Where is Donkey and My Other Friends?

Tigers snarl, Lions roar, Ducks quack, birds chirp, and donkeys bray are some of the beautiful things everyone learns during childhood. Though it is continually reminded by many organizations like PETA regarding endangered species and their extinction, this time, it was my friend's akka's cute 2-year-old son, Gannu. 

Like all other kids, he was also trying to escape during dinner time, but like all moms, akka was fast to grab him, making him sit in the corridor(where we all sat) from where one could see the sky, stars, and the moon. She asked or told the kid something interesting every time she fed him his food. He is an intelligent kid. You ask him, "Where are your eyes?" and he will show you. Ask him about the address of the moon and the stars; he will show you the sky. It looks fantastic when a small and cute child tells everything with so much patience in a tender voice. 

This time, I was quick to jump into the scene and ask Gannu, "How do tigers say?" in a second, he snarled, snarled really like a tiger. When asked about a dog, the answer comes to "bow-bow," and for a cat, a sharp "meow."The next act, as decided by all of us, was of a donkey. But our little gannu ran into trouble this time, as he never saw a donkey or a donkey bray. Ask about sparrows. He can't tell. 

Anyhow, it was not his failure. He is very innocent. He was just a 2-year kid yet to see much of the world. But more embarrassed were we all. Many other species, not just donkeys, like ducks, tigers, tortoises, elephants, etc., are vulnerable to extinction. What are we doing? Will we pass just a few computers and programming skills with few images to the next generations? I felt like Gannu would become an archeologist, excavating the bones of a donkey and writing a book like "A Lost Species" or "Discovery of a Lost Species." Like we studied the Dinosaurs of Mesozoic times, even he has to study the Donkeys. I am sure he will not understand the famous daant "Gadhe kahinke", which usually gets uttered by our oldies. 

Why do we neglect other animals so much? Because they do not have brains like us, and we have a super brain? Today, much of India's flora and fauna stand on the verge of extinction. Is it not our responsibility to preserve the rich natural heritage possessed by our land? Everyone has a responsibility to take care of it. And as we have sophisticated technology, it should be fine. We are just a few mouse clicks away to question our ministers of environment and forestry and animal husbandry ministers of various states. Also, as a matter of responsibility, never tease animals and teach kids around you to treat them well. Other lives are our natural wealth.

If all animals vanish away one day, we have to look at each other. You must look at me, and I must look at you all. It is so plain to envisage this much. How would we play with the kids talking about various animals? Moreover, how would one praise his girlfriends so plainly without comparing their features with some animals like owls (owl eyes), deer, snakes(snake-like long and thick hair), etc? What will happen to names like Samarasimha Reddy, Phanindra, and Meenakshi? Their names will become meaningless. Our country's National Emblem contains four different animals, which means we respect animals first. We all have evolved from them, and we are all interdependent. REMEMBER, Before us, this land belonged to all the flora and fauna. We owe them a lot. Let us give a beautiful world, full of life, to our little gannu. What do you say??