Vidya Shankar's Blog, page 5
February 29, 2020
Leap Day 2020
So, it’s February 29, 2020 today―a leap day. An extra day for the month and the year as well. There have been times in the past, in the non-leap years, when, on the 28th day of February, I used to feel relief that a month was done with. As if a new month would take me closer to the “goal” I was seeking.
Oh, and it also meant a whole month’s pay for working just 28 days. February used to be a respite of a month squashed between two long months.
But life is not always the same; life teaches us lessons, but only if we are willing to receive and learn the lessons. And, since I am a commitment student with life’s lessons, I learnt that there was more to living than whatever money could bring. To realise the true essence of living, one cannot rush through life. It's not a journey one must hurry through; it has to be lived a day at a time, minute by minute.
Initially, when I embarked upon this pattern of taking a day at a time sometime in 2014, (and it was no easy task, mind you, what with having lived all my life till then either in the past or in the future), each day seemed to be no different from the other. But with the passage of a substantial number of days, I started becoming aware of the uniqueness of each day. There was something new, something unpredictable in each day, which I began to look forward to and appreciate. It was then that I realised the benefits of slowing down because the excitement and blessings were so abundant in each day and I didn’t want to miss out on any opportunity to be grateful.
This journey made me realise that my goal was not some unreachable, unattainable whatever. Every time I felt gratitude, I had reached a goal. And that could happen only with every “today” when I would get immense opportunities to set new standards and to achieve new goals.
When 2016 came (about a year and a half since I had begun to live each day with consciousness), it was with an extra day in February. And quite effortlessly, I was able to rejoice at the prospect of that extra day because I got one more day to live and be awesome.
It is four years since then; I am as grateful today as I was on February 29, 2016 for an extra day so I may live a fabulous version of ME. www.facebook.com
Oh, and it also meant a whole month’s pay for working just 28 days. February used to be a respite of a month squashed between two long months.
But life is not always the same; life teaches us lessons, but only if we are willing to receive and learn the lessons. And, since I am a commitment student with life’s lessons, I learnt that there was more to living than whatever money could bring. To realise the true essence of living, one cannot rush through life. It's not a journey one must hurry through; it has to be lived a day at a time, minute by minute.
Initially, when I embarked upon this pattern of taking a day at a time sometime in 2014, (and it was no easy task, mind you, what with having lived all my life till then either in the past or in the future), each day seemed to be no different from the other. But with the passage of a substantial number of days, I started becoming aware of the uniqueness of each day. There was something new, something unpredictable in each day, which I began to look forward to and appreciate. It was then that I realised the benefits of slowing down because the excitement and blessings were so abundant in each day and I didn’t want to miss out on any opportunity to be grateful.
This journey made me realise that my goal was not some unreachable, unattainable whatever. Every time I felt gratitude, I had reached a goal. And that could happen only with every “today” when I would get immense opportunities to set new standards and to achieve new goals.
When 2016 came (about a year and a half since I had begun to live each day with consciousness), it was with an extra day in February. And quite effortlessly, I was able to rejoice at the prospect of that extra day because I got one more day to live and be awesome.
It is four years since then; I am as grateful today as I was on February 29, 2016 for an extra day so I may live a fabulous version of ME. www.facebook.com
September 28, 2019
"How Dare You?"
A poem I wrote, inspired by Greta Thunberg's speech at the 2019 UN climate action summit.
“How Dare You?”
—Vidya Shankar
When nature has facilitated you
A mouth that requires no assistance for consumption
How dare you use a straw to drink with
The plastic of which our cattle ingest as grass?
When blessed are you with fingers each a character
To pick, take, hold, grab or grasp
And when eaten with them, a boost of fullness
And digestive energies soothe your soul,
How dare you use that deceiving white spoon
A feeble plastic though it may be
Would lie in wait for centuries to choke our planet?
Hey you parents, you felt not the heaviness
When you carried your progeny in your womb
Feel not too the heaviness of guilt when you have trust
Upon Mother Earth the long line of your children to bear,
Yet your own water bottle is heavy for you
And you reach out for a one time use—How dare you?
Wake up, all you adults, at least now,
For, your children are pointing their fingers at you
With eyes reddened and breath coming in gasps
Not because of anger but ‘cause of toxic fumes
That irritate and suffocate, poison and pollute,
They plead in helplessness, in a voice unheard still—
"How dare you?"
www.facebook.com
August 23, 2019
Teddy and I, and Kicha
Mommy was in the kitchen making
Round round something something,
It was Kicha ummachi’s birthday, she said
Kicha ummachi was going to be born that night
So she was making sweets for Kicha ummachi.
I was lying on Teddy’s big fat tummy, my fingers in my mouth,
“Did your mother make round round something something
On the night you were born, Teddy? asked I, dribbling.
But Teddy said nothing, his big black buttony eyes
Looking expressionless at me.
I know I mustn’t ask Teddy about his mother,
It makes him sad, but what to do,
I sometimes forget and ask him of.
Mother came just then with a plate full of white something
‘Baby, put your feet into this and walk around.’
‘Can Teddy come too?’ asked I, pulling my friend along.
‘No, darling, leave Teddy behind. Just you come.’
And took me off with the plate and without Teddy.
Mommy doesn’t like Teddy, you see, no, she likes him,
But not the way she likes me,
And though Teddy doesn’t seem to mind
I know there will be a tear in his eye
When Mommy doesn’t let me take him along.
I tried to lean back and take a peek at Teddy
But Mommy picked me up and put my feet
Upon the plate into the white something.
I cried, ‘No, no...’ and stepping out of the plate,
Ran away. But the white something was stuck
To my feet and made white feet marks
On the floor as I ran. I looked at Mommy
Scared she will scold me but Mommy
Surprisingly told me to run all over.
Maybe she likes white, not brown mud,
So I toddled away to fun.
Later when Mommy was not looking,
I took Teddy, put his fat short legs into the plate
And made him walk a few plumpy steps
Which made splotchy white daubs on the floor.
But Mommy didn’t see them, nor did she
Fat stubby legs dried with white, unlike my clean ones
Sticking out of Teddy’s chair. But the next day
When she saw the funny white rounds
And Teddy’s unwashed white dried feet
She got angry with me, as always.
Probably Mommy was angry because
Kicha ummachi didn’t get born in our house yesterday night
And she and Father had to eat The round round something something
All by themselves.
(Written on Janmashtami Day, August 23, 2019)
www.facebook.com
Round round something something,
It was Kicha ummachi’s birthday, she said
Kicha ummachi was going to be born that night
So she was making sweets for Kicha ummachi.
I was lying on Teddy’s big fat tummy, my fingers in my mouth,
“Did your mother make round round something something
On the night you were born, Teddy? asked I, dribbling.
But Teddy said nothing, his big black buttony eyes
Looking expressionless at me.
I know I mustn’t ask Teddy about his mother,
It makes him sad, but what to do,
I sometimes forget and ask him of.
Mother came just then with a plate full of white something
‘Baby, put your feet into this and walk around.’
‘Can Teddy come too?’ asked I, pulling my friend along.
‘No, darling, leave Teddy behind. Just you come.’
And took me off with the plate and without Teddy.
Mommy doesn’t like Teddy, you see, no, she likes him,
But not the way she likes me,
And though Teddy doesn’t seem to mind
I know there will be a tear in his eye
When Mommy doesn’t let me take him along.
I tried to lean back and take a peek at Teddy
But Mommy picked me up and put my feet
Upon the plate into the white something.
I cried, ‘No, no...’ and stepping out of the plate,
Ran away. But the white something was stuck
To my feet and made white feet marks
On the floor as I ran. I looked at Mommy
Scared she will scold me but Mommy
Surprisingly told me to run all over.
Maybe she likes white, not brown mud,
So I toddled away to fun.
Later when Mommy was not looking,
I took Teddy, put his fat short legs into the plate
And made him walk a few plumpy steps
Which made splotchy white daubs on the floor.
But Mommy didn’t see them, nor did she
Fat stubby legs dried with white, unlike my clean ones
Sticking out of Teddy’s chair. But the next day
When she saw the funny white rounds
And Teddy’s unwashed white dried feet
She got angry with me, as always.
Probably Mommy was angry because
Kicha ummachi didn’t get born in our house yesterday night
And she and Father had to eat The round round something something
All by themselves.
(Written on Janmashtami Day, August 23, 2019)
www.facebook.com
June 28, 2019
When verses of prayerful praise flowTo enchant the stirri...
When verses of prayerful praise flowTo enchant the stirring spirit of pious minds, Each hymn striking a chord, a glory of the Lord,A pathway to liberation across worldly attachmentsFrom earthly father, mother, guru, friend, Be they man, woman, young, old,Wild winds or the life-sustaining breath, Winding rivers or the bloodstream of the veins, The earthly body or the elevated soul,The one that moves or the one that stays — In the Divine garden, germinated with blossoms afresh, Each one of uniquely variegated splendour, The roses, jasmines, marigolds, lotuses,The perfume that wafts is neither cloying nor distinct But a harmony of essences of the sweetest aromas That linger into timelessnessBeyond birth, beyond death,Beyond hate, fear, difference, Beyond Om, beyond Amen,A love unspoken yet vividly heard,A heartfelt prayer that reaches, where it must —The Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Omniscient Universal spirit.
www.facebook.com
April 3, 2019
The Catch
The downswinging willow having got under,
Made perfect timing, the flat front
Impacting a middle, the hit a stroke of power.
The white comet, wacked just right,
Took off towards the heavens,
Only to make an enormous curve,
A magnificent parabola.
I sighted its path was towards me,
And with breath held ecstatically,
My eyes ne'er leaving the hurtling trail,
Cupped hands coordinating with my vision,
I poised, prepared to take the catch,
And when I did, the cameras,
Hitherto following the ascent and descent,
Now zoomed in on me,
my jump of overwhelmed exhilaration,
As a million voices from the gallery around,
Soared in unison,
And the glittering scoreboard flashed
that electrifying word —
SIX!
#NaPoWriMo2019
www.facebook.com
Made perfect timing, the flat front
Impacting a middle, the hit a stroke of power.
The white comet, wacked just right,
Took off towards the heavens,
Only to make an enormous curve,
A magnificent parabola.
I sighted its path was towards me,
And with breath held ecstatically,
My eyes ne'er leaving the hurtling trail,
Cupped hands coordinating with my vision,
I poised, prepared to take the catch,
And when I did, the cameras,
Hitherto following the ascent and descent,
Now zoomed in on me,
my jump of overwhelmed exhilaration,
As a million voices from the gallery around,
Soared in unison,
And the glittering scoreboard flashed
that electrifying word —
SIX!
#NaPoWriMo2019
www.facebook.com
March 9, 2019
Feminism is...
After reading my last week’s “Short Take” article, a review of ‘Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, some of my readers asked me what was my personal take on feminism.
Considering the ‘shortness’ of the Takes here, I may not be able to elucidate my views elaborately. But I can tell you this. That the term ‘feminism’ is one of the most misconstrued of theories. Feminism is not anti-men. It’s not some kind of agitation against societal norms. It’s a way of life where decisions are taken for which gender is not the criteria.
Feminism is
When marriage is not the only qualification and motherhood is not the only achievement for a woman.
When the kitchen is not solely a woman’s prerogative and role reversals on the domestic front is not glorified or viewed as derogatory.
When a man decides not to marry just because he needs someone to cook for him and keep house for him.
When a woman ceases to blame her parents, husband or children for not having a meaningful life to live.
When a woman does not look down upon men as a class just because they belong to the species that once dominated over her ancestors.
When one stops forwarding jokes that demean the woman in the house.
When it’s OK for a woman to have more food than her male companion and is not mocked at for it.
When what is important is for a woman to be healthy, not size zero.
When women do not feel intimidated by other women.
When women are not forced to go out and work in the name of feminism.
When a woman’s choice is also taken into consideration.
When the respect for womanhood is not restricted only to the human species but to all aspects of Mother Earth.
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Mar 09, 2019
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/42fc4249-525f-47c2-be5b-0f9d5a248caa.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #TheFlautistofBrindaranyam #BalanceforBetter #IWD2091
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyamwww.facebook.com
Considering the ‘shortness’ of the Takes here, I may not be able to elucidate my views elaborately. But I can tell you this. That the term ‘feminism’ is one of the most misconstrued of theories. Feminism is not anti-men. It’s not some kind of agitation against societal norms. It’s a way of life where decisions are taken for which gender is not the criteria.
Feminism is
When marriage is not the only qualification and motherhood is not the only achievement for a woman.
When the kitchen is not solely a woman’s prerogative and role reversals on the domestic front is not glorified or viewed as derogatory.
When a man decides not to marry just because he needs someone to cook for him and keep house for him.
When a woman ceases to blame her parents, husband or children for not having a meaningful life to live.
When a woman does not look down upon men as a class just because they belong to the species that once dominated over her ancestors.
When one stops forwarding jokes that demean the woman in the house.
When it’s OK for a woman to have more food than her male companion and is not mocked at for it.
When what is important is for a woman to be healthy, not size zero.
When women do not feel intimidated by other women.
When women are not forced to go out and work in the name of feminism.
When a woman’s choice is also taken into consideration.
When the respect for womanhood is not restricted only to the human species but to all aspects of Mother Earth.
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Mar 09, 2019
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/42fc4249-525f-47c2-be5b-0f9d5a248caa.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #TheFlautistofBrindaranyam #BalanceforBetter #IWD2091
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyamwww.facebook.com
March 1, 2019
Balance for better
My latest read, ‘Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions’ by Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was originally a letter that the author had written when her friend asked her for suggestions on how to raise her baby girl a feminist. As Chimamanda’s book revealed her 15 suggestions, I found myself saying, “But hey, that’s how it is here too!”
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, or for that matter, Ijeawele or any of the other names in the book were not easy for me to pronounce. The same would be true, I pondered, for Chimamanda herself if I had had a more complicated Asian name. There is an abyss between Chimamanda’s world and mine, right from our native country and continent, to the language we speak, the kind of clothes we wear, our lifestyle and culture, just to mention a few.
Yet, in spite of such a yawning divide, one thing that I found common between her world and mine is how women are treated.
Be it marriage, parenting, grooming and appearances, social norms, and a whole lot of parameters, the prejudices pertaining to gender roles are the same anywhere in the world. This book may have been published in 2017 but its relevance can be traced to even a hundred years ago.
Undeniably, the status of women in the family and society has undergone commendable change over the years. Yet, it’s not enough. It ‘s a frustrating case of one step forward, two steps back. What we need today are not feminists but ‘humanists’.
The theme for International Women’s Day 2019 is ‘Think equal, build smart, innovate for change’. Hope this campaign with its hashtag ‘Balance For Better’ helps create a more unbiased society. And let us hope this book loses its relevance at least a decade from now.
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Mar 02, 2019
#TheQuintessentialWord #TheFlautistofBrindaranyam #BalanceforBetter #IWD2091
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyamwww.facebook.com
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, or for that matter, Ijeawele or any of the other names in the book were not easy for me to pronounce. The same would be true, I pondered, for Chimamanda herself if I had had a more complicated Asian name. There is an abyss between Chimamanda’s world and mine, right from our native country and continent, to the language we speak, the kind of clothes we wear, our lifestyle and culture, just to mention a few.
Yet, in spite of such a yawning divide, one thing that I found common between her world and mine is how women are treated.
Be it marriage, parenting, grooming and appearances, social norms, and a whole lot of parameters, the prejudices pertaining to gender roles are the same anywhere in the world. This book may have been published in 2017 but its relevance can be traced to even a hundred years ago.
Undeniably, the status of women in the family and society has undergone commendable change over the years. Yet, it’s not enough. It ‘s a frustrating case of one step forward, two steps back. What we need today are not feminists but ‘humanists’.
The theme for International Women’s Day 2019 is ‘Think equal, build smart, innovate for change’. Hope this campaign with its hashtag ‘Balance For Better’ helps create a more unbiased society. And let us hope this book loses its relevance at least a decade from now.
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Mar 02, 2019
#TheQuintessentialWord #TheFlautistofBrindaranyam #BalanceforBetter #IWD2091
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyamwww.facebook.com
February 22, 2019
Green your tea
My husband and I are ardent coffee drinkers but recently, we had to buy a box of green tea. A friend was going to spend a week with us and she drank only green tea.
Preparing green tea is not such a hassle. You bring to a boil the sufficient amount of water, pour it into a mug and drop a tea bag into it. Or is it the other way around? Whatever be it, you let the concoction stay for about five minutes, after which you fish out the tea bag, throw it into the dustbin and drink your tea.
The oddity of the procedure struck me only on the third day. About a spoon of green tea dust is wrapped in a porous pouch made of some biodegradable material. These pouches, or bags, have a string attached to them to make it convenient for us to pull them out of a mug of hot water. Each tea bag is sealed in some kind of an aluminium foil packet. A certain number of these packets are put together in a carton box which, in turn, is sealed with a thin plastic film.
Green tea is often recommended for health and fitness. But every time we make ourselves a mug of this healthy beverage, we also contribute towards the accumulating garbage that is suffocating our earth.
Tea does not have to be put in pouches, even a spoon of loose tea can make an equally rejuvenating beverage. Yet most of the health-conscious green tea drinkers will talk of exercising but will not take that simple effort to make their green tea with leaves or dust.
Which makes me think, are they actually collaborating with health? Is every mug of green tea in reality ‘green’?
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Feb 23, 2019
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/4e780b61-e3cf-403d-a179-5ac09e847090.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #TheFlautistofBrindaranyam
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyamwww.facebook.com
Preparing green tea is not such a hassle. You bring to a boil the sufficient amount of water, pour it into a mug and drop a tea bag into it. Or is it the other way around? Whatever be it, you let the concoction stay for about five minutes, after which you fish out the tea bag, throw it into the dustbin and drink your tea.
The oddity of the procedure struck me only on the third day. About a spoon of green tea dust is wrapped in a porous pouch made of some biodegradable material. These pouches, or bags, have a string attached to them to make it convenient for us to pull them out of a mug of hot water. Each tea bag is sealed in some kind of an aluminium foil packet. A certain number of these packets are put together in a carton box which, in turn, is sealed with a thin plastic film.
Green tea is often recommended for health and fitness. But every time we make ourselves a mug of this healthy beverage, we also contribute towards the accumulating garbage that is suffocating our earth.
Tea does not have to be put in pouches, even a spoon of loose tea can make an equally rejuvenating beverage. Yet most of the health-conscious green tea drinkers will talk of exercising but will not take that simple effort to make their green tea with leaves or dust.
Which makes me think, are they actually collaborating with health? Is every mug of green tea in reality ‘green’?
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Feb 23, 2019
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/4e780b61-e3cf-403d-a179-5ac09e847090.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #TheFlautistofBrindaranyam
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyamwww.facebook.com
February 16, 2019
Pulwama, I weep for you! Whence 'Freedom Fighter'?
My father-in-law was a Freedom Fighter who was put in Alipuram and Bellary jails for participating in the Quit India Movement along with stalwarts, former President of India, Late Sri R.Venkatraman and several other prominent freedom activists of Tamil Nadu. That such a respected title of Freedom Fighter be used to refer to terrorists is blasphemy.
Pulwama, I weep for you! Whence 'Freedom Fighter'?
"Freedom fighter launches attack,44 of occupying force killed in IOK"This, a headline in a newspaper of the enemy state,makes my calm-flowing bloodsurge with rageat such arrogant elevation of that respected title to decorate a fanatic!Whence my father-in-law and his freedom fighter comrades,sent to jail, a collective voice raisedwith the strength of non-violenceagainst lawless foreigners occupying our sacred land,and whence this brutal heartlessnessthat glorifies violence,perpetuates hostilityand claims morbid militancy to oustrightful occupants out their licit land?And these our brethren we called themwho once had resounded with us as onethat unified non-violent voice against illicit dominion, a voice that cried,"Quit India!" — Vidya Shankar
www.facebook.com
Act now
“Giraffes Were Just Added to List Of Animals Facing Extinction” read a headline.
“Giraffes? Those black and white striped animals? Oh, those are zebras? OK, got it, the ones with that long neck. The tallest animals in the world, right? So, if giraffes go extinct, which animal will be considered the tallest? Would this mean that our textbooks will all have to be rewritten? What a lot of effort and what a waste of existing textbooks!”
“Giraffes? Remember seeing a live giraffe in a zoo once. So now, zoos won’t have them?”
“Hmmm.... How do you pronounce the word? Giraf? Girafee? I always get confused.”
“That would mean I can’t use a giraffe picture for my WhatsApp dp!”
“Sad. But what can we do about it? We are not the government.”
“Giraffes? Extinct? That means, there’ll be a movie made with them, something like Jurassic Park, maybe.”
“Facing extinction? What does it mean? That these animals will all die? But then, everyone has to die some day.”
“... (someone is typing a message)”
“...”
Silence.
What does the extinction of mammals like the giraffe mean to urban life? On a superficial note, it wouldn’t mean anything at all. But an intense probe will reveal to us the imbalance caused to the ecosystem.
The wiping out of the higher order animals results in an insurgence of the lowest of creatures - parasitic insects and pests. This in turn brings about destruction of vegetation thereby affecting our food sources.
All life on this planet depends on the food chain and an imbalance to that triggers far-reaching ripples of devastation. Our planet is already facing a grave situation and it cannot be brushed under the carpet any more.
But all is not lost. Our planet can still be saved. By us. Now.
How about, to begin with, we don’t waste food?
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Feb 16, 2019
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/6c5283eb-d7ee-4d67-b1b2-9052904f1ae9.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #TheFlautistofBrindaranyam
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyam
www.facebook.com
“Giraffes? Those black and white striped animals? Oh, those are zebras? OK, got it, the ones with that long neck. The tallest animals in the world, right? So, if giraffes go extinct, which animal will be considered the tallest? Would this mean that our textbooks will all have to be rewritten? What a lot of effort and what a waste of existing textbooks!”
“Giraffes? Remember seeing a live giraffe in a zoo once. So now, zoos won’t have them?”
“Hmmm.... How do you pronounce the word? Giraf? Girafee? I always get confused.”
“That would mean I can’t use a giraffe picture for my WhatsApp dp!”
“Sad. But what can we do about it? We are not the government.”
“Giraffes? Extinct? That means, there’ll be a movie made with them, something like Jurassic Park, maybe.”
“Facing extinction? What does it mean? That these animals will all die? But then, everyone has to die some day.”
“... (someone is typing a message)”
“...”
Silence.
What does the extinction of mammals like the giraffe mean to urban life? On a superficial note, it wouldn’t mean anything at all. But an intense probe will reveal to us the imbalance caused to the ecosystem.
The wiping out of the higher order animals results in an insurgence of the lowest of creatures - parasitic insects and pests. This in turn brings about destruction of vegetation thereby affecting our food sources.
All life on this planet depends on the food chain and an imbalance to that triggers far-reaching ripples of devastation. Our planet is already facing a grave situation and it cannot be brushed under the carpet any more.
But all is not lost. Our planet can still be saved. By us. Now.
How about, to begin with, we don’t waste food?
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Feb 16, 2019
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/6c5283eb-d7ee-4d67-b1b2-9052904f1ae9.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #TheFlautistofBrindaranyam
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyam
www.facebook.com
