Rini when she was healthy

Bhopal, Aug. 9: Every day Rini lies at the edge of her cage waiting eagerly for Mamta Jain and her team. When they arrive, the humans surround the cage, put their hands inside and hold them still, just a few inches from the white tigress’s pain-wracked body.

Rini, 18, doesn’t protest. After all, she is dying of cancer and all Mamta is trying to do is lessen her pain through the Japanese Reiki treatment.

Officials at Bhopal’s Van Vihar National Park say the treatment appears to be providing some relief to Rini. Mamta doesn’t claim that Reiki can cure cancer.

Reiki, derived from the Japanese words rei (spirit) and ki (energy), is a method of healing through “universal life energy”. The practitioner places his or her hands on the patient’s body in various positions, or holds them a little distance away.

Rini is the last surviving white tigress at the park, its director A.K. Bhattacharya said. The park opted for Reiki after two veterinary experts recommended mercy killing for Rini in May.

Scott B. Citino and Josho Odin, who had come from the US to examine the tigress, had detected a mole under her right eye. On May 10, the mole was surgically removed and the veterinarians confirmed that it was malignant.

But when they recommended that Rini be shot, the park authorities turned a tad sentimental.

“We decided to feed and treat her as long as she was alive,” park veterinarian Atul Gupta said. Rini is also undergoing chemotherapy but the disease has clearly got the upper hand.

When a local newspaper carried a report on Rini, Mamta and her team approached the authorities offering Reiki for the animal. Bhattacharya reluctantly agreed.

The treatment has been going on for nearly a month and the tigress hasn’t let out a single growl of protest. No cameras are allowed in — the healers apparently don’t want any media hype, the park authorities said.

A senior official said the Reiki experts have made it clear that Rini would not be recovering. Her age of 18 is equivalent to 80 for a human. Tigresses in Madhya Pradesh national parks live between 17 and 20 years on an average.

“The idea is to reduce her pain when she is so close to death,” a member of Mamta’s team said.

Dr Jaya Warwandker, a homoeopath and Reiki “grandmaster”, said she was not surprised.

“Reiki affects everyone — plants, animals and humans. A few months ago, I was called to Chhindwara to tame a cat that was giving everyone a terrible time. I passed on positive energy to her and she changed completely.”

Warwandker said that as a Reiki practitioner, she was aware of its limitations. “Death is a universal fact but through Reiki, Rini’s pain will be reduced and her end will be peaceful,” she said.