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kind-hearted man and consented. Not only that, but he wrote to the
curator telling him to lend us a cage for transporting the bear to
Bangalore.

Consented: Agreed
Curator: Keeper

They returned to Bengaluru and visited the Superintendent at his
bungalow. She cried and requested that both of them had been worrying
for each other. She requested to have Baba back. The Superintendent
was a kind - hearted man and he accepted her request. He wrote to the
zoo in-charge to arrange a cage for transporting Baba to Bengaluru.

Back we went to Mysore again, armed with the superintendent‟s letter.
Baba was driven into a small cage and hoisted on top of the car; the
cage was tied securely, and a slow and careful return journey to
Bangalore was accomplished.

Hoisted: raised by means of ropes or pulleys
Accomplished: completed

They went to Mysore with the Superintendent’s letter. Baba was put in a
cage and the cage was kept on the top of the car. It was tied securely
and they returned to Bengaluru.

Once home, a squad of coolies were engaged for special work in our
compound. An island was made for Baba. It was twenty feet long and
fifteen feet wide, and was surrounded by a dry pit, or moat, six feet wide
and seven feet deep. A wooden box that once housed fowls was brought
and put on the island for Baba to sleep in at night. Straw was placed
inside to keep him warm, and his „baby‟, the gnarled stump, along with
his „gun‟, the piece of bamboo, both of which had been sentimentally
preserved since he had been sent away to the zoo, were put back for
him to play with.

Squad: team
Gnarled: rugged, twisted

At their home in Bengaluru, a team of workers was employed to execute
some work in the backyard. As Baba was a full - grown bear, he had to
be kept isolated. So, an island which was twenty feet long and fifteen
feet wide was built. It was surrounded by a dry pit which was six feet
wide and seven feet deep. (You must have seen similar islands in the
zoo where bears are kept). It was made like this because the bear would
not be able to cross the pit over to areas that were inhabited by people
as it could be a threat to them. Things which were used by Baba had
been kept securely by the writer’s wife. These were kept on the island.