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 !
