Travel Bug

Las Vaaayyygas Baby!

Independence

Its Sun TV that reminded me about Independence Day this year. I remember my childhood years when we all adorned our white uniforms and the carefully polished canvas shoes every August 15th to go to school briefly for an hour. There was always a speech on independence, followed by chocolate distribution, the 10 ps (sigh, those days) chocolates were so precious at that point. As we sung "Sare Jahan Se Acha, Hindustan Hamara," we used to gloat as though we were right beside Gandhiji struggling for our independence. There was some cultural attraction or the other followed by prize distribution and a march past that we tried to escape out of. We used to come back right in time for the flag hoisting in Red Fort. That was a big family event where all of us settled right in front of the TV listening awestruck to the 21 gun salute every year and the President's speech. Immediately after that, there was a big line of contests planned for by the Youth Association in our colony, winning a prize or two was our sole motive. Later, they introduced a blood donation camp, and following a big fight with my dad and convincing him that they use disposable needles, we used to go donate blood. In short, August 15th of our childhood was festive in every way possible.

28 years later, I look at the preview of the Independence Day events on Sun TV, and there is a long list of reviews of all the movies released on that day. Something got skewed along the way. In the USA, every July 4 since 1776 is a celebration where everyone in the county gathers in their local park for a fireworks display. The fireworks are the same every year, but its the spirit which drags all of us into the local parks, waiting for an hour to park and an hour to get settled in a corner. More than the festivities, thats one moment where our heart fills with appreciation for our ancestors who fought so hard and the feeling of oneness among everyone gathered. More importantly, it really feels like we belong to our country. I sincerely ask every reader (if anyone ever reads this) to dedicate that 1 day in a year to gather with your neighbours and celebrate our independence by just being together and i you want to stretch it, help the less forunate. If we don't appreciate our freedom, then who else would?

Survival of the Fittest

Animals in general are on my 10 least interesting list. I can occasionally go "Awww" at a cute pup or a kitten (as long as they are a mile away from me), but generally tend to stick to landscapes, plants and fellow humans when it comes to appreciating nature. However, this week was different in that there were 2 instances about animals which geared up my thought process.

Battle at Kruger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM

This is one of Youtube's most popular videos, with 5 millionish views as of June that soared to 7.5 million views in July. It was featured in the ABC's "I Caught" videos and is soon to be made into a National Geographic documentary. Its a heroic rescue of a calf (buffalo) caught between the lion and the crocodile by a huuuge herd of buffaloes. Set in the African Savannah, it truly brings alive Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest. Its mind blowing to see the lion look like a kitty kat when its near these giant buffaloes, especially when this buffalo throws a lion with its horns. Pumps up as much adrenaline as a Hollywood nail biter, making us wish for the calf to be saved any minute now.

The Greatest Migration
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1635827,00.html

In an aerial survey of Sudanese natural reserves, Mike Fay and Paul Elken stumbled into a mammoth population of 1.2 million white-eared kob, tiang antelope and Mongalla gazelles in a procession upto 50 miles long. This is considered to be a migration larger than Serengeti's. This area was hidden from the eyes of geographists for about 25 years, coz it was assumed that no species would have survived the civil war in Sudan. Darwinian, my friends!

A colleague got his point across in a hallway debate and on the way out, he made a nonchalant remark lifting his collar - "Survival of the fittest, eh!" Makes me think what a skewed notion we have about the whole survival game. On one hand, we humans are increasing the carbon emissions, worrying about greenhouse gases, melting ice caps and eco friendly transports and still gloating over a great deal we pulled out of a sales rep. There is a silent revolution going on in the unexplored territories where the simpler creations are carving a safe niche for themselves. They survived in a place where the super smart humans spent all their decades killing their kin over a power struggle - 1.2 million wildlife species were parading along the same territory where there were 1.9 million civilian causalties. Do the super complicated gray cells make us miss the big picture?