Ajamil and the Tigers
by Arun Kolatkar
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A satirical allegory of manipulative politics told as an animal fable. The starving tiger people complain to their king that Ajamil the shepherd's new sheep dog keeps them from their prey. The tiger king boasts he will teach the dog a lesson, but the lone sheep dog defeats the entire attack, taking all fifty tigers and their king prisoner without letting them touch a single sheep. Beaten, the tiger king lies smoothly, claiming they were only coming 'as friends' and that 'means are more important than ends'. Ajamil, the shrewd 'good shepherd', pretends to believe every word, refuses to meet the honest sheep dog's disgusted eyes, cuts the tigers loose and invites them to dinner. After lamb chops and roast, Ajamil and the tigers sign a long-term friendship treaty, and he sends them back laden with gifts of sheep, leather jackets and wool. Ajamil is no fool: like all good shepherds he knows even tigers must eat, and he keeps the peace by feeding them, so that 'well fed tigers and fat sheep drink from the same pond'. The poem satirises the cynical compromises of politics, where the powerful are appeased at the expense of the weak.
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The tigers' complaint
The starving tiger people come to their king, complaining that they have had nothing to eat for fifteen days because Ajamil the shepherd has a new sheep dog that cramps their style and keeps them from the meat. The tiger king vows to teach the dog 'a lesson he'll never forget'.
The sheep dog's victory
The tiger king's night attack fails utterly. Quick as lightning, the lone sheep dog takes all fifty tigers and their king as prisoners of war before they can touch a single sheep, he is 'in 51 places all at once', and flings them in a heap before Ajamil. The predators are completely defeated.
The tiger king's lies
The beaten tiger king lies smoothly to Ajamil: there has been 'a bit of a misunderstanding'; they could have wiped out the herd but were 'not trying to creep up on your sheep'; they 'feel that means are more important than ends' and were 'coming to see you as friends'. The honest sheep dog is disgusted and makes frantic signs, but Ajamil pretends to believe every word.
Ajamil's cunning peace
Ajamil cuts the tigers loose, feasts them on lamb chops and roast, and signs a long-term friendship treaty, sending them back laden with gifts of sheep, leather jackets and wool. Ajamil is 'no fool': he knows even tigers have to eat, and a good shepherd sees to it that they do, keeping himself free to 'play a flute all day' while 'well fed tigers and fat sheep drink from the same pond / with a full stomach for a common bond'.