Who’s going to feed the birds?
Left to its own devices, Uttar Pradesh would be the 5th most populated country in the world. It might have lost the largest state…
Left to its own devices, Uttar Pradesh would be the 5th most populated country in the world. It might have lost the largest state (area-wise) title to Rajasthan but it remains unparalleled in human production. And of late, nothing exposed the downsides of an unmanageable crowd the way the migrant crisis did. Hordes of people pining for home tell you a lot of things you hitherto you weren’t aware of: lack of opportunities, shallow governance, decaying institutions, apathetic officials and mass adherence to indiscipline. A state comprising 23+ crore people, with a lot of working class individuals depending on daily wages, is bound to suffer the most in these uncertain times. Not that its fellow states — it’s unfair to compare most of the larger states with Kerala (less than 4 crore population) not just on the basis of population but also on cultural front — Keralites repeatedly remind us that a higher literacy rate makes a lot of difference in handling dire situations like floods, health scares, etc. — have handled the COVID situation phenomenally well. Yet, it goes without saying that the worst bits attract more light purely for media’s sake. When you watch videos of unruly men — womenfolk aren’t conspicuous — rushing in, be it on road or at railway stations, your dear heart must cry for them. These suntanned folks practically run our cities with their dignity of labour and their quest to go home should be a warning call. What if they chose to remain in their villages and never returned?
I am a sworn teetotaler and don’t think I’ll be able to break the mould even after turning 35. Why 35? Because that’s the perfect age for second innings. Anyway, I am very fond of fruit beer; the non-alcoholic kind you are served at Tibetan/Himalyan restaurants in Delhi NCR. Wasn’t aware of it back in Mumbai. My culinary genius of a wife introduced me to it and I admit that it’s one of my favourite drinks. However, I haven’t tasted it in several months now. It’s difficult for me to particularly like or dislike food items but I do miss it. Maybe that’s why I had a dream last week where I was drinking a dark bottle of fruit beer at a place in Haus Khaz. It felt really nice and when I woke up, I had a weird taste in my mouth. Dreams do come true but not exactly in your desired flavour.
Indians of diverse ideologies keep pitching ‘India’ against ‘Bharat’ and vice versa but what’s funny about this presumed civilizational clash is most of the time, I’ve noticed that the argument for ‘Bharat” is inherently conducted by those who are most comfortable living in ‘India’. They don’t possibly see themselves moving to ‘Bharat’ anytime soon even though they routinely acknowledge that the air, water and soil in ‘India’ is pathetic. To make matters worse, these individuals are least interested in hearing the voices of those residing in ‘Bharat’. They read a bit here and there and leech heavily on the popular notions instead of actually turning into Mohan Bhargav (or Abhishek Tripathi, for a closer reference) for a change. In their minds, Bharatvasis are tools to be co-opted for argumentative purposes as long as they don’t have to be dealt with personally. Stay there, away from our sights, thank you very much. The sheer arrogance of such expertise makes me wonder whether there is indeed these two countries or is it a mirage altogether?
A sweetheart neighbour of ours used to feed the pigeons every morning without fail. She stopped recently owing to a formal complaint by a fellow occupant. According to him, the pigeons she fed were shitting all over his car and terrace. Apparently, he wouldn’t have minded had his domestic help was on duty (which she wasn’t due to lockdown). Poor man. Unfortunately, there are so many flaws in his case. For starters, the lady in question fed not just the pigeons. The grains she spread were consumed by peafowls, other birds like lapwing, drongo, babbler, etc. and squirrels as well. Secondly, there is no evidence in place to connect the dried droppings on the complainant’s car/terrace with the pigeons who enjoyed their breakfast. Pigeons eat, fly and occasionally say thank you by fertilizing the soil beneath. That’s the unwritten urban law. The whole complaint is simply a lame conjecture built on the frustrations of a man who deems cleaning to be a lowly task. I am amazed such individuals continue to call themselves ‘educated’ and ‘honourable’ and all that jazz.
Friendships aren’t built in a day and similarly, they don’t vanish within a day either. Both these ends are achieved with a lot of time and effort poured in. There is a long route to cross from calling somebody your close friend to not calling that person in five years. I feel this pattern can be seen in other relationships as well. If you aren’t working on your marriage consistently, screws will loosen and your vehicle will wobble sooner or later. In fact, if you pay attention closely, you can sometimes hear the crumbling of a bond. Just that you at that moment, you thought you weren’t paying attention. Later, when it’s too late to go back, you remember exactly where things went wrong. Unbeknownst to you, you have your complete attention during such epiphanies.
There are a lot of pertinent problems with our generation. Some problems have their root in impatience derived from entitlement while most others are correlated to ignorance. When you pick up an issue, it’s your responsibility to cover as much ground as possible. Before bringing a discourse to public platforms, a little bit of homework won’t hurt. When you don’t do the needful, you end up harming the issue as your shortcoming gets (unnecessarily) transferred to the issue i.e. the people suffering from it. This problem has been a constant feature of social media where knee-jerk reactions are the norm. They read too little and know much less but then, pretense is more important than substance. Myopic attitude, compounded by a desire to elicit instant reaction, explains their detrimental behaviour. As long as they have borrowed knowledge (which is alright) and are aiming for borrowed wisdom (which is not alright), this situation shall continue.
Last year, I read this fascinating piece on octopus and concluded that no other creature comes close to such biological complexities. This was before I read about jellyfish. These beings are in a league of their own. I’ve seen them only once in my life: during a haphazard bike trip to Udvada (Gujarat) to visit the oldest fire temple in the world. Plot twist: They don’t allow non-Parsis in. Ouch. Anyway, coming back to jellyfish, did you know that they have no brain, no heartbeat and no blood either? They are basically 95% water and have been existing in this manner for over 650 million years, giving zero fucks to the theory of evolution. I’d be surprised if their genus isn’t called badass maximus.
You all must be familiar with the Mahabharata tale of Arjuna focusing on only the bird’s eye and nothing else. He didn’t bother himself with its beak, feather, crest, tail, etc. Only eye. He could do that because he was a gifted student and when I read about child prodigies, especially from the field of science, math and chess, I am convinced that these are manifestations of Arjuna all around. These kids see things more clearly than most of the adults around them. They enjoy solving problems (read: puzzles) and do it so smoothly that you feel bad for your sorry existence. Anyway, going back to Arjuna, if only there was another version of the story where he refuses to release the arrow — knowing very well the damage it will cause — and in the process, saves the bird’s life. Wouldn’t that be a great parallel to his future reluctance in picking up the arms against his (extended) family members?
A couple of months ago, a colleague of mine was furiously typing on her phone as she was engaging in a debate regarding the government’s policies. The look on her face in the pantry was of a person about to enjoy the knife sliding into her rival’s groin. When she was done “making her point”, she exclaimed that she aims to destroy her opponents with facts. Revenge of the truth. Sounds great on paper. Or phone screen. But more often than not, what we understand by facts aren’t always so. After all, what makes sense doesn’t always have to be true. Just like what is true doesn’t always have to make sense to us. Something we, the members of the antiseptic class, are yet to learn with time.
Last month, a huge flock of flamingos landed at a creek barely two stations away from where my parents stay. This natural phenomenon was attributed to the nature-is-healing phase thanks to coronavirus. There are two main types of these fabulous birds in India: Greater flamingos and Lesser flamingos. Those who gathered at Nerul/Belapur belt belonged to the latter category. As is their habit, during their sojourn, they showed what candyfloss beauty is all about. They carried out their gathering rituals, which included raising their legs on the sleeping side. Yes, believe it or not, they are capable of sleeping with half their bodies at a time. This peculiar trend troubled scientists for years but they’ve finally concluded, for the time being, that flamingos stand on one leg for a very simple reason: because of their avian contours, it’s easier for them to stand on one leg than on two. Just because it’s difficult for us to stand on one leg doesn’t mean it’d be difficult for others too.
After reading about the destruction caused by Cyclone Amphan, if you didn’t bother to donate to any of the trustworthy relief funds, then you should stick to feeling bad for the affected. Thoughts and prayers work offline but we here in the online world, actual help matters more. Giving away, whatever little you can, might cut you short by a certain amount but it will go a long way in creating a kinder world; which in effect, will benefit you and your loved ones eventually. This theory works in the same way a workout tires you but in the end, makes you more energetic than before. Or the way blood donation drains your temporarily but helps improve your blood quality and flow. The humbling lesson being, we’ll have to give first to take something back later.