There was an old 'bishkabra' who lived in a hollow at the base of the 'bil' tree. He had been around for ages, and the children, when they were children, knew that they had to be wary of the poisonous lizard whose bite could kill. He was a careful chap who maintained a rather low profile, unobtrusive in his comings and goings, and rarely seen.
The Bil tree is another unassuming fellow. It's hard-shelled fruit is much sought after throughout the summer months for being the best thing to ward off the heat of the westerly 'looh' and any complications of the stomach. The humble old tree keeps dropping its lifesaving fruits night and day, asking nothing in return. It's leaves are tasty, and we would often hand a slender branch to a child who wanted to feed the cows or goats.
I don't really know what we call these reptiles in any other language; they are smooth-skinned shiny fellows with forked tongues flicking in and out of their mouths, maybe three to four feet long, very agile. They are feared throughout our part of the country by the workers who toil in the fields. Small versions of the great monitor lizards? The Indian monitor?
A few months ago I had shown the opening at the base of the Bil to little Ayaana. Its walls were smooth, and the two-year old understood that here lived the Bishkabra, and that she had to be careful of it. Grandchildren do bring life around full circle in the nicest way.
Now, this fellow had been around for years, and had survived only because he had been smart enough to stay out of human sight. But with age comes a sense of belonging, a certain feeling of comfort, and it lulls the senses into complacency, into being not so suspicious of all the nice people around. So this winter he took to sunning himself atop a log lying outside the cow shed. He was often seen roaming around in the courtyard and lawns, not in any great hurry to get anywhere.
And human beings, we invariably overdo our show of concern for each other's safety, and we create fear where there is no cause for any.
Old Bishkabra was beaten to death, and displayed as a trophy by brave men with long sticks.
In a few days, the walls of the hole at the base of the tree lost their sheen, grass started growing at the entrance, the home was empty, just an empty hollow in an old tree.
...
There was some renovation going on at the homestead. One old wall was coming down to make way for a new kitchen. Twelve feet above the ground, as the bricks were removed, they came upon a litter of small Bishkabras. They were duly disposed of.
One day Robby came and announced that she had seen 'a different sort of lizard' among the house lizards that keep hunting insects in our home. It was shiny and more smooth in its movements....
A few days later Judda announced that he had killed a little Bishkabra in the bathroom upstairs. Then I knocked one off the wire mesh in the verandah and chased it out - I didn't kill it, out of deference to Robby and Tiffy; Jashan is usually kind enough to see reason in all that daddy does. Then Judda got another one in the kitchen....
Little Ayaana came home today, three now.
And Bhimsain found a little Bishkabra curled up in a vase in the drawing room. And Bhagwan Das saw a big one in the lawn. And Ayaana went prancing around trying to scare everyone "Hooo, Bishkabraaaa!"
POST SCRIPT 14 October 2019
There's a spritely young fellow who's occupied the hollow under the Bil tree. Bishkabraaas reign!
The Bil tree is another unassuming fellow. It's hard-shelled fruit is much sought after throughout the summer months for being the best thing to ward off the heat of the westerly 'looh' and any complications of the stomach. The humble old tree keeps dropping its lifesaving fruits night and day, asking nothing in return. It's leaves are tasty, and we would often hand a slender branch to a child who wanted to feed the cows or goats.
I don't really know what we call these reptiles in any other language; they are smooth-skinned shiny fellows with forked tongues flicking in and out of their mouths, maybe three to four feet long, very agile. They are feared throughout our part of the country by the workers who toil in the fields. Small versions of the great monitor lizards? The Indian monitor?
A few months ago I had shown the opening at the base of the Bil to little Ayaana. Its walls were smooth, and the two-year old understood that here lived the Bishkabra, and that she had to be careful of it. Grandchildren do bring life around full circle in the nicest way.
Now, this fellow had been around for years, and had survived only because he had been smart enough to stay out of human sight. But with age comes a sense of belonging, a certain feeling of comfort, and it lulls the senses into complacency, into being not so suspicious of all the nice people around. So this winter he took to sunning himself atop a log lying outside the cow shed. He was often seen roaming around in the courtyard and lawns, not in any great hurry to get anywhere.
And human beings, we invariably overdo our show of concern for each other's safety, and we create fear where there is no cause for any.
Old Bishkabra was beaten to death, and displayed as a trophy by brave men with long sticks.
In a few days, the walls of the hole at the base of the tree lost their sheen, grass started growing at the entrance, the home was empty, just an empty hollow in an old tree.
...
There was some renovation going on at the homestead. One old wall was coming down to make way for a new kitchen. Twelve feet above the ground, as the bricks were removed, they came upon a litter of small Bishkabras. They were duly disposed of.
One day Robby came and announced that she had seen 'a different sort of lizard' among the house lizards that keep hunting insects in our home. It was shiny and more smooth in its movements....
A few days later Judda announced that he had killed a little Bishkabra in the bathroom upstairs. Then I knocked one off the wire mesh in the verandah and chased it out - I didn't kill it, out of deference to Robby and Tiffy; Jashan is usually kind enough to see reason in all that daddy does. Then Judda got another one in the kitchen....
Little Ayaana came home today, three now.
And Bhimsain found a little Bishkabra curled up in a vase in the drawing room. And Bhagwan Das saw a big one in the lawn. And Ayaana went prancing around trying to scare everyone "Hooo, Bishkabraaaa!"
POST SCRIPT 14 October 2019
There's a spritely young fellow who's occupied the hollow under the Bil tree. Bishkabraaas reign!
