I decided to make the most of the last bank holiday so headed off to London. Got off the tube @ South Kensington and joined the queue snaking slowly below an overcast December sky. The facade of the Natural history museum was no less grandiloquent than the Royal courts of Justice or the Buckingham Palace. Delightful at first sighting. Gobbling a warm Samosa i stood behind a young American couple chatting with an old English couple in front of them. Oh Chicago and Hawaii are so different....gab gab gab gab.... went the ladies comparing travelogues. Too many foreign people in your country, one said !!
Entering the museum, yours truly was greeted by the gynormous skeleton of a Diplodocus hanging from the ceiling. It seemed to overlook the arrangements and the passing public with a like curiosity. The giant hall it stood in was abuzz with wailing, howling, shrieking kids of all descriptions running amok hither-thither even as some folks had them on a leash. Notwithstanding its size, the information plaque beside it seemed to bring out the humility in it for anyone who cared to read. A plant eater ? wow...! What a gentle giant ! Grazing on even humbler beings for its survival, it must have lived an unhurried, royal life, relishing every moment of the Cretaceous era. And who would dare challenge the behemoth ? The tiny chance of success was overshadowed by the Herculean effort that one would need to to bring it down. Not worth the effort - the most bellicose creature around would have sighed. Another plaque clarified that scientists believe that it actually swung its heavy tail, as opposed to dragging it, as it romped young earth in blissful glee. I was suddenly awash with an unknown love for its finer features - slender long neck, floating ribs and an apple-sized brain to control that humongous body ! I am sure it knew that it didn’t need to think much - even at the time. Someone wise once said about universe and life : If you understand, fine, if you don't, things will still be the same ! I am sure the diplo would have concurred. After ample admiration, i needed to move on as crowds thronged in to catch a glimpse of the pre-historic diva. More weird and wonderful creatures were vying for human attention. I saw geckos, porcupine-fish, corals and sponges, the white shark, sword fish, python, cobra, giraffe, elephants, crocodiles, gharials, rays, rattlesnake, gibbons, assess, donkeys, dodos, star-fishes, zebras - you name it. A giant Blue whale hung from the ceiling like a massive Boeing 747. Below it stood stuffed mammals of all descriptions.
The creatures were arranged in a certain way in color-coded layouts, based on certain features like: Did they have a back bone ? Warm or cold blooded ? Did they lay eggs or give live birth ? .. and so on. Some were fossilized, some in skeleton, some skinned - staring right back at you. The Mona Lisa smile of the Komodo dragon was worrying. Can be lecherous vile creatures these dragons as they have been known to attack humans ! It is said that their saliva contains bugs that slowly kills their victim, so after a bite they follow their victim for days, before it actually succumbs. But such is nature. Then there was the reptile with a frilly neck. The frill bloomed in aggression, making it look daunting to any prospective predator. I had to go one floor up for a level encounter with the Giraffe. It bought some childhood fables to mind, about one so tall it reached above the nimbus clouds. I wondered if they ever puke ? For that matter, how do porcupines mate ? And what came first ? Age old riddles! Bless these graceful creatures, seems like God made them with utmost exquisiteness. Their eyes seemed most soulful, perhaps they exist in a different realm of consciousness ? Among the invertebrates, Aristotle's lantern sounded like an interesting useless one to remember.
So what is the modern cold-blooded spineless creature that leaves its brain in the freezer before going to work ? The one that wrongfully claims its place atop the evolutionary tree ? The one whose soul is condemned to burn eternally in the fire of hell. Comments from the likes of George Orwell, David Attenborough, Richard Dawkins, Charles Darwin, Al Gore, Bill Bryson and other naturally-inclined creatures would be interesting. I am not inclined to argue with zoologists (or philosophers) who may think differently. Let me know your views. BMNH was a civilized de-souled jungle of mostly erstwhile creatures lingering onto the outer limits of their ethereal existence and i went to see them while i still bloody well can. Hoo-Haa !
OMG i don't know how weeks became months, but my last blog entry was in the year gone by ! How things have changed since ! Really - how !! I honestly don't believe i've got any reason to write anything. Indolence set in and enthusiasm went for a walk while i slothed on the couch. Perhaps the gap was also because of the nagging knowledge that i am going to end up as a heap of ash one day. Cotton balls stuffed up my nose-caves. Eyes closed. Flat ECG. Maybe someone a tad sad.
Tons of words by men of all calibre pile up as garbage after they are gone. Oriental philosophy says quite a bit about a quite a lot. The only thing which matters is the cause ones lives and dies for - said Nehru. Every thought ever thought by anyone since antiquity is registered in ether and still 'exists'. The primal sound is still around, we need to tune in to have a listen ! Today, more than ever before, there is blurring of boundaries between right and wrong, the acceptable and the outlandish, the impulse to survive and the desire to flourish, the collision of moral principles with the desire to not rock the corporate boat. To be politically correct and get on with the business of getting on. In this dream, we dream on and think of reality as what we see with our eyes open. Though one lifetime is hardly enough for a spiritual breakthrough (and another is not guaranteed) the really unfortunate among us either die in ignorance or choose to disregard what they cannot conclusively rationalise with input from the usual senses. They need to do some serious soul-searching because only the mentally challenged are excused from this imperative effort that each of us must put in into our otherwise useless lives not worth the space our mortal frames occupy. What effort (?) you ask. Laugh. When you laugh without a care, you momentarily become one with the universe. Dance. Create. Sing. Innovate. Make mistakes. Smear life on your body. Let the creative lifetrons resonate in harmony. It takes an uncannily calm mind to embrace the all-pervading light that we see not ordinarily but that envelops are being inside out in eternal timelessness. Wait. Wait for that sunrise when the first dawn ray pierces your being like never before. Enjoy. Read. Love. Fight ..... the possibilities are as limited as the expanse of the yonder. But try we must. Better try and fail than fail to try.
As days eventually catch up and overtake the wee hours, northern hemisphere welcomes the vernal equinox with much glee. Particularly in parts where winter snowed down with undisguised hostility and unusual ferocity. Cancelled flights, stranded vehicles, salt-gritting and stuffed noses make way for sun-kissed beaches, crocus walks and beer barrels. Bashful bees innocently cross-pollinate colourful, smiling flowers as the pollen-averse scurry for cover. Ice-cream vans do the rounds and fans appear and dissappear from shelves as the mercury soars skywards. Punters slowly break out of their shells as the summer sun shines down energy and excitement.... Ahoy.. Seasons, like life, are cyclical too. There is a deeper meaning, wherever you look, whatever you do ! Its as if a mystical creature is constantly teasing your loaf. I was driving down recently and hit a section of the highway with no lights. It was pitch dark and suddenly i could see the giant Orion constellation beaming spectacularly. The whole of it, clearly in one single frame. It was a moment of ecstacy though i reminded myself to keep my eyes on the road ! Normally i had to twist my head out through the bathroom window to catch a glimpse, knocking off a shampoo or a roll in the process. But suddenly and effortlessly, the constellation shone down - It was a Kodak moment.
This vernal equinox has another significance for us Indians for it is on this occasion that Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were martyred. They made the ultimate sacrifice for a cause they believed in. Sadly, our generation remembers little of it. We so much take for granted our freedom and the sacrifices on which it was hard-earned. Ideological, ethnic or racial differences led to creation of fault-lines and swords crossed long before peace had a real chance. Gandhi though, chose the way of non-violence non-cooperation, in contrast to Bhagat Singh et al. Gandhi was the face of India's independence struggle but who is to say any less of the way of Patel, Lalaji, Bose or indeed Sukhdev ? We have the advantage of 60 years of hindsight to decide on the most 'effective' methodology. Erstwhile prez and the missile man of India, the great Dr APJ Kalam says strength respects strength. In contrast, Gandhiji's nation concept was a loose-aggregate of villages, probably prone to an easy invasion by someone of the calibre of Alexander the Great. Probably a cake walk. Was Gandhi profoundly mistaken or way ahead of his time ? Some say he had transcended notions of religious differences, others feel he was a great human being but not a statesman. I feel the jury is still out and anything before the apocalyptic judgement day will be a tad premature to decide.
Turn of the seasons also saw a watershed moment for American healthcare, as Obama pushed through the reform bill to become law. On the face of it, providing universal coverage and making it illegal to deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions sounds deeply humbling and humanitarian. I do not really know the real nuts and bolts of it though, the costs involved, the long-term implications etc. But CHANGE has certainly come to America. I applaud some of his other decisions such as the first ever tribal welcome meeting for American natives. Good man say I.
Now its time to hit the pillow. Till later, much love.
