Mr Dawsons grave
Now the oldest mahout addressed the Zoo director:
-Tea will be ready soon, Sir. Do you want to visit Mr. Dawson's
grave, Sir?
-Yes why not. He turned to my mahout.
-Bring the baby, also. I want to see if she is properly trained.
We all started to follow the river upwards until we came to a
bridge.
They all stopped when I begun to drink from the river.
The doctor started to talk to the director.
-Do you know the fate of Mr Dawson, Chandran?
-I've heard some but please tell me the story again. He was aBritish engineer, wasnt he?
-Yes, in fact one of the first who made steel bridges in India.Because of the railroads, you know. He was a specialist in that sense, and was always involved in all different major steelbridge buildings, I think.
-Achaa. (Which means anything from okey, I see, definitely, or goon)
We had been walking, and now we stopped at the base of thebridge.
-So why was he buried here, then?
-He lived in the house over there,
(the doctor pointed at abungalow opposite the river) so he could watch the bridge fromhis living room...
-Achaa.
-...and every morning he dived from the bridge.
-Proud of it, was he?
-Yes I think so. Maybe it was one of his first bridges I do not know.
One day, however, he miscalculated the dive. The river had begun to dry up, and he dived into a stone on the bottom,
and died.
-So where is his grave, then?
-On this side of the river, let's go see.
We followed the road some 100 meters, until we came to a fork in the road,
one direction lead to the camp, and the other leadto the forest. At the fork was a small yard,
surrounded by a wallwith a great rock in the middle. The vet continued his story:
-The elephants dragged the stone up here, and put it on top ofhis grave.
-Acha. The director leaned forward and read the inscription loudly.
E.S. DAWSON
FOREST ENGINEER
DROWNED AT NEDUNGAYAM, 9TH, OCTOBER, 1938
----
AND I SHALL THEREUPON TAKE REST
ERE I BE GONE
ONCE MORE ON MY ADVENTURE BRAVE AND NEW
They all bowed to the grave, and started to go back to the camp.
-Some fate, this Mr Dawson had, don't you agree doc?
-Certainly, many feel he was a great man, in some way. <
br>And someone with that special passion that only some people have for their work.
-Achaa. Lets have some tea now,
and then get back to Nilambur for lunch.