THE LEGEND BEHIND A LEGEND
Introducing the Author:
Hariharan Balakrishna is a writer and columnist. This article was published in the Literary page of the Hindu, 22 Jan 2006.
Summary:
Then the writer got the complete address & asked Saroj Raj Choudhury if he could visit him. Then he got a letter of invitation from Jashipur from Saroj Raj Choudhury to visit him and he gave all the instructions of the place. Then the writer took a bus from Bhubaneswar to that place. He reached at 4 am in the semi darkness. Within a minute the forest guard detailed to escort him to the guest house & the writer was given a room & took rest. While working he heard the voice of the tigress outside the door. Then he was given tea and biscuits & was assured that it was Khairi outside the door. Then the writer met Saroj Raj Choudhury sitting on a large chair. He is a weak man of fifty and very kind hearted. He had different species of wild animals in his house. He lias a tigress named Khairi. Khairi came to him when she was a cub on October 5, 1974. She was very hungry and confused Saroj Raj Choudhury initiated the sounds of a Mother Tigress and within minutes she was firmly anchored in the fastening human. Khairi was brought to Saroj Raj Choudhury by 12 Kharia tribals at Similipal. Next Morning Saroj Raj Choudhury started his inspection Area and he went through narrow road in the woods. he was given a gun for his eighth birthday by his mother. He realised that there is a greater happiness in conserving beautiful animals. Animals don’t harm people.
Saroj Raj Choudhury was an authority on the tiger and Director of Project Tiger in India. He introduced the Tiger Tracing Method of Tiger Census. He had great liking for wild animals. He had different species of wild animals in his house. He had a snake, a mongoose, a pangolin, wild cat twins, a country dog a blind Hyena. The snake that he had was a Krait. When it was a baby it was found in his compound. Khairio was curious to know mere and mere about that Krait. Sometimes the Krait bit the master. Suddenly he told a Tourniquet above that and got into his bloodstream and he became a permanent patient of hypo-glycomia. The animals understood all the expressions made by Saroj Raj Choudhury easily. This was the story.all about Khairi and his master Saroj Raj Choudhury. But after three months our writer visited that place again. He wanted to know more about Khairi. Saroj Raj was gracious enough to welcome the writer. He saw an eight-foot-long python in that house. Within two hours the writer continued his quest for the man and his passion. There was a wireless message from the world. Wildlife fund. Saroj was asked to catch a flight immediately for an important meeting at New Delhi the next day. Winter went to the Dum Dum Airport and saw him off at Calcutta. That was the last time to meet the legend behind a legend. In just over three months Khairi died. Then Saroj didn’t live much longer. A unique tale of the tiger ended there.
Question and Answer
Unit -1
1. Who is Khairi ?
Ans: Khairi is a tigress of Jashipur.
2. How did the writer come to know about Khairi ?
Ans: The writer came to know about Khairi from “the Statesman”.
3. Who was the Foster father of Khairi ?
Ans: Mr. Saroj Raj Choudhury was the foster father of Khairi.
4. Which state does the writer belong ?
Ans: The writer belongs to Odisha.
5. What did he learn about Saroj Raj Choudhury as a person ?
Ans: The writer learnt that Saroj Raj Choudhury was a gulf and tough man who brooked no nonsense and suffered no fools.
6. How did he contact Mr. Choudhury ?
Ans: He contacted Mr. Choudhury by writing to him.
7. Why did he refer some of his articles to Mr. Choudhury?
Ans: He referred to some of his articles to Mr. Choudhury because those articles referred to a few itinerant articles.
8. Did Mr. Choudhury reply to the author’s letter? What did he write?
Ans: Yes, Mr. Choudhury replied to the author’s letter. He wrote inviting the writer and giving him precise instructions to reach there.
Unit – 2
1. How did the writer come to Bhubaneswar?
Ans: The writer came from Bhubaneswar by bus.
2. How did he go to Jashipur from Bhubaneswar?
Ans: He went to Jashipur from Bhubaneswar by train.
3. How did the forest guard receive him?
Ans: The forest guard welcome him, took him to the guest house, showed him his room and told to take rest as soon as possible.
4. Why was he terror-struck?
Ans: He was terror-struck because he heard the unmistakable voice of the tiger just outside his door.
5. What did the bearer tell him about Khairi?
Ans: the bearer told him about Khairi that it was outside the door making friendly enquiries about the new guest in the house.
6. What was Mr. Choudhury doing when the writer met him ?
Ans: When the writer met him Mr. Choudhury was sitting on a large chair.
7. How did Mr. Choudhury greet the author?
Ans: Mr. Choudhury rose to great the author and asked Jambu to get down.
8. What was the name of the bear ?
Ans: The name of the bear was Jambu.
9. What was the physical appearance of Mr. Choudhury?
Ans: Mr. Choudhury was a frail man and fifties, slightly balding on the top.
10. What kind of man did the author find Mr. Choudhury to be?
Ans: Mr. Choudhury was one of the most humble human beings that the author found.
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Unit- 3
1. What theory did Mr. Choudhury prove wrong?
Ans: Mr. Choudhury proved the theory wrong that they cannot co-exist unless they are together from infancy.
2. What was his first story about?
Ans: His first story was about a Krait.
3. Why is it so unique and amazing?
Ans: It is so unique and amazing because Khairi being a wild animal was curious to know more about the strange new creature.
4. Why did Mr. Choudhury allow Khairi to come near a Krait?
Ans: Mr. Choudhury allowed Khairi to come near a Krait to experiment the reaction of a young tiger to a snake.
5. What was Khairi’s reaction to the presence of the Krait?
Ans: Khairi was curious to know more about the Krait.
6. How did the experiment affect him?
Ans: The experiment went on for some time. Each time the Krait went close to Khairi Mr. Choudhury pulled its tail. Then it bit him.
7. What did the bear try to do with the writer?
Ans: The bear tried to give the writer a bear hug.
8. What prevented the bear from doing so?
Ans: A stern ‘no’ from Saroj was enough to prevent the bear from doing so.
9. What kind of family did Mr. Choudhury have?
Ans: Mr. Choudhury had a veritable joint family that mongoose, a pangolin, wild cat twins, a country dog, a blind hyena.
10. What was his relationship with different animals?
Ans: His relationship with different animals was father son relationship.
Unit-4
1. How and when did Mr. Choudhury come across Khairi?
Ans: On October 5, 1974, 12 Kharia tribal of Similipal brought a two-month old tiger cub to Mr. Choudhury, an officer of the Indian forest service. That was Khairi.
2. In what condition did he find?
Ans: He found that it was a female, famished and confused.
3. How did he manage the hungry and confused cub ?
Ans: He imitated the sounds of a mother-tigress and within minutes the hungry and confused cub came to his control.
4. How did he treat wild life in his young age ?
Ans: In his young age he shot wild life with abandon.
5. What did he say about his change of attitude towards wildlife to the author ?
Ans: He said that he realised that there is greater happiness in conserving these beautiful animals that do no wanton harm to man.
6. What was his contribution to the tiger project ?
Ans: He introduced the tiger tracing method of tiger census where the pugmarks of each animal with distinctive measurements and characteristics are miraculously recorded.
7. What was the guest house like ?
Ans: The guest house was wooden structure with functional rooms and a bath. It was built on stilts and stood a good 15 feet above ground.
8. What new experience did the author have in the tiger Reserve area ?
Ans: The author had a new experience for the first time. He had spent one night a top of a Magnificent Machan.
Unit -5
1. After what interval of time did the writer visit Mr. Choudhury for the second time ?
Ans: The writer visited Mr. Choudhury for the second time after three months.
2. What new addition to Choudhury family did he find there ?
Ans: He found an eight foot long young Python in addition to his old friends.
3. Why did he get less time to interact with Mr. Choudhury this time ?
Ans: He got less time to interact with Mr. Choudhury this time because there was a wireless message from the World Wild Life Fund. Mr. Choudhury was asked immediately to catch a flight for an important meeting at New Delhi the next day.
4. Who died first Khairi or Mr. Choudhury ?
Ans: Khairi died first.
5. Who are the two legends the writer talk about ?
Ans: Khairi, the tigress and Mr. Choudhury are the two legends the writer talk about.
6. The text is more about Mr. Choudhury or Khairi ?
Ans: The text is more about Mr. Choudhury.
7. Can you guess now why the title of the text is “The legends behind legend” ?
Ans: The title of the text “The legend behind legend the legend “because it is impossible to fame wild animals and Mr. Choudhury was able to do all this. The second by to famous tigress is another legend. So the title in justified.
Additional Question and Answer
Who is the author of the article “The Legend Behind A Legend,” and what motivated him to write about Saroj Raj Choudhury and Khairi?
Answer: The author of the article is Hariharan Balakrishnan. He was motivated to write about Saroj Raj Choudhury and Khairi after reading about them in “The Statesman” and being intrigued by their unique story.
Describe the initial impressions the author had upon arriving in Jashipur and the encounter with the forest guard. How did the author feel upon hearing the tigress Khairi outside his room?
Answer: Upon arriving in Jashipur, the author was received by the forest guard, who escorted him to the guest house. The author felt a mix of terror and awe when he heard the unmistakable voice of the tigress Khairi just outside his room.
What role did Saroj Raj Choudhury play in the life of the tigress Khairi, and how did he establish a bond with her?
Answer: Saroj Raj Choudhury played the role of a foster father to Khairi. He established a bond with her by imitating the sounds of a mother tigress, which helped calm and anchor the young cub when she was brought to him.
How did Mr. Choudhury’s attitude towards wildlife change over time, and what did he come to realize about conserving beautiful animals?
Answer: In his youth, Mr. Choudhury had a cavalier attitude towards wildlife and even hunted them. However, he later came to realize that there was greater happiness in conserving beautiful animals that posed no harm to humans.
Explain Mr. Choudhury’s contribution to the Tiger Project in India, and what innovative method did he introduce for tiger census?
Answer: Mr. Choudhury made a significant contribution to the Tiger Project in India. He introduced the Tiger Tracing Method of Tiger Census, where distinctive measurements and characteristics of tiger pugmarks were meticulously recorded.
Describe the unique family of animals that Mr. Choudhury had in his house. What was his relationship with these animals?
Answer: Mr. Choudhury had a unique family of animals, including a snake, a mongoose, a pangolin, wild cat twins, a country dog, and a blind hyena. He had a fatherly relationship with these animals, treating them with care and affection.
What interesting experiment did Mr. Choudhury conduct with Khairi and a Krait? How did Khairi react to the presence of the Krait?
Answer: Mr. Choudhury conducted an experiment by allowing Khairi to come near a Krait, a deadly snake. Khairi was curious about the Krait and did not display aggression towards it.
What did the bear, named Jambu, try to do with the author? How was it prevented from doing so?
Answer: The bear, Jambu, attempted to give the author a bear hug. However, a stern “no” from Saroj Raj Choudhury prevented the bear from doing so.
How did Mr. Choudhury react when the author visited him for the second time, and what new addition to the Choudhury family did the author find?
Answer: When the author visited Mr. Choudhury for the second time, Mr. Choudhury welcomed him graciously. The new addition to the Choudhury family was an eight-foot-long young python.
Why did the author get less time to interact with Mr. Choudhury during his second visit, and what urgent message did Mr. Choudhury receive?
Answer: During the author’s second visit, Mr. Choudhury received an urgent message from the World Wildlife Fund, asking him to catch a flight for an important meeting in New Delhi the next day. This urgency limited the time for interaction.
Who passed away first, Khairi or Mr. Choudhury, and how did the unique tale of the tiger end?
Answer: Khairi passed away first, followed by Mr. Choudhury. With their deaths, the unique tale of the tiger and its foster father came to an end.
What is the significance of the title “The Legend Behind A Legend” in the context of the article?
Answer: The title “The Legend Behind A Legend” suggests that while Khairi was a legendary tigress, Mr. Choudhury was the unsung legend behind her story. It highlights the importance of Mr. Choudhury’s role in caring for and conserving wildlife.
What message or lesson do you think the author wants to convey through the story of Saroj Raj Choudhury and Khairi?
Answer: The author likely wants to convey the message that conservation efforts and genuine care for wildlife can lead to remarkable bonds and positive outcomes. It emphasizes the value of protecting and preserving the natural world.
How does the article portray the transformation of Mr. Choudhury’s attitude towards wildlife, from being a hunter to a conservationist?
Answer: The article portrays Mr. Choudhury’s transformation as a significant one. He evolves from being someone who hunted wildlife to realizing the joy of conserving and protecting these animals.
In your opinion, what makes the story of Saroj Raj Choudhury and Khairi remarkable and worth sharing?
Answer: The story of Saroj Raj Choudhury and Khairi is remarkable because it highlights the extraordinary bond between a human and a wild tigress, as well as the transformation of a hunter into a conservationist. It serves as an inspiring example of the potential for positive change and compassion towards wildlife.
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