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A Panther In Your Dreams - Maya Khankhoje Maya Khankhoje is one of the talented new voices in the evolving literature of science fiction and fantasy. Long dominated by Western-centric technological positivists, speculative fiction has become more complex today --- it asks more difficult questions, takes less for granted and includes more diverse voices than ever before. However the so-called Third World is still under-represented in speculative fiction, not only in terms of setting and subject matter, but also in terms of writers and points of view that are unique to its many cultures. Maya Khankhoje's writings help fill a great void. Her bilingual (Spanish/English) anthology for children A Panther in your Dreams, will soon be published by Gyldan Edge Publishing.

This story by Maya Khankhoje is part of a collection of her short stories for children to be published by Gyldan Edge Publishers in the States. The book will have the same title as this story.

Illustration by © Susan Dubrofsky, a Montreal based graphic artist.

Kiran and Vir were very excited because they were going to Corbett Park. Ever since their parents had told them they would be going there for Christmas, sister and brother made sure to study well in school, do their chores at home and all in all, be on their best behavior. And if they were really really good, their mother had told them, they might even spot a tiger. Several weeks before their journey, Kiran borrowed an encyclopedia from the library and studied everything she could about Corbett Park. She learned that it was founded by an Englishman called Jim Corbett as a nature reserve for the protection of endangered species such as tigers. She looked at the map of India and located it right in Kumaon Hills, at the foothills of the Himalayas, the tallest snow covered mountain range in the world.

Vir also prepared for the trip. He read "The Tiger of Kumaon" written by Corbett himself. Corbett was a tiger hunter in the days when India was still a British colony. But even though Corbett was a hunter, he did not believe in over hunting, that is, in killing too many animals which would stop them from reproducing. So he helped the government set up a tiger reserve where hunters could only hunt with a special permit and in small numbers. And of course, they were not allowed to hunt during the mating season. Today nobody is allowed to kill any animals at all.

It took several hours of difficult mountain driving for Mr. Singh, the children's father, to drive to the park from Delhi. When they got there, they were met by a very nice Chinese lady who was the owner of "Infinity Inn", the lodge in the middle of the reserve. She told them to be ready to leave on a jeep safari at 6.30 in the morning.

The Singh family were ready at the crack of dawn. Wearing hats and gloves and scarves, they climbed on the jeep and headed towards the park. There they saw many barking deer, peacocks, pheasants, langur monkeys and sambar deer, which are very large and have great horns. But they saw no tiger and were very disappointed.

"What’s that smell!" exclaimed Mrs. Singh.

"It stinks like rotten meat!" piped in Kiran, wrinkling up her nose.

"I think somebody needs to take a bath!" replied Vir mischievously.

"Hush!" said Mr. Singh, pointing at the guide who had his finger to his lips.

"There is a tiger roaming around", said the guide in hushed tones.

The driver cut his engine and waited with the rest. Everyone knew there was a tiger nearby because they had seen his footprints. Everyone had smelled the cat's strong smell. Everyone was scared. The barking deer had stopped barking. The langur monkeys had climbed high on the trees holding their babies close to their chest. The birds had flown away. The lone male sambar deer had gone into hiding.

People held their breath but after a while they realized they would have no luck. There was no tiger to be seen. After ten or fifteen minutes of waiting, the guide told the driver to turn on the engine and to return to the lodge.

During the drive back, the children were silent. They were very disappointed. So many dreams, so many preparations, such a long journey and then nothing.

The following morning Mrs. Singh bundled up her children in the car and told her husband to drive safely back to Delhi. They reached the outskirts of a small mountain town when dusk was beginning to fall. All of a sudden an animal leapt in front of the car and then crossed the road and disappeared behind a tree.

"Look, a panther! Daddy, mommy, Kiran, look, that's a panther!" yelled Vir.

True enough, a panther had just crossed their lives and they could barely believe it.

Mrs. Singh suddenly burst out laughing. She laughed so loud that before you knew it she was crying.

"What is the matter, my dear?" asked Mr. Singh anxiously.

"The matter? Nothing, nothing at all. Here we have been preparing for this trip for the last few weeks just to see a tiger that never showed up in the reserve and on the way home we suddenly bump into a panther in the middle of town!"

"Who would have thought", said Mr. Singh shaking his head.

"Daddy, how come there was a panther in town?" asked Vir. "I thought they were afraid of people?"

"Don't be silly", piped in Kiran, "they come down from the mountain at night to eat the dogs that haven't gone to bed early! And children who ask silly questions."

"I'm not silly!" said Vir.

"Children, why don't you stop fighting and let your father drive in peace. We shall be home soon." said Mrs. Singh, patting her husband's hand gently and smiling in the darkness.

Vir and Kiran settled down on the back seat and fell asleep. In their dreams they were playing with elephants and tigers and panthers and sambar deer with big horns.

Which just goes to show you that if you dare to dream, your wishes will come true. If you dream of a tiger, you might get a panther. But for that, you will have to study hard at school, do your chores at home and all in all, be on your best behavior.

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