Army Strictly follows the moral of this story

Dragonfly dilemma

            The water bugs that lived in the bottom of the pond were a happy lot. But they were also puzzled over why a few bugs climbed up the stalks of the reeds and disappeared.

In the midst of a dense green forest was a tranquil pond inhabited by a community of water bugs. A thick layer of soft mud had collected over a period of time at the bottom of the pond. Here, water bugs scurried about unaware of the outside world and what it held. In their own way, they were a happy, contented lot.

Now and then, a water bug would cling to the stalk of a water lily and laboriously work its way up and disappear from view. One day, a lady water bug was spied moving slowly up the lily stalk.

“What is she up to?” asked a water bug.

“Why is she climbing up the stalk?” another wanted to know.

“Where is she going?” a third enquired.

There were no answers.

A change

The leader of the community, whose wisdom everyone respected, gathered her puzzled fellow bugs together and addressed them. “I would like to share my thoughts with you. The next one to go up the stalk must return to tell us where and why he or she went, and what lies beyond our world.”

The listeners cheered their leader for her great idea and swore to do as she bid.

Soon after the meeting, on a warm spring day, the leader herself clung to the slippery stalk of a water lily. Slowly but steadily, she moved up, up, up. It wasn’t easy. Several times, she slipped but determinedly climbed on, till she reached the surface of the water. Exhausted by her efforts, she dropped on the big round leaf.

After a long sleep, she realised that she felt different. She looked at herself and was amazed at the transformation. She had grown four silver rings and a long, slim body. She was a bit moist but the warm rays of the sun soon dried her newly formed body. She felt a great urge to fly. She moved her wings, a bit nervously. Then, gaining confidence, she tried again and found herself rising up in the air without much effort. She rejoiced in her new found freedom. It was a heady experience and she flitted about, almost intoxicated. The dragonfly — for that was what she had turned into tried all kinds of aerobatics, thoroughly enjoying herself. All this exercise tired her and she landed on a lily leaf to rest, idly looking around. She happened to look down. Through the clear water the pond bed was visible. From her position above, she spotted the water bug community below, hard at work as usual. Not long ago, she had been a part of that group. She recollected the words she had spoken and the oath they had all taken.

The water bug-turned-dragon fly was a creature of honour. “I can’t break my promise. I must return to my fellow water bugs and explain all that has happened.” Shirking off her lethargy, she dived into the water, or at least tried to!

Alas! She had barely touched the surface of the water when she bounced back. She made several attempts but failed each time. She was terribly distressed. It took her a while to understand that now she was a dragon fly, she could no longer go to the pond bed. “Well, my new body prevents me from going to my friends. At least I tried my best to keep my promise,” she consoled herself. “Even if I could go back, none of them would recognise me in my new guise. I guess I will have to wait until they too become dragon flies and understand why I was unable to return.”

She flew off, winging her way higher and higher into the wonderful world of warmth and light that her transformation had brought her to.

Moral: In life, there is no going back; only moving ahead.

World quiz

1. On this date, 30 years ago, who became the first American woman in space?

2. According to the latest Forbes List of “world’s highest paid athletes”, which Indian cricketer is ranked at No. 16 with a total pay of $31.5 million?

3. The armies of the Seventh Coalition achieved victory in which celebrated battle fought on this date in 1815 in a place in Belgium?

4. After which cult rock star has a newly described six feet lizard, that roamed South East Asia 40 million years ago, been named recently?

5. Name India’s largest freshwater lake located in J&K.

6. Why did the death of a Japanese Jiroemon Kimura recently create a buzz on the social networks?

7. With which comic character does one associate the dumb dog Rantanplan?

8. By winning his 12th Grand Slam men’s singles title at Roland Garros, which two legends did Rafael Nadal overtake?

9. What is the special feature of the 80-storied, 306m tall Infinity Tower in Dubai that opened recently?

10. Eddy Merckx and Miguel Indurain have won which famous cycle race five times?

11. On June 4, which pioneering online retail giant entered the Indian e-commerce market with the launch of its marketplace?

12. Which place in India, home to 1,800 animal species and some most endangered tribes, has now been designated as a world biosphere reserve by UNESCO?

13. Name the immense tree that is central in Norse cosmology, in connection to which the nine worlds exist.

14. A person with xanthophobia may not be a supporter of Chennai Super Kings. Why?

15. In monopoly, which token did the cat replace recently?

Answers: 1. Sally Ride; 2. Mahendra Singh Dhoni; 3. Waterloo; 4. Jim Morrison; 5. Wular Lake; 6. At 116, he was recorded by Guinness World Records as the oldest man ever verified to have lived; 7. Lucky Luke; 8. Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver; 9. It has become the world’s tallest high rise building with a twist of 90°; 10. Tour de France; 11. Amazon; 12. Nicobar Island; 13. Yggdrasil; 14. Xanthophobia is the fear of the colour yellow; 15. Iron.

The great ape escape

An orangutan recounts his experience of being snatched out of his comfortable home in the rainforest…..

Orangutan

           

Dear Aristotle,

           I know many of your species are either Vulnerable or Endangered according to IUCN’s Red List. At a time like this, how could some animals write about some frivolous things? Perhaps, I should tell you the story of my life so you may understand how close we all are to extinction. Read about an orangutan’s great escape to … captivity, to the safety of an urban zoo.

I remember quite vividly, the first three years of my life in the safe arms of my mother up in the canopy of Sumatra’s rainforests. I clung to her as we moved from a treetop to the next in search of food.

My sister aged seven and my brother aged four also stayed close by her side. She taught us to walk, swing from trees and make nests (yes, we do make nests of leaves and twigs and small branches in trees at maybe 100 ft above the ground, to sleep in at night); she also showed us 300 odd things we could eat.

From durian, mangoes and mangosteens to barks of trees, from young leaves to insects and birds’ eggs, our great mother guided us on how and when to eat them. Life was wonderful with her around.

Stolen!

Then our troubles began on one morning at the crack of dawn. A pop sound woke me up. I was still in my mother’s arms when she fell dead from our nest. I was on top of my mother when she hit the forest floor. Terror gripped me as two men grabbed me. I refused to let go of her reddish brown fur. They yanked me off her and stuffed me into a gunny bag. I never saw my family again; nor my dear home.

I wish to forget the time between my capture by poachers and my rescue by wildlife officials. Stuffed into tiny wooden crates, shipped from port to port, hidden in dark backrooms of exotic pet shops around the world nearly killed me. I also wanted to die like other baby orang-utans, Sumatran tiger cubs and Birds of Paradise who could not take the stress. Enough of that! Let me take you to my home, the rainforests of Indonesia.

Sumatra and Borneo (a part of it), along with over 17,500 islands that straddle the Equator make up the Republic of Indonesia. There are numerous unique habitats in these islands and many species of birds and mammals and flowering plants are found only here. Orangutans, for example, are found only in Sumatra and Borneo. The question is for how long? We are an endangered species. Would we become a great ape of the past? Apart from poaching, we face many more threats. Our trees in the rainforest, especially the ramin trees are being logged. If our habitat escapes natural disasters like volcanic eruptions, forest fires and earthquakes, man cuts down canopy trees or clears large areas of forest for oil palm plantations. What are our chances of survival? Who cares about orangutans?

I appeal to humans to save us by stopping all actions that are hurting us. Gorilla, chimpanzee, man and we make up the family of Great Apes while gibbon makes the Lesser Ape family. I ask man how he could kill members of his own family. Is he not put in prison for taking the life of another human?

I have had a lucky break. Will my species get one too?

Orangutan