Tiger Boy: Chapters 11–17

When dinnertime came, the rain was pouring. Baba returned, dried off, and sat down to eat. He didn’t wait for questions. “No sign of her,” he said gruffly as Rupa piled rice on his thali.

They clambered down to the shore, made their way under the bridge, and reached the golpata trees without having to wade in the water.

He couldn’t believe they were cowering from their own father—Baba, who had never lifted a hand against either of them!

Wedging his shoulders inside the entrance to the cave, he used his feet to propel his hand and the shirt as deep into the cave as he could.

“I tripped! It’s my stupid sari! You go! I’ll delay them!” Quickly she lay down face-first, her body sprawled across the path.

The small creature nestled closer, and Neel choked out the words: “Please, Baba, please.”

Finally Gupta spat in the dirt. “How dare you defy me!” he snarled. “You fool! Don’t you know who I am?”
“I know exactly who you are,” Baba said.

As Baba moored the nauka, Neel climbed carefully out, still cradling the cub.

“God has heard our prayers,” said Kushal, stroking the cub’s head as he held her. “We’ve been frantic with worry—the other rangers are on your island right now. We heard rumors about a bounty on her head. Is that true?”

Kushal shook his head. “We’ve been tracking that man’s poaching and logging activities for some time now. The police are quite interested in him also, for other reasons. This might be the very piece of information we need to get him out of the Sunderbans once and for all. Would you be willing to testify against him?”

“And how her mother wants her! She almost escaped again yesterday, but we managed to keep her inside without having to tranquilize her. She’s been prowling tonight on the other side of the fence, with her other cub close by. There she is now—hear that?”

Neel read the few titles aloud, struggling to translate them into Bangla for his father. “Project Tiger. Deforestation and Cyclones: A Deadly Combination. Flora and Fauna of the Mangrove Forest. Endangered Species in the Bay of Bengal. Asian Honeybees of the Sunderbans."

Neel read the few titles aloud, struggling to translate them into Bangla for his father. “Project Tiger. Deforestation and Cyclones: A Deadly Combination. Flora and Fauna of the Mangrove Forest. Endangered Species in the Bay of Bengal. Asian Honeybees of the Sunderbans."

Neel read the few titles aloud, struggling to translate them into Bangla for his father. “Project Tiger. Deforestation and Cyclones: A Deadly Combination. Flora and Fauna of the Mangrove Forest. Endangered Species in the Bay of Bengal. Asian Honeybees of the Sunderbans."

The mother tiger and the other baby must have caught the cub’s scent, because suddenly they came out into the open. The three creatures became one ecstatic tangle of golden, white, and black fur, cavorting in the moonlight.

The mother tiger and the other baby must have caught the cub’s scent, because suddenly they came out into the open. The three creatures became one ecstatic tangle of golden, white, and black fur, cavorting in the moonlight.

As dirty as he was, he almost hated to scrub away the smells of musky tiger cub, souring goat’s milk, thick creek mud, and salty Sunderbans water.

While the family ate, Baba, Neel, and Rupa described the previous night’s events to a bewildered Ma.

“Tell me everything—from start to finish!”
Neel recounted the whole story as they walked to school, prompted by eager questions from his friend.

Headmaster unfolded the graph paper. He studied Neel’s map for what seemed like a long time. “Astoundingly accurate,” he murmured, turning the paper upside down and studying it some more.

Neel took a deep breath. It was time to unveil his entire idea. “He will build you this desk and chair in exchange for your help, sir. He humbly requests that you take on the job of tutoring me in math.”

“Get ready for a course of intensive mathematics. Every day after school. You are going to master geometry and algebra if it is the last thing I do.”

Viju’s father went back to fishing and would hunt honey when it came in season, and Viju came back sheepishly for the last few weeks of school.

The steady, persistent mastery of math required more courage and endurance than that one night had demanded—more than he could muster on his own.

The steady, persistent mastery of math required more courage and endurance than that one night had demanded—more than he could muster on his own.

He pulled, pushed, and prodded, and Neel struggled and practiced and memorized, until slowly the mysteries of algebra and geometry managed to untangle in his brain.

Proctors strode up and down the aisles as they administered the exam.

Ajay would head to the secondary school on a nearby island and keep muddling along for a few more years of schooling. “Until my baba finally gives up on me,” he said ruefully.

With a thud Neel plunked down on the chair Headmaster had vacated, the chair crafted so lovingly by Baba, the chair that had carried him through those long, long hours of studying.

I won't let you down, Neel promised them all silently, and then ducked. Ajay and Viju had appeared out of nowhere, hooting, shouting, and pelting him with marigolds.