While watching a street play performed by students of a university, a certain sight made me smile. Two small puppies were curiously watching the street play from a safe distance! Fascinated with the dramatic act unfolding before their eyes, they were inching closer to the performers.
A boy got up from where he was seated and slowly walked towards the puppies as unobtrusively as possible. I presumed he was going to shoo them away before they became a nuisance. He did but not in the way I had imagined.
The moment he reached the puppies, he kicked the closest one hard in the stomach with the tip of his shoe. The puppy howled loudly and scurried away as fast as it could, still bent over with the pain, while the other one just managed to get away.
It was appalling to see that the whole episode stirred mild interest only. The spectators simply turned back to the street play where the group was turning blue shouting out the inefficiency of the government in tackling the Mumbai terror and the violence committed by the terrorists.
Isn’t this violence too? Someone ruthlessly harms an innocent and walks off coolly.
The difference between humans and animals is only this: humans have a voice and can speak of the atrocities committed against them. They can blame, fight back, and complain (things they usually do) while animals can only lick their wounds and bear the brunt of what life has inflicted on them.
So who can these voiceless creatures turn to? Does anyone have an answer?
(Maasoom Dhillon)
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