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On
the bed, in the wall-on the table -just everywhere ET all! This
is the story of the most resilient species that shall ever inhabit
the globe. A tale of survival, instincts, domination and life. A
story we have heard as children. The frightening truth of how the
world will come to an end--and how the only surviving species will
be the ugly, creepy .pesky cockroaches! With global warming and
melting glaciers---with rising tides and swirling typhoons---the
destruction of the world has become a sordid reality that one has
to face--sooner than later .Amidst this tragic scenario--with the
fight of survival heating up and the human race facing extinction,
it is perhaps time to take a new look at the survival tactics of
that wily creature --the humble cockroach!
What is it about a cockroach that makes it the most hated pest of
all? You squat one of them and a hundred more will rush to take
its place. Much akin to the troubles of the human race! You solve
one problem and a thousand more pile into your plate of woes. But
the similarity ends there. While the humble cockroach can make us
bow with shame with their never say die attitude, it is a pity that
the human race has as yet not learnt to cope with the concept of
impending doom. The ice is melting. The rivers are filling up. The
food crops are failing .Basic necessities are being rationed in
developed countries like the USA and even Japan! But the foolish
human beings continue to exist in blissful ignorance. Much unlike
the friendly neighbourhood cockroach---who will rise from the dead
like the proverbial phoenix--- becoming immune to every new pesticide
within a matter of months-thereby forcing the pest control companies
to come up with new formulae to eliminate these terrors from our
homes.
With rising prices and changing governments, we as a race of intellectuals,
have a lot to learn from the humble cockroach--whose only concern
is survival. No hype on appearance. No hype on politics. No nonsense
about territory or terrorism. Just plain survival. The name of the
game is to use all your instincts and to concentrate on the one
thing that matters the most--SURVIVAL.
The media baffles me. Being an ardent patron of the media and a
firm believer of the fact that a pen is mightier than the sword,
I am truly flummoxed by the blind eye that the world media has turned
towards global warming .All you have to do to understand my point,
is to turn on any news channel on the idiot box or to flip through
any newspaper lying before you. The headlines will scream about
some actress dating some cricketer, some fashion show goof up, some
minister stopping a flight, some terrorist attack, some celebrity
getting a tattoo--or some equally innocuous news items ---but such
little about environmental degradation!
Well, what can be done about this problem? Shall we all adopt an
ostrich like attitude and bury our heads in the ground and pretend
the problem does not exist? Or shall we put our heads together and
find a proactive solution to the dilemma? The answer lies in collective
and individual efforts .Citizen groups and social activists take
up a lot of causes--protection of mangroves in Mumbai, cleaning
up of the beachfronts, saving nearly extinct animals-like the tiger
etc. However much needs to be done on the individual front. We must
ask ourselves, how often do we counsel our children to use the public
transport instead of private cars? How often do we teach our kids
to conserve the water and to refrain from the use of those electronics
that cause environmental degradation? What kind of world will we
leave behind for the future generations to come?
With spiraling fuel prices, it may soon become unfashionable to
buy a car! A car may cease to be a status symbol and may well become
an epitome of bad taste for environmentalists and society alike.
With the onset of monsoon in Mumbai, one is forced to look heavenwards--for
the twin purpose of checking the rain clouds and also to pray to
the Almighty to protect us from the floods! But we must truly ask
ourselves ---are we not to blame?
The time has come to place survival above all other things. If we
fail to unite in this fight--we may soon have a planet inhabited
by the strongest creature of all---the cockroach!! (Readers are
requested to send their comments/opinions at pervindumasia@hotmail.com)
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