Right at the outset, I insist that only the believers read on. Sceptics and cynics please stay away. After alerting the spoilers and grabbing the attention of the discerning few, I will recount this incredible story but first some background.
We live in a small town and our Nursing Home occupies a small part of our vast compound which has a garden, vegetable patch and fruit trees. Monkeys are frequent visitors and apart from the occasions when they go on a rampage, tearing clothes and uprooting plants, it is a peaceful coexistence. They take the fruits and vegetables they like and we eat what is left. Since they are considered Lord Hanuman’s kin no one wants to be overly stern with them.
Initially our staff would shoo the monkeys off with sticks. On a good day they would run off, on a bad day they would impudently stare back. Then one day, which you will agree was worse than other days, a monkey snatched our stick and waved it threateningly back at us. Feeling utterly belittled, we tried to smoke them out with firecrackers, but to no avail. That is when, out of sheer desperation we bought an airgun. Initially the sight of it was enough to scare them. I still wonder how the monkeys knew that firearms are fearsome gadgets. When the novelty wore off and the enemy figured that we just aimed but never fired, their respect for our gun died. Now we were left with no choice but to shoot at sight and show them that we meant business. And so we would fire in the air on seeing them. Sure enough, it sent them scurrying for cover. After a while we ran out of pellets and started firing it unloaded, thinking that the sound and sight of the gun was enough to frighten them. Soon enough they called our bluff, and started ignoring our dry firing. They increased their destructive activities, awaiting our next move. Clearly it was a game of wits and we were losing.
And then one day, something happened which, we thought, would change the dynamics of our relationship. A monkey walked into our hospital through the front gates. Yes, you got that right, he walked on his hind limbs with an upright almost humanoid gait. Didn’t jump over the boundary wall which was the preferred route. Moreover he didn’t leap around, leer or try to scare children. The menacing look, the threatening demeanour were gone. He walked to the back of the hospital and quietly lay down on an empty bed. Thats when we noticed. He had injured his hand and it was bleeding. He lay there pleading with his eyes. Most of the staff, having heard stories of monkey bites was scared to do the needful. A male nurse bravely went ahead and dressed the wound. During the whole procedure the patient lay very still without a whimper. Afterwards, he gratefully walked out of the front gates.
For a few weeks afterwards the monkey menace ebbed and I thought that we were being rewarded for the good deed. I began to dream of eating ripe, succulent fruit fresh off the tree. But soon enough the simians returned to their usual misdoings. Maybe our patient was from a different sect, maybe he was low on the monkey hierarchy and couldn’t control the behaviour of his clan, maybe word of the incident didn’t spread in the simian community because they don’t share stories. We had no way of knowing. In any case our mind was preoccupied with more pertinent questions . How did the monkey know that we were equipped to tend to his wound? Dressings and operations are done indoors, away from their intrusive gaze. What made him temporarily give up his simian habits and try to emulate humans? Did he think that we were more likely to treat him if he behaved like one? And the most important question of all. Did he think that by walking upright he could pass off as a coveted member of the homosapien erectus race? Is that the only difference he perceived between us?
This incident stays fresh in my mind and since it happened before the era of camera phones, I can offer no photographic proof. As for those who are shaking their head in disbelief, you shouldn’t even be reading this!
( published in the Hindu on 3/5/2016)