Nature acts its own way
N J Ravi Chander
Dogs chasing cats who are chasing mice conjure up memories of a favourite Yiddish folktale! Indeed, danger lurks in the shadows, and the game of life and death plays out grimly every day with the hunter sometimes becoming the hunted! The short folktale goes like this:
The dogs go to the king seeking protection from people who harass them. The king wills to help ‘man’s best friend’, and much to the canines delight decrees that people can’t trouble them.
The dogs are unable to find a proper hiding place to stow away the rule and approach the cats to keep it safe. The felines concur and hide it for the dogs. A year passes, and dog catchers come to round up the canines. The dogs run to the cats to fish out the decree, but the latter discovers that the mice have chewed it up into smithereens. The dogs turn furious and go after the cats who in turn chase the rodents, and that is how it has been ever since!
The other day, as the sun played hide and seek, peeping out from behind the dark, rain-laden clouds at intervals, another game of life and death, was slowly unfolding on the balcony of our home.
The ‘African tulip’ tree was awash with green and red after the monsoon showers and was a spectacular sight. The tree fronts the house like a colossus and is the favourite haunt of many a feathered beauty, with even a pair of coppersmith barbets making it their home.
As I soaked in the beauty of nature, a squirrel emerged out of its cavity, looking for a feed. It was hungry and was scampering up and down for food. Suddenly, out of the blue, a cuckoo emerged from the sky and swooped down on its prey. The squirrel seemed to have had a premonition of the approaching danger and displayed incredible agility to avoid the talons of the bird in the nick of time. He quickly leapt onto a branch and scampered away to safety.
However, a mouse that emerged out of its hole in search of feed was not so lucky! A raven perched atop a tree swooped in swiftly and ravaged it right in front of our eyes. The rodent tried to evade its predator but ended up in a heap after getting thoroughly battered, and its eyes gorged out. Having secured its kill in the safety of a branch, the gluttonous bird kept homing in at intervals to devour its prey.
On one of my cycle expeditions, I chanced upon a rabbit nibbling on grass in an open field. Overcome by the urge to take possession of this lovable creature I stopped, parked my bicycle, stealthily crept up behind the animal and finally caught it. It remained with us for two days before my father gave it away to a friend who reared pets. But alas, the lovable creature ended up as a meal on the dinner table! I kicked myself for plucking the rabbit from the safety of its habitat and bringing it home, only to learn it perish in this fashion. Such are the uncertainties of life, ‘here today, gone tomorrow’!
(The writer is a former banker. He contributes to various newspapers including ‘Kashmir Vision’)
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