Adventurous

 It was late to come from the gym. To go to the gym, we have to cross the Parli Ghat every day and go to Satar. The distance is not that much, eleven kilometers, but the road is a ghat and surrounded by mountains! The family keeps shouting at the girls not to stay outside the house for so long at night, but Nishu tai and I do not do anything during our exercise time. We come home at our agreed time, that is, between 9:30. Even today, after completing all the exercises, I look in the mirror and take high-quality photos of my body. After getting fresh, I kicked the car and started to go home. My body, tired from exercise, was very hungry. I had increased the speed of the car so that I could reach home early and settle down on a hot plate.

 There was not much traffic on that deserted ghat road, but in the dark, the sound of night owls created an eerie atmosphere. The village cemetery is located next to the bridge of Urmodi on the way. There is a legend that a 'she' takes at least one victim every year while crossing that bridge, but it would be no wonder that science students like us avoid traveling at night out of fear of this legend! We came to realize that sometimes such incidents have to happen in life to show our bravery. Because this is exactly what happened! Outside the gate of Parli village, the huge mountain range of Sajjangad stands as if this piece of the universe has sheltered Parli in its womb. The surrounding area, the cycle of nature here, depended on this mountain.  As we descend down this mountain range, we see the huge wall of the Urmodi Dam in front and Parli below it. Surrounded by the Sajjangad mountain range to the south and 'Urmodi', which has always been a blessing for sixty villages to the north, this is my village! We left the Parli fork a short distance and started on the road to pass the mountain range. The usual road, the usual time, the usual way, but in a moment it was amazing and it was time to leave the book knowledge and give a real test of courage in life! Indeed, I studied the third year "session" exam through books, but today's "satva" exam was a death sentence!

The car was slowing down near the bend when a leopard suddenly appeared in front of the car from the dark forest. In a moment, it and I saw it.  His extraordinarily expressive eyes, with the car's headlights shining on them, looked even more ferocious. Just a few seconds...! That noble yellow animal with black spots on its body and a heavy body was the "leopard" in the book, but today it was the same one who had literally become death in front of me. Just as he was about to leap from the mountain on the left side towards the car, I slowed down because I felt something moving. This sight came from a distance of a meter.  In this area of the village, I had heard stories from the village people that farmers in the fields, firewood collectors in the forest, morning walkers going for a walk in the morning, etc. had to face such situations many times, but if a leopard came in front, they would say the verse "Manojam Maruttulya Vegam" and then the leopard would say in response "Vadni Kaval Ganatha". What is the joke about this? When will we have to face this situation? I had not thought about protection until now, but today, at that moment, there was no thought, but a need to act! I had left the gymnasium at a fast pace with a hungry stomach, but before going home, we were going to become a feast on the leopard's plate. Happiness, sadness, jealousy, claims, all these disappeared in an instant, and that life that seemed important. If this time to show courage had passed, I would have lost my life. My struggle to save my life was floating before my eyes with the fear of my life.  If I had given up at that moment, my name would have been branded as a tiger's prey for the rest of my life. I assumed that I was done with life. Now that my death was in my hands, I had to decide whether to fear it or face it mentally. I am not a Marathi girl who only uses names like Shivakanya and Ranragini, but I decided to fight against a real tiger, that is, to become the heart of a tigress with its own strength. In that split second, I decided! The cruel headlight of the car that fell into the leopard's eyes... me.... that was the battleground and the terrifying darkness around me as a spectator...!

In the law of nature, only the one who resists exists. In the future, only the one who fights the situation that has come to destroy him will survive. Even if I die now, it would be better, but I never liked to die crying because of which animal hunted me, so I decided to fight... In an instant, the leopard moved forward to attack, with the fire in my eyes and the courage in my heart to resist the leopard, I did not back down. Seeing my fierce appearance, the leopard changed its path in an instant and went towards Urmodi. A crowd of two or four cars coming from behind was gathering. By the time we reached home, the news of the leopard's encounter had reached the village, everyone praised me with admiration, my mother looked down and in some time this news spread throughout Panchkroshi.  It was not a celebration of the joy of meeting a leopard and being able to look at it. It was a kind of implementation... Should we limit the courage learned in books to books or should we run away from there when such an incident actually occurs, saying 'Shivaji should be born but in someone else's house'? And I had accomplished it. ...!

- Bhakti Chandrakant Pansare