A Tamil tiger in Udaipur

Rama, a white tiger from Anna Zoo in Chennai, will have a new home in Udaipur (Photo: FreeImages.com/ David Jenks - for representational purpose only)

A Tamil tiger will soon have a home in Udaipur, Rajasthan. This Tamil tiger is not to be confused with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who fought a prolonged civil war in Sri Lanka to establish Eelam, an independent Tamil country. This one is a white tiger from the Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Chennai, to be shifted to the Udaipur zoo under an exchange programme. 

 

Two female wolves from Udaipur zoo will come to Chennai, and Rama, the white tiger, will move to Udaipur. But the problem is, Rama like many in Tamil Nadu, understands only Tamil – and may be a little English.  A trainer from Chennai is accompanying Rama to Udaipur to help him settle down at his new home. Either Rama will have to learn Hindi or the staff in Udaipur zoo will have to learn basic Tamil to communicate with him.   

 

On a lighter vein, it may not be the first visit of a Tamil tiger to North India. India had provided training to LTTE cadres during the early 1980s and some of the camps were reportedly located in Uttar Pradesh among other places. 
 

The writer of this column, P C Vinoj Kumar, is Editor of The Weekend Leader