I remembered the poem
as I read a piece of news in TOI newspaper.
Thank you Suzy for the wonderful opportunity to let my thoughts loose to be anchored safely on paper.
| William Blake. 1757–1827 |
| 489. The Tiger |
| TIGER, tiger, burning bright | |
| In the forests of the night, | |
| What immortal hand or eye | |
| Could frame thy fearful symmetry? | |
| In what distant deeps or skies | 5 |
| Burnt the fire of thine eyes? | |
| On what wings dare he aspire? | |
| What the hand dare seize the fire? |
What the hand dare seize the fire? I will say Tapan's hand dared the majestic predator.
Tapans and his handful of crab-hunters friends entered the jungles of Sunderbans and while Tapan was separated from his friends, he came face to face with a full grown adult tiger. The tiger was within 8-9 feet away ready to pounce on him. A terror ran down his spine and he stood transfixed. But he recovered within a split second from his initial shock and fear and reached for his iron rod and jabbed it into the animal's lower jaw. By now his friends had raised an alert and created a din to scare the tiger away. Finally the tiger retreated into the jungles.
Hats off to the brave Tapan who fought and escaped from its clutches(paws) to survive and tell us the tale.What does one do when death stares and there is no other option left but to put up a fight or perish? Tapan took the less traversed path to defend by attacking the majestic predator.
Man's survival instincts are in-built and latent erupting when danger strikes. Had the tiger not pawed him , we would not have known about the other side of the survival instinct of man. Man is not bestowed with the muscular strength of the wild but is adequately compensated with a superior brain and survival instinct. Is it the Law of Nature or the survival of the fittest?
For : WRITE TRIBE
Thank you Suzy for the wonderful opportunity to let my thoughts loose to be anchored safely on paper.
Does this courage in the face of a great danger come by to all?Many would remain paralyzed by fear and even die of shock.This incident is an act of supreme courage.
ReplyDeleteVery thrilling story. It the survival instinct which erupts in an emergency.
ReplyDeleteAs it is said when the going gets tough, the tough get going. So when the question is to survive, most men/women will do their best.
ReplyDeleteSo true, that we have an inherent survival instinct. But what a great write came out of the free write. Thanks for taking part in my prompt.
ReplyDeleteIndeed that boy was brave.
ReplyDeleteBoth, I guess and Tapan is really brave. Not many would have done the same. And thanks for sharing the poem.
ReplyDeleteSurvival instincts are inbuilt in everyone and it's true that the tests makes one realize its brave side...lovely writeup
ReplyDeleteWow how thrilling is this. I agree with Shelly, survival instincts are inbuilt in all but its the time that tests us all.
ReplyDeleteI think when put in a life and death situation, the survival instinct kicks in and consequently the fittest survive :D Nicely written story, Kalpana!
ReplyDeleteWhen you are backed in a corner, there is no place to go but up. We all have hidden strength and it comes up when we are threatened.
ReplyDeleteTruly Alive. A lesson on survival instinct by Tapan and one should maintain calm and composure. Cheerz for this one:)
ReplyDeleteTruly Alive. A lesson on survival instinct by Tapan and one should maintain calm and composure. Cheerz for this one:)
ReplyDeletevishalbheeroo.wordpress.com
Superior brain and survival instinct can help move mountains. Thanks for sharing this wonderful story and coming up with an apt conclusion for the same.
ReplyDelete