The Monsoon
The rains are back in the city and everyone is breathing easy – for the moment – as the preceding week brought in good news for the residents of Mumbai and Thane. The rising water levels in the lakes that supply water to the residents always is a matter of relief.
However, towards the end of the week, we were witness to the sad incidents of bomb blasts disturbing the peace in the city. Our prayers are with all those affected by the blasts. One can only hope that the perpetuators are caught and punished at the earliest.
Human beings are the only species which have the power to alter the environment in which they live, leading to conflict with other species and destruction (of the other species). On the other hand, nature teaches us that several species – including humans - can co-exist peacefully, in their specific niches. No two animal species can exist in the same niche. When this happens, then one of the species has to move on to a different niche. It is through a network of co-existing species that a community comes into existence. This understanding of the laws of nature can be of immense help in bringing about peace, harmony and ecological sustainability.
All of us exist in the ‘biosphere’, our Earth, and are entangled in the ‘Circle of Life’, so aptly brought about in the song from the popular movie, ‘The Lion King’. We interact with other species (the biotic component) and the non-living or physical environment (the abiotic component). The circle of life forms our ecosystem.
Ecosystems are highly resilient and have a great capacity to recover themselves from misuse or mismanagement. An example would be regeneration of the forest after forest fires have destroyed most of the vegetation, or growth of the jungle over abandoned farmlands, ancient places of worship (Ajanta-Ellora) and temples (Angkor Wat). But, there always exists a threshold beyond which, recovery - in terms of human timescales – becomes impossible. The melting of the ice-caps, for example, would need several hundred years before it can be reversed - provided we stop the global warming process now. The time has come for humans to understand the limitations of the ecosystem to recover from mismanagement, and start working towards conserving the environment.
Now, something about the Grey Tit.
Hindi: Ramgangra
The Grey Tit is of the size of a sparrow and is distributed throughout the Indian plains. It is not so common in the Mumbai region. It is very active and is found in groups of 2 or 3, as it hunts for insects. It has a loud chirpy call.
The rains are back in the city and everyone is breathing easy – for the moment – as the preceding week brought in good news for the residents of Mumbai and Thane. The rising water levels in the lakes that supply water to the residents always is a matter of relief.
However, towards the end of the week, we were witness to the sad incidents of bomb blasts disturbing the peace in the city. Our prayers are with all those affected by the blasts. One can only hope that the perpetuators are caught and punished at the earliest.
Human beings are the only species which have the power to alter the environment in which they live, leading to conflict with other species and destruction (of the other species). On the other hand, nature teaches us that several species – including humans - can co-exist peacefully, in their specific niches. No two animal species can exist in the same niche. When this happens, then one of the species has to move on to a different niche. It is through a network of co-existing species that a community comes into existence. This understanding of the laws of nature can be of immense help in bringing about peace, harmony and ecological sustainability.
All of us exist in the ‘biosphere’, our Earth, and are entangled in the ‘Circle of Life’, so aptly brought about in the song from the popular movie, ‘The Lion King’. We interact with other species (the biotic component) and the non-living or physical environment (the abiotic component). The circle of life forms our ecosystem.
Ecosystems are highly resilient and have a great capacity to recover themselves from misuse or mismanagement. An example would be regeneration of the forest after forest fires have destroyed most of the vegetation, or growth of the jungle over abandoned farmlands, ancient places of worship (Ajanta-Ellora) and temples (Angkor Wat). But, there always exists a threshold beyond which, recovery - in terms of human timescales – becomes impossible. The melting of the ice-caps, for example, would need several hundred years before it can be reversed - provided we stop the global warming process now. The time has come for humans to understand the limitations of the ecosystem to recover from mismanagement, and start working towards conserving the environment.
Now, something about the Grey Tit.
Hindi: Ramgangra
The Grey Tit is of the size of a sparrow and is distributed throughout the Indian plains. It is not so common in the Mumbai region. It is very active and is found in groups of 2 or 3, as it hunts for insects. It has a loud chirpy call.
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