My father was a medical perfonal working for a private company in Ranigung West Benor The officon of the company were housed in indivi hunglows inside a large compus Our house was corner of the campus. The officer's club wo ofpocent to the boundary wall of our garden. The compound waw harness with green grass, colourma flowen and a best of sall and majestic trees. The town vegeubles in the kitchen gardens of the homeholds and the magnificent trees constantly attracted squirrels and many species of birds, a group of langurs had even made theit den in on drwatha tree nearby. They had all become a part and parcei of our existence and daily life
A small incident on a Senardoy afternoon left a profound effect on me and unfolded before my eyes a whole new dimension to the wonders of God's creation. It was a few days into the Puja vacation Just like for any other child, the holidays provided an opportunity for me to become engrossed in various magazines and storybooks published specially for children in the festive season.
After a hearty lunch, my parents and my younger sisters lay down for an afternoon nap and I settled down with a storybook. The quiet afternoon presented the perfect backdrop for reading an adventure story The silence was occasionally broken by the sound of my family aporing the (intermittent chirping of house sparrows, the harsh cawing of a crow the brill call of a kite flying high above the ground. Minutes ticked by. I became deeply absorbed in the book,
Suddenly, I heard a group of street dogs barking furiously in the distance. I chose to ignore the commotion thinking that the pack of dogs might have cornered a hapless pig. But soon, the barking became louder and more oggressive and the alarmed cawing of a flock of crows added to the cacophony I also heard the approaching closer.
Curiosity got the better of me. Leaving the book aside, I rushed to the veranda to see what was going on
I glanced towards the roof of the club house and saw something horrible. A big male langur, apparently the leader of its group, was holding a baby langur in his hands and mercilessly biting it all over with a definite intent to kill. The helpless mother of the baby and other lesser members of the langur group were scattered on the roofs of the buildings nearby watching the baby being killed. I recalled the terrible custom in the animal clan according to which a dominant male usually does not allow another male baby or adult to survive within its group.
Without losing any time, I gathered a stout stick in one hand and hurled a piece of stone at the marauding langur. The langur was so infuriated that it hardly took any notice of my assault. But then I started throwing more stones. The dogs on their part raised their pitch of cry.
The changed circumstances and the sudden unexpected attack from unknown quarters forced the langur to drop the baby from the sloping roof over the veranda. The baby was listless and appeared to be dead. As its body started to slide down, the excitement of the pack of dogs grew manifold at the prospect of a good kill and meal. Keeping the dogs