Ominous cloud in heaven, Part-2 The Solution:

What Yamadharmaraj saw, blew his mind off its base.  Facing one direction, Chitragupta was chanting ‘If present shapes the future, then what shaped this present?’ Changing directions, he intoned ‘If future influences the present then what influenced that future? ‘Continuing, he murmured, ‘I am not what I want to be, then why I want to be what I am not?’

He had never seen Chitragupta, looking completely unhinged like this. This state of Chitragupta, deeply worried him, as he had never seen such an inexplicable and odd behaviour. As he was not privy to the nature of the problem, to understand the situation, he failed to guess, it was just a process of loud thinking. Unerringly, he came to a wrong conclusion.

Not knowing what to do, Yamadharmaraj did the safest thing - quietly walked away, wondering what bug had gotten into Chitragupta’s mind!  Pushed by his impulse, he decided to rush and inform Bramha, of his erroneous conclusion.

Brahma stood still for a moment, after hearing the message. Without pausing to think through, He decided to hurry along with Yamadharmaraj, to the spot where Chitragupta was exhibiting this odd behaviour.

What he saw, with his own eyes, puzzled and troubled Brahma, at the same time. He cast a compassionate glance toward Chitragupta, which incidentally broke the chanting spell. Opening his eyes, Chitragupta could not believe that Brahma himself, had come to visit, in the company of Yamadharmaraj.

In no time, Brahma understood that there was nothing wrong in Chitragupta's mind, except a deep philosophical awakening. This being a heavy subject, he gently told Yamadharmaraj that he would take over from here. Yamadharmaraj understood the subtle message, and left the place, a bit annoyed.

Touching Chitragupta’s shoulder, Brahma asked in a genial tone, “Any solution in sight?"

"Yes. More or less." Replied Chitragupta. This cryptic answer did not sit well, in the troubled mind of Brahma. He asked, “What do you mean by this?"

"I am just there but not sure of it yet", replied Chitragupta, vacantly gazing with a faraway look. This upset Brahma, and he almost decided to take Chitragupta to task. At this instant, Chitragupta came to the present and said, "The clue is so nebulous and right now the solution, is looking opaque. Will you please give me, some more time to think?  I will elaborate on it, a little later."

Brahma took the hint and returned to his favourite garden, hoping he could beat Chitragupta in finding that elusive solution. But in the end, it was Chitragupta, who came up with the solution, and met with Brahma, who was still furiously pacing, like a whirlwind.

Without any preamble, Chitragupta started speaking. “Let me elaborate on the chant, ‘I am not what I want to be, then why I want to be what I am not’ like this.  The leader of the warring pack wants to become the ruler of Earth and starts machinations to encourage and increase regional conflicts. These multi-front regional conflicts are then used to ignite wars in different zones. The aggressor meets with a defender and both vows to finish each other. One started it without knowing how to end it and the other fighting with determination, not to end it!

For the chants, ‘If future influences the present then what influenced that future?  ‘If present shapes the future, then what shaped this present?’ my explanation goes like this. The above-mentioned wars of, aggrandisement, ego-trip or trips of megalomaniacs, will definitely spill over into the future also, standing testimony to - present shapes the future and future influences the present.”

“Ok. But you have not come to the solution- from where and why, the sender of this ominous cloud enters the picture?”

“The answer is in the question itself.  Is there a war without destruction and suffering! Natural disasters such as earthquakes, drought, excessive rains, epidemics and pandemics affect whom the most? The answer is people who have nothing to do with these occurrences, is it not? These affected people themselves have decided to add another brush stroke, on the picture, depicting the theatres of war!”

“How? Care to explain this in detail?”

“Sure. I am just coming there. Among the people, who have sent the cloud, are some top-notch inventors. Relentlessly, they have been pushing the envelope of creativity. To show the world that they are what they wanted to be, embarked on, an unchecked invention spree of editing genes, creating table-top stars, mini blockholes, machines and mechanised humanoids able to mimic human brain in all its complexities. Unfortunately, these top-notch brains failed to foresee that their own inventions would become their nemesis, and such inventions would become the tool of destruction.”

Brahma could not take it anymore and asked in an agitated voice, " But these humans have been endowed with superior thinking capabilities and why should they want to wreak havoc on themselves and others?"

Chitragupta calmly replied, “A quirk of DNA. These people became what they wanted to be: an exception to my first chant.”

Sensing the trap, Brahma decided to deflect the conversation and said, “In creation, the human genome didn't have any such scope. Then how all these are happening?"

Chitragupta was ready with his point and replied, " None could have anticipated that the genes would undergo mutation and become self-learning to create more and more potent inventive powers. In effect, sitting in a room, a human mind can pin-point the exact location, where the Creator is residing."

Though, Chitragupta had deftly used general nomenclature, without naming him for muddying of gene pool, yet it unnerved him to know that a human mind might already be absorbing all these conversations. Brahma asked the next question, "What about the war mongers? Are they not showing animal like predator tendencies?”

“It is very easy to explain. Some of the genes, here and there, decided to follow their own abundant wisdom. They underwent rebellious mutations, bypassing a streamlined process. This accounts for the crop of aggressors, ego-trippers and megalomaniacal trippers. exhibiting ferocious animal like predator tendencies. They are our war mongers.”

“Chitragupta, so far you have only managed to draw circles around the problem, without hinting at a solution. I am beginning to see a cloud of doubt forming in my mind and taking position next to the ominous cloud. Don't you have any idea at all, about what has to be done now?”

Chitragupta, once again started to mumble strange sounding words. With nowhere to go, Brahma stayed rooted at the same spot, frequently looking at the ominous cloud for any visible change. 

Clearing his throat once, Chitragupta said, "I have found a way out. You can exploit the same gene that have been mutating."

Wondering, where this is going, Brahma asked, " How"?

During mutation, the gene had ignored to tinker with and retained this one trait without altering it. It is a weakness called self-first selfishness. 

“How that can be exploited, now!"

"You can grant a small extension to their life span, restricting it to only to the selected few, who have been affected and are in the crowd and appealing.”

“Would it not amount to showing undue favoritism? Moreover, Yamadharmaraj would be besides himself, when his system has to store more undeleted records.” Brahma voiced his doubts.

“No doubt, it would be an odd brush stroke, in the overall picture. Anyhow, wars will offset this imbalance, to some extent. Secondly, you can think of giving him some sort of additional perks on the job. Extensions and concessions work like magic on Earth. I am sure, here too they will produce the same effect!

“O.K, what about the wars that are likely take place in the future.” 

“We can prevent them by employing our own pre-emptive strikes.” Replied, a non-plussed Chitragupta.

Becoming curious, Brahma asked, “How that would be possible?”

“We use the life-extension granted innovators, to create lab-grown blackholes. These mini blackholes will suck in all the projectiles that are fired, in the battlefield, and obliterate them in zeptoseconds. When the stockpiles of armaments are exhausted, a point of no return looms large, the wars end as damp squibs. Though, fresh attempts will be made to manufacture more lethal weapons. As long as the life-extension granted innovators are willing to make good use of the grant, they will be willing and ready to come up with more and more powerful lab-grown mini blackholes. In this way, we could effectively   turn the tables on the aggressors! Now, instead of mutual human destruction, they will be busy in destructing new weapons and their new technologies!” The incredulous Brahma asked, “Is this your original idea?"

 "Yes" blurted out Chitragupta and after a pause added, "No, no. It is from mythology, where arrows, spears and tridents, with magical powers, have been used. I just modernised them with bullets, grenades, missiles and mini-blackholes!"

This lengthy explanation left Brahma speechless. He did not fail to notice the sneaky trick played by Chitragupta, using ‘we’, ‘our’ instead of ‘you’. Having done his bit, Chitragupta murmured something and left the scene. In the midst of suffering ‘ballistic missiles-hit like headache, Brama began to understand the import of Chitragupta’s plan. Worrying about how and how soon to implement these countermeasures, Brahma hurried home. 

Ominous cloud in heaven, Part-1 The problem:

When everything was going according to cosmic rules, naturally a thick fog of inactivity descends. To stir the pot, an ominous cloud, also chose to descend, over Brahma's residence. Maybe, out of respect and to follow the pecking order. 

The clueless Brahma, searched in all the four directions, with visual and audio direction finders. He even double checked their functions by calibrating them, against a standard source. So far so good, but still, he could not clue in, on to the source of disturbance.

The next option was to call in Chitragupta to investigate the phenomenon of the hovering cloud, over his residence. Chitragupta, who had been watching its formation, growth and movement, was not surprised to receive Brahma's call. In fact, he was actively surfing the electromagnetic waves, expecting this very, any-moment-call.

When he entered the premises, Brahma was intently looking at a floor to ceiling image, showing the entire universe. Chitragupta could see lines crisscrossing, like multi-level fly overs, on the surface of Earth. He had once experienced what it costs to miss a turn, only to end up doing an hour of additional travel. He had named them as, ' to everywhere and to nowhere fly overs’. When he narrated his ordeal to an Earthling, he got this sarcastic advice, "Read and heed signages on the road or stay at home". Chitragupta almost wanted to shout, that he was using a driverless cab and it must have gone blind and deaf. Fearing another wisecrack, Chitragupta, just moved on. 

From the changing facial expressions, Brahma inferred that his protege was re-living some bad experience.  Brahma, turning his attention back to the problem hanging over his heads, asked, " Do you know anything about this ominous cloud hovering over my residence?"

A deep, contemplative look at the Floor-2-Ceiling image, projected in 3D, gave Chitragupta, some options to explore, clues to follow and then reply. Brahma, not wanting to be a distraction, quietly slipped into his meditation schedule.

 Chitragupta's mind raced, through the crisscrossing lines, carefully noting the zones prone to flare up or already firing flares. A look at his Master, in deep meditation, guaranteed some more time for gathering additional points. Brahma liked his presentations to start with bullet points followed by oral explanation and not the other way around.

He finally came up with a brilliant idea, thanks to the F2C image. Brahma’s eyes opened and fell on the bright and shining face of Chitragupta. The look confirmed, that a solution has been worked out and ready for presentation. He signalled Chitragupta to proceed.

Chitragupta went up to the F2C image and pointed at some of the locations, where the crisscrossing lines have left thick nodes. The confused look on Bramha's faces, gave him the opening and quickly seizing the opportunity, Chitragupta dropped the bombshells. “The ominous cloud hanging over your abode, has come from one of these nodes” Pointing them out he added “From here, it is difficult, to pinpoint the origin.”

Curiosity and heightened confusion took Brahma to another level of worry. He imagined a fiery spiraling object, programmed to impact on his cosmic engine of creation, is probably on its course. The cloud could be the smokescreen.

On the spot, he decided, " Then, let us to go down to these spots, to dig deep and put an end to this cloud phenomenon." He did not share his doomsday fear with Chitragupta.

A few moments later, they landed in knee deep snow. Before they could get their bearings, a barrage of whooshing firetails shrieked overhead, in a perfect, lazy arc, in opposite directions. With a knowing smile, Chitragupta said, "These are missiles, packed with destructive potential and are not being let loose to welcome us.

The ground beneath them shuddering with the impacts, Brahma asked, "If not to welcome us, why this show?"

These missiles are being fired at each other. Two countries are at war, over a parcel of barren land, where nothing grows!

Then why this war?

Chitragupta calmly replied, "It is a manifestation of All I want is mine syndrome. Better let us move to another node and see what is transpiring there.”

To Brahma, the scene at the second node, did not look much different from the earlier one, but with some exceptions. He saw huge ships and ugly looking metal birds lining up on the top deck and a single grill shaped thing making relentless, sweeping motions, in tune with the lapping of waves. A mesmerising sight but for whom and for what, wondered Brahma!

Chitragupta had the answer, "The neighbouring nations have been fighting each other over decades. Notice, these fleets belonging to two super- nations, are standing by."

Why don't they intervene and stop the fights?"

Another knowing smile appeared on Chitragupta's face and he answered, " These two super-nations are bound by the Hedging the bets syndrome. They wait and watch and at the end, will reap the benefits out of this on-going conflict."

Speechless, Brahma asked Chitragupta to take him to another node.

In this zone, fierce battle was taking place, relegating the first and second node activities to the bottom of the rung. Metal birds flew and hurled shrieking missiles, ground-based projectiles arced and thudded into the ground. Metal elephant like contraptions, shook, fired, collided and burst into flames. The warring nations were pounding each other, as if there is no tomorrow. Dazed and deafened, Brahma managed to shout over the din," Chitragupta, in the end what will be left to rule?"

Chitragupta had an answer to suit the question and the situation. He calmly said, “This is a classical Confront and perish syndrome. Nobody expects to come out a winner."

 Brahma asked, "Then why fight? Are wars not destructive?"

 "Whoever started the war could not end it, and whoever retaliated would not allow it."

Continuing, Chitragupta elaborated, "The world economic order, the brainchild of super-nations, works like this. If you feed the hungry, they become strong and pose threat in the future. If you feed war, more people become hungry, more lands become barren, more industries spew out destructive devices, more jobs get created at home and more power accrues to kindle, nurture and encourage some more wars. This is their “Tornado doctrine."

But explain how this helps the opposing super-nations?

Therein lies - The convenient compromise syndrome. They never fight face-to-face, encourage wars from the sidelines, yet allow each other to derive benefit from that same doctrine. 

Brahma felt, the ground zero visits did not result in any resolution on the ominous, hovering cloud.

Chitragupta, putting it in proper perspective said, " It is the famous ‘who will bell the cat syndrome’. The ominous cloud has been sent by the poor and the voiceless to draw your attention, to their plight. Among the creations, why they alone should suffer the conflicts and wars, is their anguish"

Taken aback, Brahma came down heavily on Chitragupta, "Why did you not share these pearls of wisdom at my place itself? Why should you drag me, through these nodes or war zones, or by whatever name you call it?"

Unfazed, Chitragupta replied, " Once in a while, it is better to get in touch with the reality of the situation, personally. Then only, your response will be proportionate."

Brahma got the hint. Chitragupta had said whatever he wanted to say, without saying it really. He envied Chitragupta's observer role and for a fleeting attosecond yearned for a reversal in the roles.

Sensing that the timing was perfect, Chitragupta asked, "Shall we return home?" During the journey, Brahma quietly started working out schemes as countermeasures to end this madness, he had just witnessed. Though, Chitragupta appears to have a better grasp of Earthlings psyche, he was worried whether it would diminish his importance as the Creator. Since, Chitragupta had not come out with a solution to disperse the ominous cloud, he decided to task him with this work, attaching all sorts of urgent, very urgent, top-secret tags, to make him feel important, and keep him at arm’s length, for the moment.

Back home, saddled with the task of finding a solution, Chitragupta decided to bask in ethereal light and imbibe the heavenly scent. Somehow, he felt this process would rejuvenate his grey matter and come up with a lead. As was his usual practice, he kept watching his feet, while walking and in addition started to hum an earthly tune, he had picked up amidst the din of crashing shells. He could not but appreciate the fusion of rhythm, harmony and melody supported by a soul stirring voice. Though, his eras could not distinguish it as a male or female voice, he felt enchanted and so started humming while walking.

While this was happening, Brahma had another problem to deal with. The creeping doubt whether Chitragupta is hiding some vital information, to keep him in the dark. The moment, the word dark cropped up, he instinctively looked up and was relieved to see the ominous clod still staying in station. Almost, he made up his mind to call in Yamadharmaraj and brief him to keep an eye on Chitragupta. Realising, it would be counter-productive - to spy on your own emissary, he discarded the idea. Feeling helpless, he wandered into the exquisitely laid out garden, hoping for a revelation about the cloud.

As bad luck would have it, exactly at this setting, Yamadharmaraj appeared besides Brahma, wading in, like an ugly duckling to muddy the water. Getting disturbed, Brahma shot him a look which would have fried any mortal, on the spot. Luckily, exactly at that instant, Yamadharmaraj turned his face to look at a floating golden bird. This act further incensed Brahma, who was trying to decode the relevance and timing of the appearance of the cloud. Being ignored, Yamadharmaraj belatedly understood his unwelcome presence and promptly departed, wondering whether Chitragupta knows anything about Brahma’s reticent behaviour.

Suo motu case file No: 2

The raspy voice of the Judge ordered, “Come to my chamber, pronto" and disconnected the call. With dread flowing like a viscous liquid, he approached the chamber. The door was left ajar and his leaden legs slowly carried him to the presence of "His Lordship". He made polite, scrapping noise and cleared his throat several times. The Judge did not acknowledge any of them and was busily trying to scribbling on the imposing table top, as if he was writing a weighty Judgement. On closer examination, he understood the reason, why? The Judge had air pods, tightly plugged into his ears, probably belting out “who cares if I cut the wood, saw it, chisel it and nail it since I like the sounds."

Finally, sensing his presence, the Judge pulled out the air pods, spewed out a sit command and smiled at him.

Do you know why I called you?

I can't even guess the reason, Judge.

I liked your hitting arguments, during the last pro bono case. You would have noticed that I was nodding my head, here and there.

Yes, Judge I saw you nodding but thought may be my arguments helped you to have some of the forty winks, you might have missed!

You are partly right but believe me about what I said. You made some telling points there.

Thank you, Judge. This, you could have conveyed when I was on call with you.

I had a reason and have another pro bono case for you, again a suo motu brief.

Judge, with all due respect, when I saw you chipping away wood, I thought you were getting ready to do it yourself.

Not a chance. I am barred from presiding as a Judge or appearing as an Advocate in any other court room. Added to that insult, The Law proscribes a Judge from acting as an advocate, jury and an executor. That being the case, how can I be a Judge and also argue a case in my own court? Got my point?

He Chuckled,” Whether the Law frowns upon or not, sure the Judge was frowning at me!”

The Judge said, “Here is the brief and the hearing is scheduled in two days.”

Judge, why such a short time for my preparation and I have not even opened the brief, yet.

“Don't haggle for time. I am starting my forced vacation, from the bench, shortly thereafter. Understand the pressure on me, come and argue on the scheduled hearing date. You may leave now and close the door as you go, if you may.”

Judge, if you agree not to catch a few winks on the bench, then I agree to do my best. Good day.

On the scheduled day, the pro bono Advocate appeared before the Judge. The Judge, interrupting his wood carving effort, hurriedly pocketed the nail, and asked the Advocate, "Do you have any motions, now?"

The Advocate, a diet fiend never had any such issue, was temporarily flummoxed. He then understood what the Judge meant to ask was about pre-trial motions. He immediately answered "Judge, sidebar, please"

The annoyed Judge literally shouted, "What for? Only you and me are in this otherwise empty court room. Say what you have to, from where you are standing."

The Advocate asked, " Clarification. Why only the learned Judge and me on this case. Why have you included another case to run concurrently?"

The Judge impatiently snapped, "Simple. No other court cases for me and no other client for you! During my vacation how am I to hear the other case?  Now proceed with your opening statement, case by case."

The case of plagiarism:

Advocate: Imagine driving an automobile and violating traffic rules. You end up paying fine, and in serious cases, the license gets revoked. If you did not have a valid license, to start with, then it is the harshest possible punishment.

Judge: Advocate, save your breath. Is this your opening statement or closing argument? When will you touch upon the case of plagiarism in research papers?

Perplexed in what way a research paper affected the Judge, he replied," Your honour, there is active research, passive research and imaginary research. Who would answer the question that plagiarism applies to which one of them? Is it not apparent that, there is a striking similarity between driving a vehicle and authoring a research paper?"

Watching the Judge fidgeting in his seat, he hastily added, "Judge, I am almost there. Plagiarism is like driving without a valid license. If caught, the offender pays a fine or, in serious cases, gets the credentials revoked or rescinded."

The Judge straightened in his seat, after hearing the word rescinded.  Without a pause, the Advocate continued, "Your honour, now a motion "

The Judge snapped and jumped up, “What? A while back you assured this court that you are a conscientious diet fiend!" 

Advocate murmuring to himself, who said this Judge doesn't have a sense of humour. “Yes, Judge not that motion, I would like to call an expert witness to make things clear."

Judge without realising what he was saying, said " Go for your motion. Call your witness."

Judge, I would like to call that imaginary witness, now.

You didn't lay a proper foundation for this.

Your Honour, this is a Mason’s trick.

Judge frantically looked here and there. Confused he spoke, I didn't call for any repair, why a mason should be here? He vaguely remembered to have heard of a Mason’s name, probably in connection with criminal law course, and recollected that he had, suo motu, decided to excuse himself from those lectures. To cover that up, he asked, "Your witness is an expert, in what field?"

Judge, he is calling himself such, I had to accept his words. Remember, this is a pro bono case you foisted on me? So, I should be given some leeway.

Judge, started to actively inspect the cobweb hanging from the ceiling and then at the wall clock which had stopped long back.

Judge: I am not able to see your witness, how can I ask him questions, if I need to?

Advocate: Did I not tell your honour that he is my imaginary witness! How can you interact with such a person?

Judge: Then how you will proceed with your case?

Advocate: Your honour, very simple. He had already briefed me extensively and now I have another motion here"

Becoming alert, the Judge questioned, “Dietary or legal?”

Advocate: Legal. This being a peculiar case and a peculiar witness, I seek permission to be the voice of my witness.  I will recite a summary of his deposition.

The Judge had no other option but to relent, as he had granted an earlier motion to call this witness. In frustration, he banged his fists on the bench, forgetting the gavel in front of him, and shrieked, "Go ahead and enlighten me."

Your honour, this is summary of the deposition given by my witness. “What is fudging? Here and there changing the numbers and values. After all, remember the numbers and values are invented quantities, with arbitrarily assigned importance. Yet, when numbers change, graph changes, again a representation of the fudged numbers. What harm does it do as long as it is on paper?

Pause a moment and think. All of us use a dictionary but do we give credit to the source or obtain permission, while writing anything in any language? School children are taught to draw graphs and some of the inventive ones do alter the numbers and fudge to get by. Then why do research papers alone, containing language, graphs and numerals that are used by all at some time or the other, be attached with the stigma of plagiarism?”

The Judge went immobile with closed eyes. The lawyer wondered whether he had heard the summary or chosen to catch his forty winks! 

“A case, full of curious twists, leaves me with no other option but ...”, The Judge drawled on. Thinking the worst is about to happen, the Advocate prompted, " Are you going to.... ?"

The Judge, interrupting him, said, “I am sending this case to a larger bench to untangle the intricacies." The Advocate felt relieved that both of them will not be involved in further proceedings on plagiarism.

But the Judge was not yet done with. “Now, be good and argue the other case. 

The case of the forest dwellers:

Advocate: Judge, why this, also as a suo motu case?

Judge: A simple reason. The public should not perceive that my court handles only other matters. I want to send the message that I am as concerned as others, about forests and forest dwellers. Got my point?

The Advocate became worried and felt like someone lost in the Amazon jungle. His familiarity with forests stopped with newspaper articles and occasional television clips. He had not ventured into a forest nor had come across anyone representing the forest dwellers.

Having agreed, he decided to pray for a day's adjournment. He knew, instead of asking for a motion, if he pled for a prayer, the Judge would readily grant it. He did so and got two days instead of one. This also he knew- another leaf from Mason’s ruse, that the Judge always would double whatever was pled for in his court. A showman of superiority complex.

The Advocate spent time, in searching for a forest which he could visit to familiarise with the reality. Finally, he located a forest but at a distance of 200 and odd kilometers. After a bone breaking journey, he reached a thatched roof cafe announcing its presence with a swirling stream of smoke. Seating was hard, bark-less tree trunks and a warped plank on wooden stakes serving as the table. 

The proprietor cum server cum cashier peeked at the lawyer from behind a smoke screen. Obviously, he had been coaxing a wood burning mechanism to come to life. Unasked, he placed a chipped mug filled with a dark coloured liquid and sat before the Advocate. A sip of the brew tasted smokey-herbie combo.

The noise of approaching mechanical contraptions, peeked up the ears of the cafe owner and the lawyer. Oh! The give and take have come early today, exclaimed the owner. Then he explained they give money and take away forest products. Some even fund small time farms to cultivate forest-specific produce and make good profits, in the market. The poor, innocent forest dwellers, taken in by the lure of ready money, have willingly become tenant farmers in their own lands.

The Advocate has seen enough and heard enough. Sitting on that hardwood stool, he furiously wrote a few pages. He wondered where from he got the points to fill up the pages so fast. Thanking the cafe owner, after finishing another hot, Smokey-herbie brew, he hit the bumpy road back home. Halfway through the journey, he remembered that he had not asked the café owner’s name.  Though he had a few hours to spare on the two-day deadline, he wanted to get it over with, to avoid an appearance in the court.

He knew the Judge would be in his chamber, chipping wood from his table or looking for loopholes in the law. When asked, the Judge had replied, that if you want to adjudicate, you should be aware of the loopholes. 

The Judge was surprised when the lawyer materialised before him. The Advocate handed over his notes and said, "Judge, now you can look up the forest acts and find loopholes in them. I rest my brief in-camera. I have planned to take a long vacation to get rid of this pro bono tag. Naturally, the Judge was aghast and blurted out, " Where would I find another pro bono Advocate like you. You are a rare species. I have in mind to take up a suo motu on felling of trees, on a large scale. Hope to do something for the trees, if not for the forests. Don't desert me now."

The Advocate smitten by the Judge's praise and technique of dangling carrot, managed a weak smile and said, " Maybe, I would take only a short vacation, for now" and left the Judge to resume his hobby of wood chipping.

 

Survival of not the so fittest:

The winner takes it all!

from: The roll of dice

One decade, three different cities and encounters with three differently abled - a one-legged crow, a one-legged pigeon and a three-legged dog!  When sighting the crow, the person was under stress due to a close-to-the-heart assignment, after retiring from an active work environment.  The rushing adrenaline through his body needed constant anti-dote.

 Coming face to face with the dog was under changed circumstances, while on duty as an escort for his grandchildren returning from school. After nine years since the sighting of the crow.  The third, of the pigeon, was during stay with a grandson, as recently as this year. From crow to the pigeon, life-rhythm had settled to shepherding grandkids, tutoring whenever they were willing, and trying to raise a garden, even if it meant proliferating it with weeds. Something green to look at.

 Now that he had some spare time, writing a few lines about how the unlucky crow, dog and the pigeon would have struggled or would be struggling, if still alive. He wondered about the probability of sighting, all of them or some of them, once again. He wanted to give them a personality by way of writing a personal account of his thoughts. But before that, he managed to find (thanks, internet!) some interesting facts about these characters, to give him the impetus and help. If not the unlucky characters, at least, he hoped, some of his friends would find it interesting.

 It was Herbert Spencer who coined the phrase “survival of the fittest", in the year 1864.  Charles Darwin adopted it five years later.  By quirk of fate, like that of his own characters, Charles Darwin is remembered as the one, who authored the phrase. Whatever be the authorship, both of them wouldn't have anticipated, that there could be a different kind of fitness to survive, - sheer grit and determination, under adverse circumstances. 

 The one-legged crow:

 Though not an ornithologist, he quickly learnt that this crow, identified as house crow in the year 1817, is one among the fifty types known, He ventured to think that the crow might have been young, when by accident or due to a birth defect, and ended up with missing a leg. On this day, it was looking otherwise healthy, having learnt to adapt to its life with passion and gusto. He didn't know when this handicap occurred, but the actions of the crow conveyed that it continued to be on guard, to survive against falling prey or getting electrocuted or run over by speeding vehicles. 

 Hopping on one leg, - its version of hopscotch, and tilting its head, left and right constantly, it watched the surroundings for any potential danger. Short flight to a tree top was always a herculean effort - longer runway, a greater number of single-leg hopping, and watchful eye for on-road and aerial dangers. His observations revealed that it never chose an electric pole as a perch. Probably based on previous experience when it might have lost a leg by electrocution or while trying to evade and got entangled. It sure remembered the heavy price paid, with one of its legs, for that lesson.

 Aware of the short life-span, which might be on notice, already, its actions were extremely careful. It appeared to be not sparing any effort, to hedge its bet and to survive as long as possible. Being a cunning one, the crow did not to miss out on any opportunity, to make most out of it.

 He had collected all these information, by keenly observing the crow, over a number of occasions - both happening to be at the same place, same time. This helped him to sort out his thoughts, on ways to solve some of the problems, currently pencilled in his ‘to worry list’. Was it urging him to look beyond bottle-necks?

He reflected on the stress that was bothering him, at that time. The responsibility to develop of a critical component   and the trust of a friend in his abilities, rested heavily on his shoulders.  The friend was under tremendous pressure to come out of this venture, soon and with his goodwill intact.

 The tenacity of the lame crow struck him with an inspiration, like a jolt of electricity with a hope that odds could be evened! Series of thoughts, jostled in his mind on ways to solve some of the glitches. With renewed energy, he tried out a few innovative solutions, to complete the project work. He and his friend came out with their trust, in each other, intact.

 Silently saluting the crow, he parted company with the crow, a few months later. Now, after about eleven years, he had no idea, how long the crow, that inspired him, battled to cheat death.

 The three-legged dog:

About three years back, he was coming home, with his grandchildren from the daycare. Suddenly the grandchildren shouted excitedly, "Look, one of the front leg of that dog is missing."

For him, coming face to face with a three-legged street dog was the second case of witnessing a missing leg. But this time, the experience was different, a relaxed daily routine, with adrenalin under control, and fun filled time with grandchildren.

 The first question that came to his mind was, whether that three-legged dog started its life as a pet and later abandoned due its birth defect or a free-ranging dog, born and bred in the alleys and streets, from the beginning? He could visually confirm about the missing front leg as a birth defect. Still, his doubt remained - abandoned or born free in the streets?

 This thought of the dog living in the open, made him to know about the shelters, natural or provided to a pet dog. The dog as a breed may not know that their genealogy dates back to thousands of years. That, its ancestors might have crossed continents, seen many cultures and lived in different environments, as hunter’s mate. There was no way pet dogs would have known that "kennel" - a dog house, has roots in French and Latin languages and used by their masters from   the year 1150 onwards.

 This ‘kennel’ history would have made no difference in the life of a street dog, it had as never enjoyed that luxury. A stray dog’s life revolved around three things - territory, food and safe resting place, though not a compelling concern or a comforting thought for a pet dog.

The front leg appeared a little stronger, supporting his assumption that the dog has had a confused DNA, at birth. He looked up at the anatomy of a dog, to confirm the correctness of his assumption. The scapula or shoulder bone for the dog's front legs was well developed to support the standing leg. Further reading of the medical jargon regarding the leg - radius, ulna bones and the short humerus bone have been strengthening as the pup grew into a dog. Though he could not imagine the struggles it went through, he was all admiration for its fighting spirit, that too probably as a street dog, evading ever present dangers to life.

 After becoming familiar to our presence, the dog wagged its tail, standing on three legs. Except for a little more shaking in the body, compared to a normal dog, it had learnt to balance body weight versus effort in waging the tail. However, while walking one cannot but notice the body tilt to burden the standing legs with the weight the missing leg would have shared.

 It would have put in tremendous effort to strike friendship, being lame, and when we saw it for the first time it was lolling alongside two other dogs. He could not describe the way it walked to reach point B from A. The closest approach was the dog doing a 3-legged hopscotch or mimicking the dance steps of a hobbled donkey. He only hoped that this canine friendship endures, as the two friends have to perform additional security duty. 

 The one-legged pigeon:

 The modern-day pigeons have happily shed the tag of living in pigeonholes. In their busy life, have no time or inclination to appreciate the fact that the word 'pigeonhole' is about 450 years old. When high rise buildings offer ample space to rest, forage, brood and hatch why would they settle for less! Canny species that they are, occupy niches, ledges, sunshades and other available secluded places. Their sole aim is to survive and increase the head count.

His face to face with this species, a pair of pigeon actually, happened during the covid season. He became an absentee resident for a stretch of time. This pair, in all their audacity, simply ingressed into the unguarded balcony, laid an egg, hatched it too. On closer look, he saw an indistinguishable lump showing no feet, head, eyes or plume. The occasional cooing - a blind pigoenlet In addition they had made use of the premise as a washroom facility. The stink of bird droppings, fallen feathers. It was too much to bear. 

 After a marathon struggle to evict these squatters, and cleaning operation, promptly, a barrier with mesh was placed, of course like locking the paddock after the horse had bolted. He was in for a surprise attack. The pair found it convenient to occupy the sunshade under the bedroom window and let loose a barrage of pigeon humming. Desperate times called for very desperate measures. He hung a balloon painted with owl's eyes (just his own innovation), a black carry bag on a long string (to swing and scare), a blow up of his very own serious face! Nothing worked. At this point he developed a deep-rooted pathological hatred, in a very short time, for these two legged, invaders and squatters.

Now, after a gap of five years, he noticed a pigeon quietly sitting on the sunshade. Usually, a pigeon struts around tracing imaginary circles, the purpose of which only the pigeon might know. After watching it for a while, he noticed something odd about the bird. The smartphone came in handy and a close-up picture resulted. Closer inspection revealed the reason for the oddness- left leg had gone missing. Further scrutiny said it aloud - a birth defect. It sat for some more time and waddled to the edge of the sunshade. As he watched, it did the unthinkable – leaned forward and dropped like a stone., only to flap the wings energetically to fly away!

 He started to worry about this one-legged pigeon - will it keep alive, find a mate and start a family! Is it a male or female? How would it go about laying and hatching pigeon-let? Who nurses the pigoenlet, mother or father?  His inner voice woke up and asked, "What happened to your pathological and deep-rooted hatred?" He silenced it by saying, “A stricken bird deserves some consideration and why should you keep on speaking your mind to interfere with my showing of compassion?"

 By shifting the body from left to right, and head constantly bobbing front and back, to add gait to its brand of ramp walk. Getting tired of making a few imaginary circles, presses both the feet in the ground, springs up and flies away with fluttering wings. For the fun of it, sometimes it does aerial bombing, to tease our patience out.

Obviously, the one-legged pigeon could not play the game of circles., do a ramp walk or lift-off effortlessly. Everything, including finding feed was a struggle for it. Under normal circumstances, it just leaned out and using the airdrop to fly away. When threatened, summoning all possible energy, from the body, the lame pigeon springs up into the air, trying to act as a normal pigeon!

For many days after the first sighting, he searched for the lame pigeon, high and low of the high-rise building. Flock of pigeon appeared and disappeared, but probably the one-legged pigeon chose to stay aloof and safe. Maybe, it might have located a pigeonhole and a source of food, intent to live as long as possible!

 The crow, the pigeon and the dog did not know anything about Herbert Spencer or Charles Darwin or about their studies. They were not interested to know 'only the fittest survived' to upgrade the process of evolution of species. The crow did not know that it could live up to 13 years, generally. The pigeon did not know that it could live possibly up to 15 years. The dog did not know that it could or may live all of 13 years. Ironically, they had no idea that all were omnivorous, and their life expectancy clocked, almost, the same number of years.

Combinedly, these survivors have proven that it is the determination to stand on available leg/legs that mattered. It is little disappointing that he could not see them again and confirm, who won and who lost.