A Baba

Tweet

Last night I found a old tin box in a room. It was brimming with old books and magazines. I found a old; reputed magazine.And found an interesting story in it. The story was in Hindi and written by a ranger who had shared one of his experiences there. On the way to his office with some villagers in a jeep; a villager told the ranger about a old man who lived in the jungle.The villagers called him "Poonja Baba".The villagers had a great respect for that old man who was going to be 90. The villagers told the ranger that the baba treated ill and injured wild animals.The baba used to say that domestic animals were treated by doctors;but the wild animals were helpless. When they fell ill or get injured; they either die or suffer for a long time. The ranger got curious and wanted to see the baba. The villager led him to the baba; the 90 year old man. The baba lived in a small hut surrounded by a fence made of straw and leaves. The ranger saw the baba.He was a frail man.There were many wild animals like jackals;foxes;hyaenas;deer;monkys etc behind the fence of his hut. Some of them were injured and some were ill.The baba was applying something like a paste on their wounds. Some birds were also there. The villagers had found them lying injured or ill in the jungle. The ranger talked to the baba.He wanted to take his photo;but the baba flatly refused. The ranger has written that the old man had a soft shining face brimming with kindness and politeness. The villagers told the ranger that the baba had a vast knowledge of medicinal use of leaves and roots of plants along with herbal medicines.As the villagers told him;the baba had healed a few tigers and leopards also. It's a story written by a ranger about 50 years ago.