Fifty tigers and one sheep dog

Arun Kolatkar's poem 'Ajamil and the Tigers' is a comic fable. The tigers complain to their king that they have not eaten for 15 days and 16 nights. The reason: the shepherd Ajamil has a new sheep dog, and they cannot get near his sheep.

The tiger king decides to go alone and teach the dog a lesson. He comes back with a black eye, and his tail in a sling.

So he leads all 50 tigers to attack together.

But the quick, clever sheep dog captures them all, ties them together in a long chain, and throws them at Ajamil's feet.

The story works on two levels. On the surface, it is a funny animal tale. On the figurative level, the tigers stand for the greedy and powerful, and the sheep for ordinary people.

A comic fable with a political sting.