The Kindle Book

Mowgli was sloppily hanging from a tree, and reminiscing the bygone days. The bark to which he held on to, broke off without warning and he fell with a booming thud. Dizzy from the fall, he gathered himself and pushed himself up and adjusted his earphones.

“Damn that diet”, he thought, looking at his paunch, “I think I’ll need more exercise, starting tomorrow. Life was much better with the wolves. This girl’s cooking is spoiling me.” He was thinking of Panneer butter masala. Middle-age was getting the better of him.

He brushed the twigs and leaves off himself and looked around furtively, hoping no one had seen his descent from his dream world. There was no one. He laughed. This was his ‘my time’. The time when he was all by himself in the forest he so loved, grew up in, where he felt at home. He dug into his pocket and pulled out his mobile phone. The phone lit up to say, “No signal”.

“Damn, what ever happened to technology,” he pondered, tapping at the phone, hoping that the signal would miraculously reappear. “So many power cuts,  the repairman won’t come home to check my broken AC, hell, even the GPS won’t work!” He sat down by the tree and pulled off the earphones, to listen to the sound of the jungle. Ah, that blissful sound of whooshing trees. He closed his eyes and dreamed of the world he once knew. A sudden noise, and he jerked his head around and looked keenly.

There amidst the trees was a dark creature, an old friend, hiding awkwardly behind a tree, trying to surprise him. Taking cue to their old days, Mowgli screamed : “Aaaahhhh! Bear!!!”

Balu came waddling out of the thickets : “Kindly bear with me, but all bears are bare.”

M : “No I just meant..”

B : “Yeah, I get it, I got fur all over, alright? I’m not naked.”

M : “No, not that..”

B : “Yeah..? What else?”

M : “If only you’d let me talk! Thank you.. so where was I.. yeah, I just called you a bear bear.. not a bare bear!”

B : “Oh.. I think I need a beer.”

M : “Beer? Is that a queen bee? Creating new bees.. A bee-r.. haha.. okay, bad one.”

B : “Seriously? Be happy, I lost any idea of hugging you.”

M : “Yeah, lose the love! Just be-arrrrr!”

B : “Okay, I think I’ll just hug you.”

M : “Ha. ha. ha. Very funny. So tell me, how have you been? I dearly missed you.”

B : “Of course you didn’t.”

M : “Ah.. alright.. I cannot lie to you. Life got busy, you know. But I have taken a new year resolution to be coming to the jungle every month! I have even blogged on it. See? It is one of my 15 resolutions for this year!”

B : “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. Instead, I’ll just hug you.”

M : “Nooo…..”

Life was back to where it had to be. He ran wild into the forest, Balu chasing him with a wild roar. The bear would win easily, for Mowgli was clearly out of practice. Things may have changed, but deep inside, he was still the child of the jungle, and no technology could defy him of his own self! Balu caught on, and Mowgli squished as he was squeezed by one of his best friends.