I remember.

I came back to senses. What happened or where i am. I don’t know. It was tough like giant elephants standing upon my body. So painful and tired. I was wet and shivering. Oh it’s the water, may be a river. Somebody was pulling me out of the river. May be human, the help I thought. But he was huge, yellowish and striped.. Image blurred but he was majestic. Oh god.. it’s A TIGER…I started panicking. I was cornered. Back it’s the overflowing river and in front the PREDATOR. When I looked for means to escape, there was just trees, trees and trees. Everywhere it looked the same. Suddenly a thought came into my mind. Where is the ice? Where is the crew? There is no way I can be in midst of a forest sitting in front a Tiger surrounded by trees. Bingo!!! It should be the INCEPTION. Somebody should be trying to steal my thoughts using fear as the weapon. In the movie, they said everyone should have a thing to find whether they are in inception. But since I have none, I shall overcome the FEAR WITH PAIN. I took a thorn, prayed to god to take me out of the inception, and poked on my thigh. A red liquid started to flow, and I gradually fainted.

‘Wake up you dumb idiot, Its not an illusion, its real…’Somebody was speaking to me. The voice disturbed my heavenly sleep. When I woke up, it was the same TIGER standing before me. This time I was really terrified as I thought the tiger was chasing me in the inception. I started begging to the tiger. ‘Don’t eat me please. Now only I got a girl friend in the real world. She has asked me to a date as soon I return from the trek. Please Mr.Tiger don’t eat me’.. The tiger was calm and composed. He didn’t give a damn about me begging. He roared to the jungle sounding his presence. He then Turned towards me ‘STOP BEGGING YOU TWO FACED HUMAN. FIRST OF ALL I AM A VEGETARIAN AND SECOND OF ALL, EVEN IF CAN EAT MEAT, I WONT EAT AN IDIOT LIKE YOU’.The tiger spoke, but what he said surprised me more than that..’’A TIGER – VEGETARIAN??, TWO FACED HUMAN??, ME AN IDIOT??’’ Since the tiger promised it wont eat me, I got some courage. I decided to ask the doubts to him.

‘Mr.TIGER thanks for not eating me. I know the Tigers will never eat plants or grass. It will always hunt, eat raw meat. How come you be a vegetarian?’. The tiger became sad, then bright and tears started to roll down his cheeks as soon I asked this question. He said"I haven’t told this to anyone in my life time, But since you are an IDIOT and since I like you, I will tell this secret of ages. Hope you believe me…"

THE FLASHBACK: ‘’long long ago, a huge meteorite fell bang into the earth. Waters dried up, sun was not seen for years. The dinousars started to die along with many other spieces. Humans barely managed to survive along with ‘THE PLANTS’. The plants had some special capacity to drink water from the underground. Our species ran and ran. No food, no water, we started dying. AT THE TIME,THERE WAS A LANGUAGE CALLED ‘TAMIL’ which the humans spoke. Feared by our bravery, pride and our majestic appearance, they wrote ‘’PULI PASITHAALUM PULLAI THINGADHU’’. It means ‘’The tigers will not eat grass even if they are hungry’’. All around , that phrase was the showcase of the pride our species had. All around the jungle they respected us…….’’ I interrupted Tiger saying ‘’Mr.Tiger, sorry to interrupt, that language still exists, It is spoken by people in the south of INDIA.”. The tiger was taken in shock. He continued‘’Such an robust language eh?! It should be a million of years according to my ancestors. Hmmm. But after the tragedy, we were left with no food, water. One after the other, the tigers started to die. One of my great great ancestor, the leader of the pack started to worry. || He thought can we eat the grass?? Whats wrong if it helps us survive?? But the pride the language gave us put on hold. My ancestor thought for a long time and decided that SURVIVAL OF OUR SPECIES IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE PRIDE. We all the ate the plants and lived a dead life. The nightmare passed and everything was back to normal. There was water, food, and we started hunting and eating raw meat. But my ancestor insisted that, the plants saved us from extinction. So we must pay respect to them. I know our pride. Its what we life for. Its what the great language says. But to offer our thanks to the plants, from now I order that, ONE TIGER FROM MY LINE OF FAMILY IS ALWAYS DESTINED TO EAT GRASS, PLANTS AND is not allowed to hunt animals till its life time. It can only defend. This is my order…||and it continues till now and iam that LONE TIGER. I live alone carrying the identity of the language, our survival and the thanks to the plants..”

I was shocked by hearing that. I was totally clueless. It was mind blowing. Such a great incident behind a tiger being vegetarian I thought. I was gasping for few moments. Then I came back to normal. I asked the next question. “Why you called us humans A TWO FACE??” He smiled. Then said ‘’you were begging for your life right? If you had a gun, you would have shot me. Hunting Is just a entertainment for you, but we hunt for our survival. You speak hunting is prohibited yet you hunt, you say humans are the most developed species, yet you beg. Funny is not it?? That why I called you the two face.” I thought yes the tiger is right. We are the two face animals.

I also came up with the third question. ‘’Why did you call me an idiot?’’. This question should have amused him so much. HE started ROFL. He then said ‘’You thought this is kinda illusion right??” I said “yes”. He asked me why did I think so. I said ”I have seen this kind of situation in a movie called INCEPTION. Everything will be an illusion. All I remember is falling, falling and falling. When I woke up I saw you. So only I tried to really wake me up by poking with a thorn. But is this real??” The tiger was thinking. He then asked did I come from a ice filled land? I replied positively. He said “In a long distance land, everything Is covered up by ice. Due to sun’s heat, the ice melts and flows a river crossing this forest. But I heard that the stupid humans did something to our mother earth, so that ice is melting erratically and the river flow is disturbed and that why you should have taken a fall from the melting ice” he said. God!! He was speaking about the GLOBAL WARMING and THE GLACIER MELTING. Everything he said started to prickle me. HE was right. Humans are living a double and disgusting life.

He said “Okay its time for me to leave. If you swim by the flow of the river, in a short time, you will reach a wooden logged shore. Some humans live there. May be you can get help there. Do that after you gain some strength. Here take this fruit. It makes you feel better” saying this he threw me a fruit and pounced back into the thick jungles. The tiger really woke me up from the ILLUSION i was living till then. When I reached back home, I gave up my job and started an organisation ‘’SAVE OUR MOTHER EARTH (SOME)’’. Its been 10 years I met the LONE TIGER. The organisation is now branched in 50 nations now and lakhs are its members. Saving the earth is our only goal. Living harmoniously with other species is our ambition. I will not rest until…I swear this to my life..no, to the lone vegetarian tiger..

P.S: I started learning TAMIL in a weekend course at my city as soon I returned back from the strange encounter. It is beautiful..First sentence i learned is ‘’NAN UNNAI KAADHALIKIRAEN” . Ha ha..Would I forget my date with my girl? Though she didn’t understand the language she understood what I tried to say. Then we went for the inception movie again for celebration.After all Love knew no language and it exists till the earth dooms.