The tiger was a troubled soul going into a siesta one recent afternoon-he was feeling old, haggard and toothless, and being out of power was doing the ego no good. He was awake in no time, in cold sweat, heart thudding between the ears. One look at his face in the mirror and he reached for a cellphone. The shrink, lawyer and mole were soon by his bedside.
"So what is it now?" the shrink spoke first.
"I've just had the most frightening nightmare of my life."
"What could be worse than your last one?"
"Those were just some tigers in a zoo... Listen, there I was pleasantly trudging along my weary path towards a waterhole when this huge tiger jumps into view and..."
"You met Prabhakaran again?"
"Yes, and he gave me a real tongue lashing this time. Called me names, said I was giving tigers a bad name."
"That you are," the lawyer shook his wise head.
"Listen to me, please. Anyway, after all that, as he was leaving, he turned round and let out his customary goodbye roar. And when I tried to roar back only a soft meow came out and he..."
"What?" the shrink shot up from his chair. "You lost your roar? This is serious, this is..."
"I thought as much. My poor heart is still thudding between my ears."
The shrink sat down and turned towards the lawyer. "Real bad news," he whispered. "I've never come across a case like this."
"That bad, eh?" the lawyer's brow was creased. "What happens now?"
"I don't know… there's no known cure… maybe we could…"
"Stop whispering over there and tell me what's going on," the tiger pleaded from his bed.
"We are thinking, we are thinking…" the shrink was on his feet again. "I can't think of anything but a strong dose of power, and even then..."
"But elections are a long way off and I don't even know if…" the tiger trailed off with a sad shake of his head.
"I can't think of anything else," the shrink sat down with a sigh.
The tiger turned towards the mole, beseeching eyes already welling up with tears.
"What do you want me to do?" the mole was surprised, almost taken aback. "Elections are…"
"Think of something," the tiger begged. "After all you're the one in power, a deputy chief..."
"Leave him alone," the lawyer said. "If he could think he wouldn't be an ordinary mole. Anyway, I think we could try a stunt, but I'm not sure if we can pull it off."
"What is it? What is it?" the tiger sat up in his bed. He loved stunts, any kinda stunt.
"You remember that bunch of files you wanted to burn, the ones with the cases against you?"
"The time-barred ones?"
"Yes, but how many people know that?"
"What files are you guys…" the mole's curiosity was silenced by the lawyer's cold glare.
"Okay, this is what we are going to do," the lawyer laid it out. "Our friend here stumbles upon the files and goes to court…"
"What?" the tiger was aghast. "You sending me to jail?"
"No, no," the lawyer seemed sure. "I told you they were time-barred. Listen me out. Our friend goes to court, you make the usual noises, burn a few things, you know, whip up the frenzy, give our friends in Dilli a few sleepless nights, and then, just when things are reaching the point of no return, judge throws case out and you get a huge sympathy wave. After that you…"
"I said he needed a strong dose of power," the shrink interrupted. "This will hardly tickle his toes."
"I know," the lawyer agreed. "But let's try it, maybe we can sustain it, you know, the Supreme Court, appeals…it might work… frankly, I can't think of anything else, and I've got to rush back to Dilli now. I've got some ass to kick, real bad, real hard."
"Wait a minute," the tiger was worried. "Are you sure this will work? What if the judge…?
"He won't."
"What if you open your famous mouth and start bragging?"
"I won't."
"I'll make sure you get the sack," the tiger tried a threat.
"Listen, my old friend," the lawyer stood up and looked at his watch. "Do you know how badly I need a sack? Do you know how much money I'm losing everyday, wasting my time being a lousy Minister?"
"You mean you want to quit politics?" the tiger was shocked. "I thought we were the…"
"I know, you thought politicians were the biggest crooks on the planet," the lawyer made for the door.
"Well, you live and you learn."
"Promise me you won't shoot your mouth off," the tiger begged.
"That I can't," the lawyer smiled, and slipped out the door.
"Can never trust the old owl," the tiger sighed. "But what can I do? He's my lawyer."
"Things could be a whole lot worse," the shrink reminded and stood up. "Okay, I'll leave you guys to work things out. Got to go now."
The door closed and the mole-clueless still-stood up from his chair, went over to the bed, and started massaging the tiger's feet. And the tiger told him a small little story.
"I'm going to end up with a whole lot of cowdung on my face," the hands stopped in mid-massage.
The tiger didn't break the pregnant pause.
"Alright, alright," the hands started working again. "After all, your are still my mentor."


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