Pray for me Brother!!

Of late, I decided to walk from my home until office atleast thrice a week, keeping in mind the benefits that are multifold - Get into good shape, manage my time better, use the walk to connect with family and friends on the phone, save the environment by not polluting it, and paramount - save petrol from my bike rides. Call me whatever you want to - thppprrrr to you.

What prompted me to write this is, there is so much to notice when time slows down for you
and you take in more of your surroundings on your journey. What would normally be a 7-minute burst on my Thunderbird on an empty road, could also turn into a 35-minute ordeal - where I curse and abuse like a truck driver when I am caught in a traffic jam - all for a 4.25 km trip from home to office. If there are mute creatures that suddenly streak across the road or block my way, my ideal reaction would be to curse it first and then issue a declaration that would either be "Thank god, I was in control - else you would have become a hot dog" (that, obviously is for dogs that think the road is their playground) or "You just escaped from becoming beef fried-rice for the weekend" (Elementary, my dear! As Santhosh once stated - Goumata). Of course, if the path is blocked by the two-legged variant I do not indulge in such neanderthal monologues - I just blare my way thru. The combination of my bike's exhaust thump and the horn are enough to burst atleast one nerve-end on a frayed soul - guaranteed!

Now, ever since I have decided to walk amongst other mortals, I have noticed that street dogs (I'd like to refer to them as a breed - the "Road-ascians") actually love playing "hide and seek" and "cops-and-robbers" too. The cattle-folk have no sense of realtime direction, but seem to follow of a global compass to determine where they must go. Hens and roosters streak across the road along with their chickens in tow, that I think they are trying to show us the solution to the eternal question: Why did the chicken cross the road? D-uh! Obviously, to follow its mama!

The philosopher in me pauses me to think - are we right in being judgemental of our mute 4-legged brethren? The philosopher in me continues to answer that question by saying, no. The pragmatist in me then takes over (I would like to declare at this point that I am not a Gemini, nor do I suffer from Multiple Personality Disorder! :P ) and tries to map out the argument in support of the philosopher.

There was once an accident in Besant Nagar. For those of you know the place, will remember it to be a nice avenue canopied by age-old trees. Apparently, the driver was not wearing his seat-belt, was speeding, and took the corner at high speed - crashing into a tree that was planted there eons ago. 2 days later, there was a drive by the driver's (since deceased) friends promoting all drivers to wear seat belts / helmets as applicable. The response was swift. The next day, the tree was chopped down. Whaaaat now??

This world was created as an eco-system - an environment suitable to sustain all the life forms that were put into it. Man, with its infinite arrogance and superior intellect decided to dominate them at some point. The result? an equal measure of development and destruction all aimed at domination, exploiting the sentiment of devotion and drowing the era in a deep dungeon filled with eternal darkness with only a few glimpses of daylight. I just realized I sound like a version of V from the movie V for Vendetta! ;)

That being said, doesn't it seem like we are the ones who have encroached upon the other creations' pastures? We have constructed buildings, dug out trenches, erected dams, laid roads, segregated settlements and pushed the natives of the regions away from their own land and made them aliens in their own territory. For all you know, if the animals had the sixth sense that we are abusing with impunity, in all respect, we would have to ask for their permission to cross over the land. It would seem that they in their compassionate understanding, having no greed, sloth, pride, or mailce in their hearts are allowing us to have the way of the land.

This train of thought was instigated in me when I saw the movie the Rise of the Planets of the Apes. At around the same time, I was on my way to pick up my friend from the station when, I saw a 4-wheeled flat-bed cart, stacked almost 6 feet high (I would reckon about 100 sacks of rice) with rice-sacks being dragged by a lone bull. What got me irked was that (a) it was the upslope on a fly-over (b) the bull was grossly under nourished (c) the cart was carrying 3 additional full grown men who were whipping the bull mercilessly. Finally, the bull managed to get loose of the garners and started trotting away down the slope. The cart, having no braking mechanism, starting coasting down-slope and crashed into a truck. Call it fate, but it was a Blue Cross van. I still hope that the bull is safe. 

I wouldn't want to eat that bull in my next beef fried rice. :)

Hypocrite, you say? Thhhppprrr to you! After all, I am only human.