Vol 1 Issue 2 | July-September 2021
‘Making It’ Isn’t Easy
Story by Sheela Jaywant | Art by Priya Kuriyan
Ever observe dogs, cats, crows and even plants? I do. All living things seem to have their own individual personalities. Some work hard, some shirk work, others are happy-go-lucky, a few are the serious types. Short/tall, thin/fat, smart/stupid, kind/cruel, cunning/naive, the traits are as common amongst my fellow humans.
I live in a jungle, primarily because instead of having a tended garden in the compound, we let Nature take over. Once water, soil and sunlight did their magic, I noticed that, over time, bullying trees and shy shrubs learnt to co-exist. Other inhabitants, like the birds, moths, snakes (friendly fellows, unfairly maligned), insects (including the dastardly, disease-spreading mosquitoes) blended in, happily or forced.
It was easy to compare them with humans. And I understood what had led to descriptions like ‘wily fox’, ‘cunning crow’, ‘crocodile tears’, ‘happy, singing bulbuls/mynas’, ‘loyal dogs’, ‘mischievous monkeys’, etc. This story relates to life as it is lived today, inside and out of our homes.
