No, the National Geographic has not recruited me to advocate their cause, nor have I joined the cast of 'Star Trek'.
But from that morning when the family had breakfast of vada-pao and bun-maska under the Jamun tree in the garden with a long-tailed magpie and a couple of butterflies as the honoured guests, the urge to push the cause of these mute yet magnificent creatures of God has been lingering at the back of my mind.
The other day when the crow population around that vast green expanse we call the Mehboob Studio flew into a frenzy, the cause of it happened to be a couple of langoors, out on a slow stroll, indifferent to the curious eyes around as though they knew a piece of this paradise belonged to them- man or no man!
All shooting in the studio ceased, cameras came to a standstill. Spot boys stopped in their tracks, chaiwalas froze in the action of pouring tea.. And those who have to pay a packet to hire emaciated animals to feature in their films, stood dumb struck by the sight of these two cavorting on the columns yet soooo out of reach of humans....
Are we as a human race of intelligent beings, the custodians of the living planet heading in the right direction? Look at the larger picture. Jumbos mowed down by the juggernaut of locomotives and not one eyebrow is raised or a tear shed for these lovable losers. The ocean becomes the graveyard for the poor marine creatures that considered it their only home and none is held to ransom for the massacre of marine life on a such a large scale. The killers of the voiceless, go scot-free...
Can you hear that silent scream, the miserable moans from the mangroves that are being hacked mercilessly by money-hungry monsters? How can the miniscule kingdom beneath the Arabian coast stand upto the might of the politically powered land mafia?
Reptiles in the drawing rooms, leopards on the loose, all homeless because man wants more space, more and more and....
On the one hand the numbers of the born-free creatures are steadily dwindling and on the other hand, the tentacles of greedy humans are creeping in all directions denuding the planet, stripping her of all her glory- flora and fauna while the rulers are aiming at the moon for development, progress and power! Missed the trees for the would-be my friends?
Before it all ends, I suggest our schools include more field trips in the Curriculum lest the next generation grow old without having breakfasted with a butterfly or seen a magpie fly.....
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