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.