Birds Walk

Last year I had been to Chapel hill in North Carolina. My husband had a conference there, and I decided to fly along with him. As always I kept clicking at every other thing that caught my interest and attention in the hopes that I might just catch something very nice. My efforts paid, when I was sitting outside the Radission Hotel one day, in the research triangle park.
It was a huge green area, as we know Chapel Hill is very green ! and I saw a flock of geese there. I was watching them and taking pictures when I was highly impressed by their behavior. They all formed one line and started walking in one direction behind each other !!! 

 I wondered has it got to do with the famous "goose walk/goose step" ?  I am not an expert in Bird behavior or Geese behavior of that matter, I tried searching but did not find much. If you the reader, have something to share with the others please do put in the comments.

You can have a look at the video below and enjoy.Also try to decipher what does it say ? Does it say, "listen men ! We are somewhat more intelligent than you you think. We have our own rules !" ?

PS :The video quality is not great but it is just 01:12 long.

The love for animals

There are some people who love animals, there are others who don't. Then there are some who work very passionately for animals, the reason they say - We Love them ! Understandable, they love them so they help them. But we all have friends who think they love animals, but also indulge into actions which are harmful or hurting to them. They love animals, but seldom/never become a part of their welfare. How is that ? So I started searching the answer to this question, is this love for animals or just Fascination for animals ?

PS : Just a reminder, Love and fascination both are positive emotions.

 After my search I deduced these two main points of thought:

Love:We all have some loving relationships in life, so we all have experienced what love is, and how one feels in it. I think you will agree that in love what gives the most amount of  joy is "to give". We do expect returns, Yes, but to give to someone we love gives us special contentment and bliss.And to give and make the other happy is the primary feeling in love.

Fascination:Whereas in fascination or mere liking, the primary feeling is the joy that people derive in being with their beloved.So talking in context of animals, they are really happy and impressed in animal company or looking at animal behavior.They appreciate the unconditional love that animals are known to give. But this is not love for animals because the the primary feeling here does not involve the feeling "to give", even at the cost of some personal sacrifice. 

Love : As I said above in love we want to give to the beloved. There is also another opposite extreme to this.When we love, will seldom "consciously" (if ever) indulge into behaviors which we know are going to harm our beloved. Their suffering or pain  will also give us pain which we all want to avoid at all costs, unless we know that this pain is temporary and in the long run it will be beneficial for our beloved.

Fascination : As we know that many people who think that they love animals also indulge into other behaviors which are harmful to animals like eating them, wearing their skins etc.. This behavior is at the other end of "the feeling to give". This is not just the lack of the feeling to give but the "feeling to take" is rated so high here that, it can hardy be called love for animals Whether this can even be called fascination is the question ?

People fascinated by animals :

• It can be very easy to get confused between the two feelings because both are positive. And it involves some analytical thinking and introspection to understand and differentiate between the two.

• What they really mean when they say that "We love animals" is that we are "fascinated by animals". 

• What they want to say is that animals are charming, cuddly little beings whom we appreciate and like.

Valentina !!

Just a few hours back , I was writing about the variety of Human psyche . Now I came across an amazing story that I could not miss because it showed the positive side of Human psyche. While there are some who are busy with the work of destruction, there are others who indulge into such Humane behaviors that no amount of thank you in enough for them ! That also reminds of the story of tiger and Tim, these are exactly the kind of people that  Tim was referring to in his conversation with the Tiger.

Getting to the point, some gentle human beings were in the seas of Mexico when they came across a Humpback whale who appeared to be dead. Then they realized that the Whale (whom they called Valentina, since this was on Valentine's day 2011) was not dead but was entangled in a fishing net put by some people obviously on the other side of the human psyche continuum ! Now they had the task to free her from the highly entangled fishing net as soon as possible, but all they had was a small knife as a tool. They had the whole thing filmed, and I have provided that video below. You can see the whole story of the rescue of Valentina. The reward of this hard and dangerous work came at the end when they actually saw Valentina celebrating her new Life and freedom ! What real Joy was that to me too, and I am sure you will love watching her jumping high in waters. Truly,Valentina proved that life and freedom are absolutely priceless !!!

And by the way, the people who helped Valentina save her life were no Ordinary people. They are from an organisation called "Great Whale Conservancy" . So they are continuously working towards saving the whale population. The co- founder of this organisation Michael Fishbach was also involved in this rescue, thank you all you great men and women !

People who like to "HEAR" the "famous singing" of these majestic creatures can use this link to the National geographic.

A Tiger in the woods...

My friend Tim shared with me this conversation that he recently had with a tiger in the woods. Tim had forgotten to take a weapon and got lost in a jungle.They both were trying to reach a conclusion through this dialogue. I thought of sharing it over here with all, just so that all mature humans can consider both perspectives :




Tiger : (finding Tim) Looks like I am going to have a feast today !




Tim :  Oh no no, please let me go, I have a family. Besides look I am here without a weapon. I wasn't here to kill anyone.




Tiger: Do you think I am fool ? You human beings do not even spare each other, how do I believe you had plans to spare us incase you came face to face with one of us. You must have forgotten the gun at home. I know your brothers have been killing my brothers mercilessly many times for joy and sometimes for fear. We only kill for need not for greed ! Last month alone two of my brothers were burnt alive and my sister was beaten to death in your community !




Tim : Dont you see, they should have not come to our place, We get scared to death in your presence, and we have the right to defend our families and friends. (Tim easily evades the answer to hunting).




Tiger : And why do you think they had gone to your place ?? Certainly not to have a feast with you ! You humans destroyed our home...if you do that, where do we go ? Left with no choice for shelter or  food sometimes, some of us wander away to Unsafe places... just like you have wandered today. Given the superior brains that you guys have,and the ability to plan and progress,  wouldn't it be good that you help us instead of killing our families ? Do you not feel the slightest of guilt for what you do ?




Tim : not all Humans are so insensitive. There are some who are enough God fearing to let you be safe while also taking care of their community. There are many in my community who are involved in helping animals. The news about "Saving Tiger" is now making rounds in human communities.Don't you know a about it ?




Tiger : Yes I know there are some who have dedicated their life to us too (indirectly it benefits the humans too). But we are still being killed for the reasons but GREED - taste, hobby, what you call a sport, commerce and what not ! Why should I spare you ??




Tim : If you kill me, tomorrow this will be the news ! And your community will get a bad name. Think about it.




Tiger : I know, if we kill for  hunger which is a need, we get a bad name and if you kill for greed, that is justified. Just because we Do not have a voice, money, fame or Vote, do we deserve this injustice ? We still have emotions, we are still capable of feeling hurt.
When you kill our babies in front of our eyes, CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT WE GO THROUGH. I am not referring to any isolated cases...your people do this on a regular basis !




TIM : Oh Tiger, I know there are lots of Unethical behaviors that my community does on a regular basis to your animal community  (and to human community itself). But believe me, I knew about  hunting for food and pleasure but I wasn't really aware of the other things that you mentioned ! Killing babies in front of mothers ! GOSH !




Tiger : Okay, I can believe you on that, no don't get surprised !  I know since we do not have a voice, there are few to whom this thought would occur. The welfare of animals is anyways something most of you people looked down upon, as something not as necessary.


With all this talk, I now feel depressed thinking about my lost friends and family. I spare you ! GO Away, leave us alone in our little home. WE DO NOT ASK FOR MUCH. Just the right to live with Dignity.




TIM : We humans are so lost in worrying about our life or partying that we seldom think about the consequences of our actions on this world that we live in. Look, I have been used to eating animals and hunting  since childhood. Today as I came across you, needless to say for the first time in my life, I AM GETTING AN INSIGHT  as to really how mature and intelligent animals can be !


This experience has changed me as a person for ever !




Tiger : Now that's what we call  true HUMAN ABILITY. We know you guys alone are capable of HIGH LEVEL THINKING, and no one can change the world the way you can. But you simply don't make the full use of your potential. I am glad you at least think that this experience changed you. See if you can pass this information to others. YOU WILL DO A GREAT FAVOR TO MOTHER EARTH.

Tim : Tiger friend, do you know we have a huge organisation of international fame called "United nations". I heard they have reported saying that our non-veg diet is ONE MAJOR CAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING. Now when I go back to my home, I will make it a point to spread the word around and may be even join some other people who are trying to do some good to the world.




Tiger : Okay then, I will go my way..




Tim an Tiger both go away their ways, none ditches the other's trust :)  

Image Courtesy :  World Of Stock.com

The Net

Today as I was walking in my community, my attention was drawn to a piece of art instantly. A piece of art which was no ordinary man's play !!

I do not know if I should call it architecture Or designing ? But I was once again fascinated looking at the nature functions. This was about my reaction to the art....let me share it with the readers as well in the form of pictures :

PS :

 1.This piece of art is so delicate that some of you may have to strain your eyes :) but I think it is worthwhile to pay attention to the details of nature sometimes.

2. The creator of this art is seen proudly reigning in the heart of his kingdom !

I am sure most of you know what it is -  a Spider's creation, his/her web ! With the light falling behind it, I could see it so clearly and I could pay attention to the fine detailing.It impressed me instantly.

Nature is God - part 2

This is the second part of close to nature. Part one consisted of a short clip of a honeybee on a white flower. Part one can be seen here. I spotted this bird in my own community. And she allowed me to take some pictures of her beauty :)
Interestingly the next day I again saw her in the same place and she allowed me to shoot some more. She seemed to be friendly, thanks to her :) Hope you readers enjoy looking at her....thanks!

Nature is God - part 1

Being a nature lover, I always keep myself close to nature. I do not like to miss anything that is related to nature. The first part of Close to nature is this video of a honeybee on a white flower.

And the second part has some pictures of a bird...

How many of us humans would dare to do this ?

I am posting this article to my blog after a long gap.  But this post has been to my mind for quite some time. This is something that I could not and did not want to forget or take for granted. As I was reading the newspaper one day, I came across this news in a tiny section of the news paper. This was in Chandigarh, when a shanty caught fire. There were two kids in the shanty and the pet dog who was in fact tied up with a leash. It seems there were also two other older kids who managed to flee that burning shanty. As the dog realized the danger to his master's two kids, he jumped into the burning shanty to save them. He succeeded in dragging the kids out of the shanty but unfortunately, the kids couldn't be saved later in the hospital !! This poor baby too got hurt in the whole process.

The stories of animal loyalty towards human begins are not new...we have heard a lot of them many times. This one being the newest and the also one of the most dramatic. I mean he even risked his life !! ?  

The questions that came to my mind were:

•  How many of us human beings would really have the intention and/or courage to do that ? 
• And, Do we give them their share of respect and dignity in return ?

Readers who would like to  check this story online can do it Here.

How these kids helped another "kid" in need...

I got these pictures through a friend, worth having a look J

Don't we want every child that we come accross , to be

as sensitive and as humane as these adorable kids ? J