At the zoo he was aware that his experience of the animals would be over too quickly, so he kept his eyes wide open. He was mesmerised by Hathi, the elephant, with its thick bristly neck, tremendous tusks and clever trunk. A young mahout wearing a purple waistcoat and red turban sat near the elephant, which was chained to the ground. The mahout fed the elephant peanuts, which it picked at delicately with its trunk. It could so easily lift the mahout and kill him – Govinda wondered why it didn’t do so. He felt it was cruel to capture such a strong animal and keep it chained and prod it with a large hook. The elephant handler inserted the hook into the elephant’s sensitive skin, no doubt hurting it. Then he fed it more peanuts. Surely, thought Govinda, this elephant is blessed compared to the one that had to be shot. What a curse to be treated cruelly, shot and then burned.

‘White tigers, burly Indian buffalo, spotted deer, serpents and mongoose.’ His father pointed out these animals. ‘What do you think beta? That, there, a giraffe!’

Govinda’s mood turned bitter as he was reminded of the burning elephant. He scuffed the ground with his shoes and looked at the animals. He showed no sign of noticing that time stood still when he said, ‘If I had to choose one thing I would choose an elephant. Elephants are the most beautiful things in the world.’ His father’s face grew tired and worried, emphasising every crinkle in his skin.

Govinda imagined the animals in the wild: ‘Dad, who would win in a fight, the mongoose or the cobra?’

‘I suspect, Govinda,’ Sunil Seth said, puffing his pipe, weighing the question seriously, ‘they might be evenly matched, but I think perhaps the mongoose. For some reason I would like to see that mongoose winning a fight against a cobra.’

‘Then the mongoose is blessed,’ said Govinda.

Sunil Seth cleared his throat and smiled. ‘We all have our blessings and curses.’

Govinda spent most of his time looking at the big cats and the birds. His father got angry when he saw people tease the animals. A few people threw cigarettes at the monkeys. They hoped the monkeys would smoke the cigarettes. Later, when he saw men throwing apples at Khan, the Bengal tiger, Sunil Seth threw his coat over his arm in anger and ran to the manager’s office. Govinda followed him, almost falling in his haste.

The manager and his father argued face to face. ‘Idiot,’ Sunil Seth said, sticking his neck out. ‘I want the animals to be treated well.’

‘We all do sir,’ said the manager who in turn stuck his neck out.

‘Then do the right thing.’