Sunday, February 21, 2010

Saving the Tigers...

....is one of the most dumb ideas one could come up with.

Disclaimer: This is a sarcastic (and rude) post about us. With explicit permission from the blog owner, am I publishing this on Neha's (too). Whoever has been finding some notions of Save Our Tigers Project ridiculous, please do not proceed. If you do, the blame lies with you and you alone. As certain Indians also, if you are offended, I can't help it. So proceed with caution. The author and the blog owner bears no responsibility for wounded egos and short tempers. If you can't take it, don't read it.

Who around us doesn't know, that the number of tigers in our country is pointing towards extinction? Someone with the most minimal knowledge is aware of it. So why the big deal out of it? Yeah, 1411 is a catchy number and we could have done without knowing it. Thank you. And also without the 'poor little thing' marketing gimmick for an ad.

Yeah, yeah I know tiger, actually the Royal Bengal Tiger (did you know?) is our National animal, but what can I do?

This sympathy organization just to fool the public, what can I call it but a publicity stunt? What happens if we join up? Nothing. If only, they can procreate and carry baby tigers into the forests, there's no hope for increasing that number.

I can join up. (Isn't it free?) But what good will it do? I'll do not one thing different. Oh yes, I can sympathize. Better yet, I can criticize.

What was the reason behind creating this huge furor over nothing? Make us feel guilty over something that isn't my concern anyway? (My concern extends only to myself, sometimes to my immediate family and mostly, to make people understand how great I am). 

So, I can snivel around and mark out pointers, enumerating the reasons why the makers of the group as well as the group are dumb. Why their ideas are trash, and nothing will ever actually work and how they are wasting our energy. 

Of course, however I am not available (usually disappear faster than when chased by a tiger) when it is to suggest an alternative to the "foolish ideas and ventures". It's not my job. Mine is to criticize what they do (though, however, it isn't something I could ever do). Actually, why are they making us talk about something in which we had no intention of putting any effort, taking away time from thinking about ourselves.

"Write to policy-makers" --- This is India, my darling! You gotta' be kidding! Who gives a damn (when the high-and-mighty me doesn't, you really cannot expect the berated-by-me-too policy makers to)! Actually, they are much like me, they do not like being poked in the eye about something that is obvious. And like me, they do not care. Like I won't ever care to take any initiative.

"Blog about it" --- As if my space is out for blogging about a public cause. Does it pay? Does it bring readers? Awareness in India through blogging? That's not really my priority. Yeah, may be there are Westerners in my readership, may be they could pitch in too, but they'd be foolish to care. So please, I'll save my effort.

"The Government" --- And of course, living in India, we always have a ready-made excuse. Our government. After all, everything is their fault. And bashing and abusing them easily hides the fact that we rarely do anything for the country we proclaim to love. Oh, what would have we done if our Government wasn't so corrupt and lazy? It would have been terrible! It would have been obvious to the most even casual onlooker that we, the people are also corrupt, lazy, all talk-no action, worthless and selfish schmucks who only know to belittle others and do nothing that has no profit in store for them. 

None of us will ever put up money, or take an active role. We'll not talk about the ideas that are actually achievable, because we won't shift from our comfortable life-style to implement or even accommodate them. This is not just about Tigers, it extends to everything that requires us to stand together. We have forgotten Aesop's Fables as children's stories. "Unity is might" has been lost in the dredges of personal gain and others' losses. In case of saving tigers, we refuse to stand together, refuse to commend the initiative, just because me, in my all pompous glory about myself is above it all. Because being noticed becomes easier when I'm standing apart from the crowd questioning or ridiculing what others stand together for and of course, it makes me feel I'm smarter than the rest of them. And all for a cause, I don't even spend two moments of my day.

The Government, any government has a thousand and one issues (is the number I have used too high?) to resolve. Even if they know the catchy number of '1411 only', documented on a sheet of paper, it just can get lost under a mountain of pending more-important work. Is creating a single voice, loud and clear, demanding something be done right away has any bearing towards saving our tigers from extinction? I'm thick-headed, near-sighted or politically correct enough to ignore that possibility. It goes against my strategy, and my brilliant criticism, you see. Of course, all we have to do is make them, force them even, to create reserves and sanctuaries. That's it. With the protection that comes with that concept, our tigers will have their own habitat, and no fear of surviving into the next generations.  Ever been to Kanha National Park or Corbett National Park?

But we don't really care about standing together or talking about issues and causes. It has no profit in store for us. We can criticize and can point out what a futile and lame attempt this is. Why do we care if it succeeds or fails as long as it doesn't concern us directly? What are we, fools? 

(And we hit closer to home with this last statement, and blissfully remain unaware about it)

N.B. It is always easier to criticize and pick faults, than commend one or several for their actions and initiatives. Learn to live beyond yourself, and support an attempt, a greater cause. And if you cannot agree, cannot support and yet, provide no better solutions than the ones existing, keep shut.

For joining the Roar to Save Our Tigers, or just for a look-see visit the site here.


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This is a guest post by Guria.  

19 comments:

  1. Yes!! I agree...well agree.

    We dont have time, do we?? I am more concerned about the IPL!! more worried about what movies to watch next, what dresses to wear to work tomorrow!!

    I have no time to worry about such things!!!

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  2. Since I am not going to leave my job, sacrifice my happiness and go correct the system - I dont comment on how my country can or should run..or for that matter, how it s tigers can be saved.

    Firestater. Who is it gonna be ?

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  3. justified anger....It is always easier to criticize and pick faults, how rightly said..but hey..dont pounce on gyanban..i really appreciate the honesty in the statement as well...cheers..:)

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  4. lovely...I think this is a better way of making people realize whose fault it is

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  5. Ok before reading on.. I must say I am very emotional on this topic ON ANIMALS.. and It really hurts to see the condition of this magnificient animal.. We here have sponsored a few .. Yes ..

    These animals will not be ther in the wild soon.. and we will have jsut the zoos to have a look at these animals..

    I understadn ur anger , YES WE HAve to do this ourselves.. But we do need the govt. Help as with lot of thing .. cant do much without the help of the Govt. Yes govt has a lot of things to do .. anyway wont go on this .. Cause i agree with you that we need to do things ourself.. and its no use going on or picking whose fault it is ..

    Hopefully by a miracle something will happen.. what I dont know .. I know this much that the ones we sponsor are living a healthy life..

    I think if laws are stringent maybe things will improve.. an eye for an eye.. cause wehn a tiger kills a man.. it is maneater.. so if a man kills a tiger he is a TIGEREATER.. and deserves the same treatement.. Caught.. put in Cage and Then SHOT ...

    A very Very Thoughtful post... Thanks for sharing ...

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  6. Such are the ways of marketing and campaigns !

    What a roar ! Yet, i wonder what can anyone do ? the poachers are clawing away on every stripe and there are those that look the other way !

    Sigh ! Royal mirages !

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  7. Ok here is the reality - an 8 year old tiger died in Karnataka during the weekend. So, the official count should be 1410 unless there is some new born tiger baby :)

    let me put forward my thoughts:
    1. There is something that is proven time and again. I am talking about Darwin's theory. If a particular specie isn't fit enough to live, it will go to extinction. So as long as we don't meddle with mother earth and the natural habitat of forests, Tigers will survive. But again. are we going to stop Deforestation? No.. that is impossible. So we face the consequences.

    2. Saving will not help. It has to be bi-directional. There has to be some kind of regeneration along with save movement. Only then the population will increase. If we just concentrate of saving.. we are merely trying to save the existing numbers which will not be condusive over a period of time... No? think about it.

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  8. At least the attention is more, though the problem is not addressed completely yet. Tigers in India mostly roam the monsoon dependent forest with few perennial rivers. Whatever water is left is being tapped for the good of humankind so that we may have a glass of water while we tap happily( using electricity) about conservation of tigers. Less water in forest + dipping watertable= longer dry season = less grass and plants=less herbivores = less tigers. We must be smart enough to read the formula backwards too. That less tigers is just a signal of unbalnced environment which is going to stare us in face soone or later.

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  9. If we want to work for the cause, it has to start from the grass root level. Which means, care for the environment. Awareness about the harms of poaching follow.....

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  10. good one!

    i often wonder that all these campaigns are uncorrelated to whatever happens on the ground ... so making all those facebook groups or t-shirts and all won't lead to anything

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  11. I can hear your roaring... a hard hitting truth... so strongly expressed... I am already doing my bits ... hope others will follow the cue...

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  12. I have just posted comments on Gurias blog, though I have been having problems posting comments for some funny tech problem.

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  13. This was a thought provoking post...good to see more people taking initiative and talking actively about protecting the national animal.


    Saving Tigers is a good initiative taken by Aircel...but honestly by joining facebook communities or by sending forwarded smses or donating money we may create awareness amongst people but this may not really help in protecting them.
    As Bikram rightly said the laws should be made more stringent and poachers should be sentenced rigorous imprisonment.

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  14. I have also been kinda confused about the sudden furor about the tigers. Agree... unless there is action, joining multiple groups will not help much other than increasing awareness, which in turn will also not help much in saving the tigers. So unless we take up the cause in a much more action oriented way, I do not think just joining FB groups will help

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  15. Nice one. If individuals realize and do the right thing, then the whole society/country will change in the right direction.

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  16. heheh how did u notice the monkey look? neha u r smart yar...:)

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  17. well written
    we as indians can not do anything
    important is IPL not farmers death
    or tigers death.

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  18. Actually , Save the Tigers is taking up too much ad space... !

    Someone tell us the right way to save the tigers , man

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