Literary Diarrhoea

Watch them closely my son, for they are not too different from us. We are sprouts of the same origin, carried by the same winds, only nurtured to varying habitats and lifestyles. Watch them close, my son…watch them close and learn.

It was the school holidays, a time not dedicated to school children alone. Nearly everyone benefits from school holidays; school teachers get their much-deserved rest, circus owners experience economic boom, zoos, parades, sales, businesses go through good times. Except maybe parents. They suffer a little, not having a clue on how to keep their kids on check. Except Samuel’s mother. She had it all figured out.

The Zoo is a wonderful place to visit during the school break. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of people throughout the day, not forgetting the thousands of animals that make cement their earth, and fences their territory. There are probably a million other bugs and insects roaming freely without supervision, but they are not the highlight of the place. Humans are always fascinated by rarity, and so the lions and tigers and elephants dominate here too, much like the wilderness.

Apart from the large animals, there is just one other section that is most visited by people. And that is the home of the Orang Utan. The Orang Utan is a real crowd puller because of her intelligence. And recently the proud mother gave birth to a baby, and the crowd has significantly multiplied since.

And so it was one day that a large number of people were witnessing in awe the immense intelligence of mankind’s closest cousins. Samuel and his mother were there, amongst so many other people and the stage was set for Samuel’s first real education on behaviour.

"Watch them closely my son, for they are not too different from us. We are sprouts of the same origin, carried by the same winds, only nurtured to varying habitats and lifestyles. Watch them close, my son…watch them close and learn, "his mother said to him.

Samuel was amazed by the similarity between humans and apes. Anything that he did, they tried to immitate. And that only showed how compatible the two species are and how intelligent they are. He was curious, and got close to the netted fence.  His mother’s voice guided him…

Notice, my son, that like us too they have hands and legs with fingers and toes. They are much like us, only they come in very different types. Some are short, some are tall, some are hairy, some just bald. But the essence of them is the same, much like how you are the same as your cousins in other states.

Samuel noticed the mother holding her baby very close to her. And he understood that mothers are very protective of their children, much like his mother was of him. But more than the physicality, he saw the emotional sadness in their eyes, the desperate torment of being on the other side of the cage. He saw grief and tiredness in their manner, not much natural than afflicted. And most of all, Samuel saw over the fence the plight of an entire species, bugged by their altered lifestyles and yet too afraid to rebel, bothered by their surroundings and yet too cautious for change. It was a sad state of conformity, there was an air of submission and resignation. Samuel considered the future of that baby. Like him too, that offspring is going to grow up to become like the parent. What will be the case in so many years to come? Will the baby survive? Tears rolled down Samuel’s eyes as his soul reached out to the souls across the fencing.

Time was getting late, and the zoo bell rang, signalling the time for the visitors to leave. Samuel and his mother sat back at their wooden planks as the humans slowly dispersed. And within the freedom of their unchained thoughts, the Orang Utan and baby Samuel watched the slavish humans stumble and stagger back to their cages of jealousy, anger, hatred and selfishness.