TIGER ON THE PORCH

 
Late at night, during one of the Indian bus tours, we stopped at a dak bungalow, got our bedding rolls from the top of the bus, and started looking round for places to sleep.

It was not a large building, and by the time I had rescued my night kit, I found that the rooms were crowded and decided in spite of the sound of tigers in the offing — there were always night watchmen — to sleep on the porch.

I spread out my mattress and was just about to get ready to crawl into it when the door on my right side opened. Out came Eruch and I found that this was the entrance to Baba's room. Eruch then informed me that no one was allowed to sleep outside Baba's door and that I should move away at once.

I rolled up my mattress and was just moving away when Eruch, who had in the meantime returned to Baba, came out again with a message from Him that for this once I might sleep near His door. So on Baba's doorstep, with a lullaby from distant tigers, I almost at once fell into a sleep of deep exhaustion, which sometime during the night brought me a strange dream.

It was as if I were lying awake when the door of Baba's room opened and out came Baba. He was no longer the Baba that I knew, but was a large tiger walking on His hind legs. But the face was Baba's face.

He proceeded to walk round my bed, opening His mouth and waving His front paws at me, and in the dream this seemed perfectly natural and not frightening. After a short time, He went back through the open door which closed after Him.

The next day I told Baba of this dream. He seemed delighted and indicated that the next time it happened He would eat me. It never happened again and I am still uneaten.