Jim Corbett’s short story A Deed of Bravery by Jim Corbett is an

intense short story about two young men Narwa and Haria who fought a

tiger and other hardships and came out victorious.

Narwa and Haria considered themselves as ‘blood brothers’ who were

born and lived in a tiny village near Almora. They were basket makers

by profession. In summer months, they worked in their village, while in

winter months they went to Kaladhungi where there is a great demand

for huge baskets. They used to collect bamboos from the Government

Reserved Forest near Kaladhungi to make thebaskets

On 26 December 1939, Narwa and Haria set out to the bazaar

atKaladhungi to get a license from the forest guard to collect a head load

of bamboo.As they are on their way they came to a place of trees and

grass junglewhich is also frequented by many wild animals including

tigers. Haria was leadingamong the two and Narwa was following him

when suddenly Haria heard anangry roar of a tiger and the shriek of

Narwa. Haria turns around, sees Narwa lying on his back on the ground
and a tiger lying diagonally across him. Haria then takes hold of the two

feet of Narwa and starts pulling him away from under the tiger. He is

able to save Narwa from the tiger, and eventually gets him to Nalni with

his superhuman efforts. The tiger had badly crashed the bones of

Narwa’s shoulder and lacerated his flesh.

When they reach Nalni,Maggie wrote to the Assistant Surgeon, the

incharge of Kaladhungi hospital, toattend Narwa. Jim Corbett, the author

was out shooting birds; so when he came back in the evening, Maggie

told him all about Narwa and how he was attacked by a tiger. Next

morning when the author visits the hospital, the doctor inform him that

he has done all he could and had sent him home after treatment and that

there is very little chance of his recovery. So the author rushes to the

communal hut to meet Narwa and finds Narwa lying in a corner on a

bed of straw and leaves and his wounds showing signs of getting septic.
For a week, Narwa is in the hut’s corner, looked over by his weeping

wife and Haria as well as his other friends. It seems clear to the author

that Narwa’s wounds need to be opened up and cleaned in order to avoid

becoming septic, so the author takes him to the hospital. The young

doctor does his job brilliantly and for three month the treatment

continues after which Narwa along with his wife and children and Haria

go back to their village near Almora.

The author therefore wanted Haria’s brave act and Narwa’s heroism in

surviving all odds to be acknowledged by a certificate of merit by the

government but for that the truth had to be sworn in by ‘independent and

unbiased eyewitnesses’ which were lacking in this case. He even wanted

to appeal to His Majesty the King; but as the World War had just started

the king was busy with much greater affairs.