Jungle 3

In reading "The Miracle of Purun Bhagat" and "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi", I thought the theme of perception versus reality ran throughout. In the former, the Baghat that dies in the landslip is worshipped as a great holy man posthumously. Though "they worship there with lights and flowers and offerings to this day ... they do not know the saint of their worship is the late Sir Purun Dass ... once Prime Minister" (181-182). The people of the village know him only as a holy man, but had they known he was a powerful and highly educated Prime Minister, it surely would have changed the way they perceived him. In reality, he gave up much more to live the life of holiness, and this is reflected in the sacrifice of his own life to warn the villagers to get to higher ground.

The way other people see us isn't always the same with how we see ourselves [1]

In "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi", the perception of the mongoose is much different that the reality that is reflected by the views of the big man. Teddy's mother says shortly after interacting with Rikki,
"Good gracious, and that's a wild creature! I suppose he's so tame because we've been kind to him" (88). However, the big man corrects her by saying that, "All mongooses are like that. If Teddy doesn't pick him up by the tail, or try to put him in a cage, he'll run in and out of the house all day long" (88). The reality of the situation is that Rikki is a friendly creature, and that mongooses are the natural predators of cobras. I also thought it was interesting that the family regarded Rikki as providence simply because they used him to protect their family. I suppose the animal is god-sent, but the family should realize that all animals are god-sent and should be treated with such love and care, not just because their natural instincts are beneficial to the family.

The epitome of an animal used for protection [2]

The mongoose in his natural state [3]

[1] http://www.nextmovecoaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/perception-vs-reality.jpg
[2] http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerderby/2009/02/underdog.jpg
[3] www.youtube.com