Chapter 6

A/N I needed to change the names of some places because if you consult any maps, you can see that the places in the book are not even close, in fact, on different sides of the country, and the time needed to get there from Mumbai is completely wrong too. The places cited now are more accurate regarding distance and time from Mumbai, follow a route to the reserve Kelsey was first told about on the circus, and match her description of the place. It wasn't easy to find someplace that matched all these, but I managed one close enough. Fiction gives us some freedom to write, and thats amazing, but I wanted be as realistic as possible regarding these places.

Mumbai

(Edit)

I gazed out the window as we flew over the ocean and into the city. Mumbai was a modern city, and I was amazed by the hundreds of tall, white, uniform buildings spread out before me. It was as expected of a big metropolis. I asked a few questions about the city to Mr. Kadam and learned it was one of the biggest cities in India, and it was probably going to be the biggest financial center of India in a few years. I was impressed. As we circled the large, half moon shaped airport, the plane's wheels dropped in preparation for our landing.

(Houck)

The sleek aircraft bounced twice and settled down to hug the runway. I whirled in my chair to see how Ren was doing. He was sitting up expectantly but, other than that, he seemed alright. I felt a rush of exuberant energy as we taxied across the runway and came to a stop at the outskirts of the airstrip.

'Are you ready to disembark, Miss Kelsey?' Mr. Kadam asked.

'Yes. Just let me grab my bag.'

(Edit)

I slung it over my shoulder, found Nilima to say goodbye, stepped out of the plane, and skipped quickly down the steps to the ground. Deeply inhaling the wet, sultry air, I was surprised to see a gray sky. It was warm and humid, but tolerable.

(Houck)

'Mr. Kadam, isn't it usually hot and sunny in India?'

'This is the monsoon season. It's almost never cold here, but we do get rain in July and August, and, on occasion, a cyclone.'

(Edit)

He offered to take my bag, and I handed it and strolled over to watch some workers transferring Ren from the plane to the truck. But it was a different operation than it was in the United States. Two men attached long chains to his colar while another man affixed a ramp onto the back of a truck. They got the tiger out to the plane okay, but then the man closest to Ren pulled on the chain too tightly. Ren reacted fast. He roared angrily and half-heartedly swiped his paw at the man.

The situation was dangerous, and something in me pushed me forward and I approached. Thinking only of Ren's comfort, I took the chain from the frightened man, and motioned for him to back away. He seemed grateful to be relieved of the responsibility. I spoke soothing words to Ren, patted his back, and encouraged him to walk with me to the truck.

He responded immediately and walked beside me as docile as a lamb, dragging the heavy chains behind him on the ground. At the ramp, he stopped and rubbed his body against my leg. Then he jumped up into the truck, quickly turned around to face me, and licked my arm.

I stroked his shoulder affectionately and murmured to him softly, calming him while my hand moved gently over his collar and detached the heavy chains. Ren looked over at the men who were still standing frozen in the same place with stunned expressions, snuffed out his displeasure at them, and growled softly. While I was giving him water, he rubbed his head along my arm and kept his eyes trained on the workers as if he was my guard dog. The men began talking very fast to one another in Hindi.

I closed the gate and locked it while Mr. Kadam walked over to the men and spoke quietly. He did not seem surprised by what had happened. It was strange in a way. Mr. Kadam seemed to make sure everything was always of the best quality, procured the best service, but apparently he didn't hired trained workers to move the tiger. I wonder at the disparity.

Whatever he said had reassured the men because they began moving around the area again, making sure to give the tiger a wide berth. They swiftly rounded up equipment and moved the plane into a nearby hangar.

After Ren was secured in the truck, Mr. Kadam introduced me to the driver, who seemed nice but very young, even younger than me. He must have a very, very youthful face, I have to believe that, or else why would Mr. Kadam entrust him with such valuable cargo?

Showing me where my bag was stowed, Mr. Kadam pointed out another bag that he had purchased for me. It was a large black backpack with several compartments. He unzipped a few to show me some of the items he had placed inside. The back zipper pocket contained a sizeable amount of Indian currency. Another pocket held travel documents for Ren and me. Snooping, I opened another zipper and found a compass and a lighter. The main part of the bag was stoked with energy bars, maps, and bottles of water.

'Um, Mr. Kadam, why did you include a compass and a lighter in the bag,not to mention some of these other items?'

He smiled and shrugged, zipping up the compartments and placing the bag on the front seat. 'You never know what things might come in handy along the journey. I just wanted to make sure that you are fully prepared, Miss Kelsey. You also have an English/Hindi dictionary. I have given the driver instructions, but he doesn't speak much English. I must take my leave of you now.' He smiled and squeezed my shoulder.

And suddenly I was nervous. I had to continue the journey without Mr. Kadam, and it became clear to me like never before that I wasn't a kid anymore, I had to be the responsible adult. In one of the biggest countries in the world. And everybody spoke a different language. No biggie. What a first experience in adulthood!

Well, I'm on my own now. I can do this. I tried to speak confidently and say goodbye to Mr. Kadam, but I don't know if I was successful. 'I hope your business in the city won't give you any problems. If you finish early, won't you come to the reserve and say goodbye to Ren?'

'Alas, I don't know if it will be possible.' He smiled reassuringly. 'Don't fret Miss Kelsey. You are more than able to care for the tiger and I have meticulously arranged every detail of the trip. Nothing will go wrong.'

I gave him a confident smile. 'I'm sure you are right. All will be well.' No reason to have him doubting the wisdom of hiring me for this job, I had to do everything right and show him I was capable. This means no whining. With a twinkle in his eyes and a wink, he left.

I looked at Ren. 'Well, kid, it's just you and me now.'

Impatient to start and finish the trip, the driver called back through the cab of the truck, 'We go?'

'Yes, we go,' I responded after a deep breath.

When I climbed in, the driver stepped on the gas and never, ever took his foot off the pedal. He raced out to the airport and less than two minutes was winding quickly through traffic at frightening speeds. I clutched my door and the dash in front of me. He wasn't the only insane driver though . Everybody on the road seemed to think 130 kilometers per hour, or, according to my travel guide, 80 mph in a crowded city, with hundreds of pedestrians, was not quite fast enough. Hordes of people dressed in bright, vibrant colors moved in every direction past my window.

(Edit)

Vehicles off every description the streets - buses, compact cars and some kind of tiny, boxy cars with no doors and three wheels sped by. The boxy ones must have been the local taxis because there were hundreds of them. I pointed at them and the driver laughed and said, 'Tuk Tuk'. I guess that's the name. There were also countless motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians. I even saw animals pulling carts full of people and produce.

I guessed that we were supposed to be driving on the right side of the road, but there seemed to be no distinct pattern or even white stripes to mark the lanes. There were very few lights, signs, or signals. It was like they were following a route that I couldn't see, or understand. Cars just turned left os right whenever there was an opening and sometimes even when there wasn't. Once, a car drove right at us on a collision route and then turned away on the last possible second. The driver kept laughing at me every time I gasped. I guess this was completely normal to them and they were used to this traffic.

I gradually became desensitized enough to start to take in the sights that we were speeding by, and, with interest, I saw countless multicolored markets and vendors selling an eclectic variety of wares. Merchants sold string puppets, jewelry, rugs, souvenirs, spices, nuts, and all manner of fruits and vegetables out of small buildings or street carts.

Everyone seemed to be selling something. Billboards showed advertisements for everything. The entire city was a hurried, vibrant and touristy panorama with people of all descriptions and classes. It looked like there was not one square inch of the city that was unoccupied.

(Houck)

After a harrowing drive through the busy city, we finally made it to the highway. At last, I was able to relax my grip a bit - not because the driver was moving slower, in fact, he had speed up - but because the traffic had dropped off considerably. I tried to follow where we were going on a map, but the lack of road signs made it difficult. One thing I did notice though was that the driver missed an important turn onto another freeway that would lead us up to the tiger reserve.

(Edit)

'That way; to the left!' I pointed.

He shrugged and waved his hand at me dismissing my suggestions. I grabbed my dictionary and tried to quickly look up the word left, or wrong way. I found the words khara-bi-ra-ha, which meant wrong road or incorrect path. He gestured to the road ahead with his index finger and said, 'Fast drive road.' I gave up after that and let him do what he wanted. It was his country after all. I figured he knew more about the roads than I did.

(Edit)

After driving for about three hours, we stopped at a tiny town called Tilher. At least I think it is, it was the only name I could identify on the road signs. Calling it a town would be overemphasizing the size of the place because it boasted only a market, a gas station, and five houses. It bordered a jungle, which as where I finally found a sign.

Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary

Paksizaala Tungareshwar

4 Km

The driver got out of the truck, and started to fill the tank with gas. He pointed to the market across the street and said, 'Eat. Good food.'

I grabbed the backpack and went to the rear of the truck to check on Ren. He was sprawled out on the floor of the cage. He opened his eyes and yawned when I approached but stayed in his inert position. I was just thankful he wasn't sick or irritated because of the rough motion on the truck.

I walk to the market and opened the peeling squeaky door. A little bell rang announcing my presence.

An Indian woman dressed in a traditional sari emerged from a back room and smiled at me. 'Namaste. You like food? Eat something?'

'Oh! Yes! I would love some lunch.'

'You sit there. I make.'

Even though it was lunch for me, it was probably dinner for them because the sun was low in the sky. She motioned me over to a little table with two chairs that was set next to the window, and then she disappeared. The store was a small, rectangular room that housed various grocery products, souvenirs depicting the wildlife sanctuary nearby, and practical things such as matches and tools.

Indian music played softly in the background. I recognized the sounds of a citar and heard the tinkling of bells, but couldn't identify the other instruments. I glanced through the door where the woman had passed and heard the clatter of pans in her kitchen. It looked like the store was the front of a larger building and the family lived in a house attached to the back.

In surprisingly fast time, the woman returned, balancing four bowls of food. A young girl followed in behind her bringing even more bowls of food. It smelled exotic and spicy. She said, 'Please, to eat and enjoy.'

The woman disappeared into the back, while the young girl started to straighten shelves in the store as I ate. They hadn't brought me any silverware, so I spooned up some of each dish with my fingers, remembering to use my right hand following Indian tradition. Lucky Mr. Kadam had mentioned that on the plane.

I recognized the basmati rice, naan bread, and tandoori chicken, but the other three dishes I'd never seen before. I looked over at the girl, inclined my head, and asked, 'Do you speak English?'

(Edit)

She nodded and approached me. Motioning with her fingers, she said, 'Little bit English'.

I smiled and pointed to a triangular pastry filled with spicy vegetables. 'What is this called?'

'This samosa'.

'Samosa, okay. What about this one and this?'

She indicated one and then the other: 'Rasmalai and baigan bhartha.' She smiled shyly and bustled off to work on the shelves again.

(Edit)

As far as I could tell, rasmalai were balls of sweet cheese immersed in a sweet cream made of milk, a variety of spices and nuts, and the baigan bhartha was a mashed grilled eggplant dish, with peas, onions and tomatoes. It was all delicious, but I could never eat everything alone. I imagined the rasmalai was the dessert, but after I ate as much as I could, the woman brought me a milkshake made with mangoes, yogurt and goat's milk.

I thanked her and started sipping my milkshake while looking out the window. There wasn't much of a view: just the gas station and two men standing by the truck talking. One was a very handsome young man dressed in white. He faced the store and spoke with another man who had his back toward me. The second man was older and looked like Mr. Kadam. They seemed to be having an argument. The longer I watched them, the stronger my conviction became that it was Mr. Kadam, but he was arguing hotly with the younger man, and I couldn't picture Mr. Kadam ever becoming angry like that.

(Houck)

Huh, that's weird, I thought and tried to catch a few words through the open window. The older man said nahi mahodaya often, and the younger man kept saying avashyak or something like that. I thumbed through my Hindi dictionary and found nahi mahodaya easily. It meant no way or no, sir. Avashyak was harder because I had to figure out how to spell it, but I eventually found it. That word meant necessary or essential, something that must be, or has to happen.

I walked to the window to get a better look. Just then, the young man in white looked up and saw me staring at then from the window. He immediately ceased his conversation and stepped out of my line of vision, around the side of the truck. Embarrassed to be caught, but irresistibly curious, I made my way through the maze of shelves to the door. I needed to know if the older man really was Mr. Kadam or not.

(Edit)

I walked across the dirt road and over to the truck, but I didn't see anyone. Circling the truck, I stopped at the back and saw that Ren was alert and watching me from his cage. But the two men and the driver had disappeared. I peeked into the cab. No one was there.

Confused, but remembering I hadn't paid my bill, I crossed the street and went back into the store. The young girl had already cleared away my dishes. I pulled some bills form my backpack and asked, 'How much?'

'One hundred rupees.' Mr. Kadam taught me to figure out how much money I was giving in dollars, and I quickly calculated she was asking for about two dollars and fifty cents. I smiled to myself as I thought about my math loving dad and his quick division drills when I was little. I gave her two hundred rupees instead and she beamed happily.

Thanking her, I told her the food was delicious. I picked up my backpack opened the door and stepped outside.

The truck was gone.