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When The Mosquito Dies..

Discussion in 'Cheeniya's Senile Ramblings' started by Cheeniya, Jan 18, 2019.

  1. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    When the mosquito dies

    Last evening when my daughter came back from her office she was looking depressed. As I knew that she would eventually tell me about what was troubling her, I just kept quiet. I was watching a TV serial when she walked into my room and sat by my side. This is the summary of what she told me. It seems that as she was driving back home, she saw a tiny pup walking up and down trying to cross the road and as there was heavy traffic, she could not stop the car and bail out the pup to safety. She was sure that the pup would have been run over by a heavy truck by now and that thought was killing her. I consoled her with my knowledgeable discourse about Karma et al. Nor did I have any documented statistics to inform her about how many pups kicked the bucket daily in our neighbourhood.

    I know most of you would have read The Man-Eater of Malgudi by RK Narayan. The story ends with the death of Vasu, the taxidermist and villain of the story. As he died under suspicious circumstances, an autopsy was conducted and the verdict was that he was attacked by a blunt and heavy instrument on his temple which caused his death. The case was closed. But later on, the truth comes out that he was annoyed by a mosquito sitting on his temple and he dealt a huge blow to the annoying mosquito. His blow damaged a blood vessel in the brain and he died instantly. There was just a one line mention of the plastered mosquito in the story. RK Narayan was a man of the world. He knew exactly how human behaved in trying circumstances. Most of us slap ourselves very hard when a mosquito stings us. We know only too well that a tiny mosquito would just require a gentle tap to kick its bucket but we are invariably seized by a demonic fury when a mosquito bites us and hurt ourselves in the bargain. Vasu of Malgudi was one of the victims of such fury and it was unfortunate that the said mosquito was sitting on his temple at the material time.

    This is the problem about our concern for other beings. An hour after narrating her concern for the pup on the road, my daughter armed with an electric mosquito killer put every mosquito to eternal sleep without any remorse. She gleefully watched the spark as each mosquito became a speck of dust. We see in hotels a bluish electric light at the entrance which has the same effect on the flies as the mosquito killer on mosquitoes. As the size of the creatures become larger, our concern for it increases. I once wrote here about a lizard that got crushed by a door and the eternal grief the incident caused me. When a speeding container-truck mows down a herd of cattle, we clutch our heart in agony but not as much as when a crow gets electrocuted at sitting on the overhead cables.

    When an elephant is laid to rest by a speeding train, we shed tears. We garland it and give it a ritualistic burial. I often wonder what size has got to do with the life within. For a mosquito its life is as important as it is for a human or an elephant. In an advertisement for a chemical that kills cockroaches, the lady who uses it to terminate them puts on a triumphant smile and kisses the bottle of chemicals! Sometimes I fail to understand the human psychology.
     
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2022
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  2. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Cheeniya Sir,

    This snippet of yours is very introspective and took me inside of me to find out the logic of this human behavior. My heart tells me all lives are equal and important. In case of your daughter's remorse for the pup, I believe she considered that pup defenseless against the heavy traffic. The pup is innocent of any harm to the human beings who drive without paying attention to what is in front of them. Whereas, the mosquito disturbs our sleep and is a blood-sucker. There is a lot of difference between voluntary and involuntary donation of blood. The human beings have the right to defend themselves. Moreover, it has the unique ability to fly away without burning into the swat bat. It is unfortunate that we can't conduct training program for pups, cattle, crows, elephants, Mosquitoes, etc. what not to do.

    Frankly, I couldn't find a clear answer to your question about why human mind thinks differently based on the size. But If I am traveling by air, I am more friendlier to someone who is seated to next to me, if he or she is thinner. My chances of petting a pup is more, if it is tinier than a large-sized pup. An extra-large cattle, pig, chicken, etc. are the prime targets for slaughtering. The human beings get elated when they catch a big fish in the sea.

    After all these analysis, only conclusion I have derived is human beings think they are the superior specie and don't care much about other species.
     
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2019
  3. Srama

    Srama Finest Post Winner

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    Dear Cheeniya Sir,

    My first response internally was "Wow! sir wow!". Brilliant writing. Indeed us human beings are crazy.
    This is something to certainly contemplate on and unfortunately it ends only with that. Like your daughter, I am sure any of us would bring out whatever is necessary to put the mosquitoes to sleep.

    That said, I have to tell you! Puppies are so cute. I am with her - my heart would break seeing something like that too. There are more occasions than I can tell you when I apply breaks seeing an undecided squirrel sitting in the middle of the road, looking around - I find it fascinating. Thankfully, it is almost always in the residential area with zero traffic. Just this past week, on the other side of a slightly busier street I saw a squirrel that looked like it was just hit and honest to god, I felt so bad that I slowed down a little to look at it while passing and to my utter relief, it turned over at that instant and ran away. I was so glad that even as I walked into the class I went, "Hey guys you know what, I saw a squirrel....." and told the story to see my kids going "oh Mrs.S" with a :facepalm:. Really! But coming back to dogs, we have domesticated these animals (perhaps the first) so long ago that they feel like they are part of a family, some family somewhere you know. And when wild animals like elephants come out of their havens and accidents happen because of what we do in our world, it is heart breaking. I know, I know even with all this, it does not justify killing a mosquito but those mosquitoes, such tiny creatures, they come right after your blood, no less! What else do we do sir, what else can we do? Come to think of it, you have to give us humans some credit, it is almost always mosquitoes that we don't think twice before slapping them to their end even if it means hurting ourselves sometimes!

    Nice write up sir :)
     
  4. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    Now that is very philosophical. What does size have to do with the life inside it? I often ask myself what I am doing when I set about killing mosquitoes, cockroaches and big red ants. I am consumed with enormous guilt as I trample those poor sparks of the Parabrahma Atman or the 'satchitandanda swaroop atma' out of those little bodies. But then I have to console myself (irony that, eh? I kill and then I console myself, not the grief stricken relatives of said poor critters) that I have nothing against them but I cannot have them invading my marked territory. After all they would do the same to me if I were to stick my hand into their nest, wouldn't they?
     
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2019
  5. GeetaKashyap

    GeetaKashyap IL Hall of Fame

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    @Cheeniya Sir,

    .
    .
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    I am thinking..:thinking:

    I guess the size does matter. I wonder whether psychologically our mind relates the size of the animal to the size of our EGO! Obviously when our ego takes a big blow, we cry, rant and what not. At the same time, when the insult to our ego is slight, we don't generally pay much attention!?:sconf::scream:

    Or is it that when we kill a mosquito, Newton's third law of 'equal and opposite reaction' is applied? Instant justice system perhaps reduces our guilt! When a dog bitten person thrashes that dog, he is satisfied but the neighbour feels sorry for the dog. Perhaps he secretly admires the dog for provoding divine justice but he too will thrash the dog if it bites him. He then justifies it as tit for tat!:shakehead::thinking:

    Do I make sense?

    I agree, Sir.
    With such an excellent write-up, you have forced me to wake up my hibernating brains!:sleep:
     
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  6. Mistt

    Mistt IL Hall of Fame

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    Hi Uncle,
    Thank you for the thought provoking write-up. I feel there is nothing wrong in your daughter's sympathy/worry towards innocent pup because it wasn't harming anyone and just trying to cross the road. I hope the pup is safe somewhere.
    If something/someone is trying to harm us, we definetly defend ourselves without thinking about it is small or big. In the same way We kill mosquitoes because if we allow them to bite us, we end up with diseases.
     
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2019
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  7. shyamala1234

    shyamala1234 Platinum IL'ite

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    Dear Cheeniya sir,
    Yes. God has created all creatues equally. But do they behave equal with each other? No. Because mosquitoes cause us harm we are unkind to them. Dogs are loved because of their qualities and became a part of our lives. Elephants are huge, majestic..... They are taken in a procession. Same with other creatures. We love butterflies for their beauty. Same with humans... love for their good nature with some. Neutral with some and do not like some (we do not kill them though). Maintain a distance. Same be vice versa also.
    Your daughter is perfectly natural in loving a puppy and killing mosquitoes!
    Syamala
     
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  8. Thyagarajan

    Thyagarajan IL Hall of Fame

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    :hello:In Indian Army the annual budget for buying ready made mosquito net is over 100 Cortes in 1993. They do not believe in killing miss mosquito and harm the surrounding and pollute the environment .
    In our young days we never heard of killing them but used cotton meshed large nets around us. Cots used to be provided with suitable pillars.
    Pets had no danger or exposure from repellents or insecticides spray.
    Thanks and regards .
    God has formula and concern for ecology .
     
  9. kkrish

    kkrish IL Hall of Fame

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    Very interesting Sir.

    I am deleting my earlier serious response.

    I am sure your wonderment at human nature was just a rhetorical statement. Silly me, giving a serious explanation :facepalm:.

    Now coming to think about it we humans are a quirky lot.
    We dont even prounce simple words the same way, example "put" and "cut".

    Hmmm... :thinking:
     
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2019
  10. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

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    Pot calling the kettle black.
    So, an Old Friend causes you a little pain. You hire a hit-man to terminate him with extreme prejudice. Then shed crocodile tears when the deed is done? :eek::yikes:
    Me too, Cheeniya, me too. o_O
    Here's some reading for you about your assassin amis and their tradecraft. May be useful for your next hit, Double-Oh-C.
    A Study of Assassination - CIA handbook
     
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2019

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