The Meeting at the Clearing near the Old Fort

Karadi sat as usual on the flat stone set upright against the tyrunk of an old teak tree. Juno sat next to him: his cloth bag heavy with books dangling from the brach of a tree. Henry the Hyena sat surrounded by a ring of uniformed guards holding a smart blackberry cell phone in his hands and was speaking in a loud and offensive manner. The other animals began looking at him, hoping that the raquet that he was making would come to an end.

Karadi began by saying that a large number of two legged creatures with heavy equipment have moved into a part of the jungle kingdom and were busy cutting down trees and setting up a camp. The spies had reported that a number of guns were also seen and that the two legfged creatures were building fortified bunkers. Kakadi asked the meeting: What can we do. Do we fight for our Jungle or do we make peace with those who have invaded our territory. Henry the Hyena was the first to spring to his feet and said in a loud voice "We will fight in the jungle, we will fight on the river and we will fight in the air and retain our freedom". Henry the Hyena had once heard these famous words of a large two legged white ape with a cigar in his mouth uttering some words which seemed to echo the sentiments Henry tried to communicate.

The animals listened to Henry the Hyena and fell silent. Karadi then asked for the opinion of the assembled group of animals. You are here to take a decision" said Karadi, " and I expect you to stand by your decision". Juno the Jackal rose from his seat. Silence desended and the animals leaned forward to hear him.

"friends" said Juno, "we cannot resist the invasion of the two legged creatures as they are armed with powerful weapons. Our weapons are old and our army is not trained to face such a situation. We cannot win a conventional war and we have to resort to strategy". Hearing this Henry the Hyena screamed loudly, "see even Juno has turned defeatist. He wants to surrender to the invaders". Juno replied' "do not distort what I have said. I only want to draw our attention to the practical detail with regard to our strenght. Caution is not cowardice".

Hearing these words Karadi spoke out in favor of a diplomatic solution to the problem. He said that he and Juno would try to negotiate a settlement with the two legged creatures.

The Meeting at the Old Fort

The animals came in their droves. A meeting at the clearing near the Old Fort was no ordinary event in the affairs of the Jungle Kingdom. Juno the Jackal was among the first to arrive. He had wrapped an old scarf round his neck and had worn the old tweed coat that he had inherited from his late father. A few moments later Henry the Hyena drove in with a swirl of dust raised by the wheels of the convoy of cars and SUVs which accompanied him. Henry the Hyena believed that the ruling class did not take the canine species very seriously and so raised the bogey of "backward" animals and was agitating for a certain fixed number of seats from the non-clawe, non-woofed denizens of the forest. Juno the Jackal found the politics of Henry extremely divisive, but there was little that he could do as Henry the Hyena could whip up the passions of his ilk.

A little later Karadi the Bear, the prime Minister of the Jungle Kingdom arrived o his old moto cycle, an army surplus vehile that karadi's uncle had once presented him. He did not ask for the use of a car and escorts as Karadi believed that his position was one of service and not of power and pelf. He stll lived in the old cave by the river and did not allow the Defence Minister of the Jungle Kingdom to post security guards saying that if he could not feel secure in his position he had no right to be the Prime Minister. Karadi had rather old fashioned views and he greatly admired Juno the Jackal.

Juno and the Loggers III

Bharat the Badger was in a foul mood. The rains had washed away the sette that he had built upstream and his mind was now occupied about his own security. Ofcourse being a seasoned member of the Animal Council he had always put the safety and security of his jungle dwellers before his own.

Juno found Bhrat the Badger ripping out a large fish and was eating the fish with relish. "Call a meeting of the Jungle Kingdom" said Juno even as he twitched his nose at the stench of the fish the the Defence Minister was eating with obvious gusto. "OK" said Bharat the Badger and he sent a team of badgers scurrying to different parts of the Jungle with the message that all the animals were to assemble near the clearing near the Old Fort.

The news was received by the animals with all signs of alarm., A meeting near the Old Fort could only mean danger and the animals huddled in groups discussing the possible reasons for calling an emergency meeting. Henry the Hyena sensed an opportunity to gain power and amass some wealth. He always spoke up for the cannine sections of the jungle kingdom claiming that he was their sole spokesman. Karadi the Prime Minister was aware that Henry the Hyena sometimes threw his lot with the non-hoofed and non-clawed animals claiming with all vehemence at this command that the non-hoofed and non-clawed animals were the "backward animals" and he represented their interests.

Juno the Jackal was wary of Henry the Hyena especially as he had the ability to present himself as the protector of the weak and defenceless animals and the Hyena had courted the elephants, the tortoises, the rodents with great sincereity and he always turned up at important meeting in a convoy of jeeps driven by a variety of rodents.

Juno and the Loggers II

Juno decided to walk to Karadi's cave which was located near the far end of the Jungle. Three security guards sttod around the cave and slauted Juno smartly as he tugged the heavy chain that rang the bell deep inside the cave. After some time Juno heeard the sound of Karadi bestirring himself. The heavy door swung open and a visibly disturbed Karadi came out, his frown dissoving into a faint smile as he saw Juno.

"Juno" he said, "it must be something really important".
"Yes".

"There has some strage goings-on in the Jungle", said Juno, with a swish of his tail.
"Give me the details", said Karadi rubbing his eyelids and smoothening down his matted coat.

"Humans have occupied a part of our Kingdom and they have invaded with heavy earth moving equipment", replied Juno the Jackal. "I think we must take stock of the situation and then respond".

"Call a meeting of the Jungle Kingdom. Let us meet at the clearing near the Old Fort and decide our strategy".

When Juno heard this, he felt releived as collective wisdom of the Jungle Kingdom will prevail over individual choice.

Juno set off as fast as his legs could carry him to the house of Bharat the Badger, who was the Minister for Jungle Affairs and was responsible for the security of the Jungle Kingdom

The Jungle and the Loggers

Juno was, as usual sitting on the banks of the river, reading a large loob. This volume had been sent to him by a feeow historian from across the world. The birds were chirpping above and the leaves drifted down lazily. Megha the Crow was engaged in an animated conversation with the Crane that was building its nest high above the water level. Juno found their conversation rather disturbing. "Ah" said he, "why does that crow think that her voice is so melodious".

A sharp gust of wind blew the book that Juno was reading and he lurched forward to hold it as the pages fluttered in the breeze. Megh who was watching Juno from her perch at the top of the canopy flew down and glided gently to the rock against which Juno was leaning. "Juno" said she, with a chuckle, "you never seem to get tired of reading." Before waiting for an answer she said, "you seem to be quite unconcerned about the goings on in the Jungle Kingdom." " Even Michael the Monkey was seen wearing a mien of concern", said Megha with a sigh.

"What re to talking about, Megha" asked Juno, looking surprised.
"I have been here since morning and have seen and heard nothing", said Juno.

"Well, there are a number of trucks and heavy earth moving tractors parked near the ruins of the ancient temple" said Megha, her voice laced with apprehension.

"Does Karadi know about this development". "No" said Megha. "We are afraid of going to his cave as he is hibernating and may not like to be disturbed".

"I will tell him" remarked Juno, as he adjusted his scarf firmly around his neck.

To be continued

The Jungle Kingdom: The Setting and the Characters

This blog is dedicated to the adventures of four friends who live in a forest on the banks of a river. They live peacefully in the lush green forest under the benign leadership of their king ,Sher Khan, a tiger with a fierce roar but really a warm gentle soul. This tiger limps from an old would caused by a hunter who shot the tiger several yers back, but the animals carried their king to safety. The king of the jungle has a wise and cynical councellor, Juno, who by training and inclination is a serious cademic and a trained historian. Juno loves to sit with his back against the rock on the banks of the river reading a book or a manuscript sent to him by his friends. He is the historian of the jungle kingdom and this blog is based on his records and documents. The third character is the hardworking Prime Minister of the JJungle Kingdom, Karadi, a large beat who love honey tea and who is dedicated to the service of the animals in the Kingdom. Even during the long months of hiberanation, Karadi, is always ready to leave his cave and help the denizens of the forest. Though not really a mature democarcy, Karadi enjoys widebased support among both the hoofed animals, the animals with claws and the feathered creatures. Though not too well educated, Karadi, has a friend and advisor in Juno the jackal, the historian of the Jungle Kingdom, who is ready with wise advice and is willing to throw his research at a moments notice and help Karadi in his hour of need. Karadi the Prime Minister will act only on the advice of Juno the Jacawl much to the chagrin of the other members of the Animal Council like Raja Fox, the Defence Minister, Bhaloo Bear the black bear rescued from a travelling circus who is the Foreign Minister and Murali the Monkey who was the finance minister of the Jungle Kingdom.

The stories that we record in this blog are records of the life and struggles of the animals in the Jungle Kingdom as they strive to protect their way of life and environment from being destroyed by the humans. Juno the Jackawl, the historian of the Kingdom is capable of interacting with human being because he had studied in a human University and was trained as a medieval historian by one of the most prominent historians of the human kind. Juno has a very simple way of slippinmg into the human world, cross the boundry as it were from the animal world to the human world by wearing a mask and tucking his bushy tail in his trousers. He speaks with a rasping voice but no one can see that Juno is really a jackal and not a human being when he transgresses the boundry between humans and animanls.

During the course of my travels I have come across many adventures involving Juno, Karadi and Sher Khan. Through this blog I will recapture some of their adventures.