NO ROOM FOR A LEOPARD BY RUSKIN BOND SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS

 

Glimpses of human encroachment

This story was first published in ‘A Bond with the Mountains’ in 1998. It is a very moving account of the killing of a trusting leopard by a group of shikaris. Leopard skins were selling in Delhi at over a thousand rupees each. Obviously, there was a ban on the export of its skins but there were always ways and means… Because of such unscrupulous persons, the leopard, like many other members of the cat family, is nearing extinction in India.

 

Because of deforestation taking place in the hills and surrounding areas, many animals have been driven into the valleys inhabited by human beings. This exposes them to grave risks and fatal encounters - one such encounter has been described in this short story.

 

Certainly, this deforestation has brought one indirect advantage too - of bringing humans and non-humans closer to each other. The protagonist - we are given neither his name nor age - came into close contact with the folktails (Animal legends),kaleej pheasants(a bird found in Himalayan Foothills). Langurs (monkeys with black face), red foxes and even a sinewy orange-gold leopard. As the narrator had not come to take anything from the jungle the birds and animals soon grew accustomed to his face They began to recognize his footsteps. After some time, his approach did not disturb them. The birds would no longer fly away, The langurs in the oak and rhododendron (rose like woody plant) trees would just watch him with some curiosity and continue to munch up the tender green shoots of the oak. Not only that, when one day he saw a leopard poised on a rock about twenty feet above the young narrator, leopard knows he was a frequent walker through that path. Birds, monkeys and all other herbivorous animals are familiar with his smell and outlook. Narrator often stops upon seeing all those animals. The often had a close encounter like crossing each other’s path several times. In fact animals can even sense the intentions of men. Like others leopard too sensed the narrator is harmless and other humans too.

 A deep bond thus got established between the narrator and the animal world without even exchanging a single word.

 

The difference between the innocent mind of the narrator and the other group of Shikaris has been brought out here. narrator loves nature just like the children. They love all the birds and animals It comes naturally to them. No ulterior consideration enters their innocent minds. They can never ever think of harming the animals or exploiting them for their personal gain or profit. But the adults represented by these Shikaris are solely driven by mercenary (making money) considerations. If a leopard's skin can fetch them a good price, they would not think twice before killing him. Compassion, trust, love ...  these mean nothing to them. An idyllic world stands shattered because of this selfish cruelty.

 

The young narrator loved every bird and animal. He meant them no harm. They In return trusted him and accepted him and cared for him, in their own way. But their acceptance of his presence, of human presence proved to be their undoing. The leopard became trusting, became less cautious, took the shikaris also to be friends.  And eventually lost his life. Hereafter at least animals stopped trusting human beings and this distrust soon spread far and wide. Even though all men are not selfish and cruel, many of us deeply love animals and care for them but the act of shikaris will make them suspicious forever.

Here the young narrator crosses the forest and the small stream at the bottom of the hill every morning and evening. We are not told why he does so. It is left to our imagination. But that is not important. What is significant is the trust that develops between him and the animals and the subsequent breach of that trust.

The best in children's literature has a double purpose. While it entertains the young reader and the adult as well, it also teaches something -helps understand the norms of the society in which we live. Transmission of ethical and social values is skilfully woven into the texture of the story.

In a way this story is a comment on the modem world and its life style. The adults no longer provide role models for our children. Models of right thinking and right behaviour. Children are making them aware of their misdeeds.

Summary

The narrator goes for a walk around a stream, crosses the forest and at the bottom of the hill in every morning and evening. He was a frequent walker through that path. Birds, monkeys, and other herbivorous animals are familiar with his smell. They know he is not a hunter. All of a sudden, he spots a silent leopard at the stream for drinking water. The speaker often stops upon seeing it. That also happened that they both crossed each other’s path several times. Even animals can smell the intentions of man. Like other animals, leopard sensed the narrator as a harmless human. It trusted him.

 

One day the speaker finds a few men resting under a tree with guns. They are shikaris, they asked the narrator if he had seen any leopard here. Ruskin denies. The thought and sight of hunters made him feel bad and sorry for that leopard. Several days pass by and the narrator does not see that leopard again. He goes to a serene and silent hill. He sensed something is eerie. When he focuses to one cave, it is dark inside, and he feels that there is that leopard. He returns home silently.

 

Next day while on a walk, he sees some men making a jubilant sound. When he sees them, he freezes with disbelief. On a bamboo pole the same leopard’s corpse is hanging. The men were singing their song. “We told you that there is a leopard in the jungle”, said one of the shikaris.

 

He, then, remembers the lines of a poem ‘Mountain Lion’ by D.H. Lawrence: ‘There was a room in the world for a mountain lion and me’.