The waltz of the Black Ants

My dear Aniha
The Solar eclipse that occurred last month was hailed as the most awesome celestrial even of the century the like of which would occur again after some 120 years! The news item added that none of us who ride the earth now would be there to watch it! Imagine the scenario when the earth will be completely flushed off the current population in a span of the next hundred years. Does this thought ever stop us from going ahead with our routine? Never. But the difference lies between the worriers and non-worrieres of the future. All progress invariably happens through people who have no time to think of their eventual exit from the planet!

If at all, the thought of our exit comes to us occasionally, our reaction to that should be, 'Oh God! I have so little time but so much to do!'
Sri

 

Dear Shanthi
You won't believe it but I was really thinking of starting a thread on reality shows after writing this! There is so much to write about them! More than the actual shows, the drama that precedes and succeeds it!

I am a keen observer of ants. What impresses me most about them is not just their hard toil and extreme cooperative spirit but their ability to communicate particularly in the face of danger. I once drew a line with an anti termite chalk to stop a row of ants from attacking the goodies. The ants which were in the vicinity of the line beat a hasty retreat and while rushing back to their hiding place warned everyone coming in the line of the danger ahead. Every ant thus warned took a 'u' turn and rushed back!

Adhiti Devo Bhava is truly the eastern culture. The Japanse excel in it. For some strange reasons, the Indians are slowly becoming more self centered and their concern for guests is on the wane. But what harm can be done to a guest by too caring a host has been humorously told by the British Humorist, Stephen Leacock in his story, The Awful Fate of Melpomenus Jones, which can be found in his book, 'Literary Lapses'

I do agree. We must find time to smell the roses even if we are fleeing a marauding mad elephant!
Sri

 

My dear SS
You are spoiling me! Don't you know that when dealing with a man of my age, one needs to follow moderation very strictly? Excessive appreciation is not good for us like any other excesses! I am extremely happy and satisfied to be in the company of a handful of young people like you in IL who keep smothering me with their love and adoration! I have never enjoyed my life in all these 67 years as I do now in IL.

Having said that, let me now pick up your words 'the unknown future'. Future can be fascintaing only if it remains unknown. Future is a storehouse of all our dreams. No one can dream of a 'known' future. The mystery of what is to be triggers all our dreams. This is one of the reasons why I despise guys like Nostradamus who are such killjoys and dream busters. If people develop the capacity to see the future, they must learn to keep their mouths shut and let others enjoy their life.

If people who savor every moment of their present are labelled indifferent or insensitive, it is indeed a sad statement on the condition of modern living!
Sri

 

Dear Padmini
I too have heard of this explanation before and I also give it a lot of credance. Otherwise, there is no reason for people to associate a bear of all the animals with the performance of a Pooja! And mind you, bears are rare in Tamilnadu. Why should a bear take precedence over dogs and cats and bandicoots?
Do you know that Lingayat ladies too wear a Sacred Thread? They are fierce Shiv Bakthas and won't worship other gods.
Protecting oneself against the imponderables of future is one thing. I am all for it. But worrying too much about future is another thing. What is the use of a man saving everything that he earns without even eating well for future? He may not be healthy to eat anything when the distant future eventually arrives!
Sri

 

My dear Kamal
That was a typically Kamal stuff! Ants in the pants...er...underpants can be very uncomfortable when you are sitting in a club with friends like me! But they make you dance like MJ is news to me. I have seen a big range of responses to this biting problem but dancing is a new addition. Is it your intention to scare the ants away with your gyrations? Make sure you don't end up in greater pain with sprains and bruises than what the little ants can cause.

Choki Dani sounds like a lot of fun with the soothsayer to boot. But then I believe in letting life take its own unpredictable course than facing some local Nostradamus armed with a parrot and all! If at all I visit an astrologer, it will be only to ask how regular Kamalji's future visits to IL will be. We miss you a lot old man!
Sri

 

Dear Sudha
You have increased my desire to write about The Hindu at length but that can be only after I unravel the mystery of its survivability! I hate the paper but I can't start a day without it. When it declares a day off for the Ayuda Pooja and the like, the following day is real hell for me. Yet I hate the Paper. Do I remind you of Mark Antony's funeral oration about Brutus?

Are there no ants in Germany? I am amazed. What kind of a place is that? I can live in a place where there no aunts but not ants! Like the good old Thymoor, I draw all my inspiration from them. I just love them and after I hear that they start exploring Kamalji frequently making him dance like MJ, I love them even more!

And thanks a million for those lovely compliments. Coming from you, they mean a lot to me! What more incentive do I need to keep writing!
Sri