Trumpets fall

The elephants ambled through the forest as the sun beat down on their massive bodies.

"Bholi, don't you think we need to do more than just grazing around the forest?" It was Raja, Bholi's mate. He was a quiet member of the elephant herd and spoke to a select few about his feelings. Yet those close to him knew he was just as stubborn as he was reticent.

"Do more?" Bholi asked, her head swaying as she walked. "What is it that we can do?"

"We can rule this forest." Raja declared pompously. "Look at our herd, all of us are strong and youthful. And yet, it is Lala and his tribe of lazy lions who rule the jungle."

"But that's the way it has always been, Raja.” Bholi's trunk hung limply. “Lions have always been kings. Even Chelu Amma says there are no better rulers than the lions."

"Your Chelu Amma is growing old." Raja shot back. "She never had any aspirations anyway. Can't you see, we are bigger and stronger than those pesky lions? Do you think they will stand a chance if we question their authority?"

"Hmm, perhaps they won't. So you want to overthrow their rule? But why would we need that?"

"Why? Just think how you would feel with all the animals treating you as royalty? Isn't that reward enough? I’ll speak to Meera Kaki tonight. You just see, we are onto something big here.”

Meera Kaki was the herd’s matriarch. The herd respected her for her wisdom and always obeyed her when she ordered them to move to a different part of the forest.

She listened intently as Raja explained his idea to her.

“Raja,” she said after she had heard his plan, “I know you are young and ambitious, but this is not what elephants are expected to do, son. Our job is to roam around the forest, have our grub, and be at peace with everyone. The lions are better with administration; let’s leave that job to them.”

“Your thinking is too rigid, Meera Kaki.” Raja said arrogantly swinging his trunk. “You’ve grown old and it’s time for you to step down now. I will lead the herd and see that we rule this jungle soon.”

The next afternoon, Raja called a meeting to announce his plans.

“Friends,” he began, “for generations, we elephants have rambled through these forests. Take a look at yourselves; there’s no one as sturdy and huge as us elephants. Yet everyone from the squirrels and the deer to the lions and the crocodile regard us as passive and docile. But not anymore. For I have a plan for us to use our power and rule this jungle.”

The herd which had been silent in attention to his speech, at once became attentive on hearing this. “He must be out of his mind,” mumbled Motu, known as an idealist among his friends. “He is bound to fail, just wait and watch,” predicted Heera, who always had an opinion on everything.

There were others however, who were greatly inspired by Raja’s announcement. “Finally, our time has come,” proclaimed Sholi as she swished her tail proudly. “Hail Raja, our new king” she trumpeted, raising her trunk. The rest of the herd followed suit, and cries of “Hail Raja” filled the forest air.

Raja raised his trunk and let out a shrill trumpet blast. The excited herd was quiet again. “Tonight,” declared Raja, his voice already assuming an air of royalty, “after the lions have had their meal, we will ambush them and drive them out of this forest.”

That evening, as the sun settled behind the mountains, Raja directed the herd towards the lions’ watering hole. The herd had already discussed his plans in its small groups. Many wholeheartedly supported the idea, but a few like Heera questioned his purpose. The vast majority, however, didn’t have an opinion at all.

“If Raja says so, it must be right,” they remarked in hushed tones as they walked behind their new leader.

So off the herd marched, diehard supporters, naysayers and the undecided junta, to attack the lions. The lions, even with their speed and ferocity, stood no chance against the might of the elephants and were forced to flee to the mountains.

That night, the elephants crowned Raja as their king. Trumpet blasts kept the forest awake all night. The elephants, in their wild celebrations, uprooted trees and tossed them about recklessly. Their antics continued till sunrise, and when the sun came back from the east, the forest was strewn with fallen trees and scattered nests. Monkeys, which would have normally been cavorting around in trees, now ran around the wreckage looking rather lost. Dead squirrels and rabbits lay motionless on the forest floor, their blood a grim reminder of the elephants’ callous merrymaking.

A parrot, perched on a log, preened himself and cast an inspecting look at the carnage around him. “The lions are gone, the revolution is here,” he prated and flew off screeching, “Long live the elephant king”.

“We have ousted the lions,” Raja said to his herd, “but let’s make sure they don’t ever dare come back again.”

“Aye, aye,” shouted his supporters and they put up notices all over the jungle: ‘Lions barred from entering the jungle. Any lion found in the jungle will be trampled to death by a dozen elephants. – Raja, Emperor of the jungle’.

“Freedom at last,” sighed Janaki, the doe, when she read the notice. “We won’t have the lions chasing us now.” Her companions agreed. “Our children will now be free to graze wherever they want.”

So, the jungle became a free place for all the animals. Anyone could have whatever he wanted and behave just the way he liked. The elephants continued their wild partying ways, the parrots kept up Raja’s propaganda. The deer and the rabbits grazed unhindered and multiplied rapidly, without fear of becoming the meal of any predator.

Soon, there were more mouths to feed; and with shrinking forest cover, it became a fight for survival among the animals. The huge elephants were the first to be hit, and soon their numbers began to dwindle. The deer, the rabbits and the squirrels too began starving and within a few years several species became extinct. The forest which once teemed with life was slowly reduced to a silent dead jungle.

Meanwhile the lions had discovered another forest beyond the mountains and made it their home. There they established their kingdom, and coexisted with the other animals even as the elephant regime was slowly being relegated to history.