Nature in religion

Photo Credits: OPED second lead - column

Last month, a workshop by Pune-based wildlife enthusiast specializing in birds was held at Kala Academy. At the time, preparations to welcome Lord Ganesha were proceeding at full swing in many households. Kiran Purandare wowed a young audience of primary school children by not only showing them photographs of rare Indian birds, but by mimicking the bird calls with skill. With Chaturthi celebrities at the back of my mind, a thought occurred that if two hours of interaction with a wildlife enthusiast could bring such joy and awareness in the minds of children, what a change we could bring to our natural surroundings and to our environment by being a little more conscientious and a little less ritualistic in understanding the symbolisms of different religions.

Lord Ganesha has the face of an elephant and uses a mouse as his choice of transport. Other deities in Hinduism also rely on animals in some way or the other. Kartikeya, Ganesha’s elder brother, uses a peacock to travel, Amba, the Goddess of feminine strength and power depends on the tiger, Bahuchar Maa, an avatar of Durga is seated on a crocodile while Saraswati, the Goddess of learning relies on a swan. Lord Shani, who is believed to protect property and ward of evil is the master of vultures, crows and ravens. Lord Shiva is comfortable with the coolness of a cobra wound around his neck while Vishnu sleeps on the hood of a giant cobra. Each animal represented in these mythological symbolisms is also revered along with the deity in some way or the other.

Whether there is logic or rationale at the root of mythology is debatable. However, it is not a bad take away to interpret these representations as inherent messages of living in sync with nature and aiming towards a symbiotic existence with all our environmental stakeholders, whether they be tigers, crocodiles, cobras, birds, or rats.

But, look at the ground reality. It is the time to celebrate the elephant god, but see what is happening to elephants. Several train routes pass through elephant corridors in West Bengal, Orissa and Karnataka. Since 2004, 52 elephants have been crushed by trains in a 168 km stretch of railway track between Siliguri and Alipurduar in Jalpaiguri in West Bengal alone. The Supreme Court has directed the railways to reduce the speed of trains, stop good trains and night and to develop alternate routes, but little has been done to avert such slaying of elephants. In spite of repeated representations by activists, we haven’t yet reached a solution acceptable to both industry and environment.

Some pragmatic souls may counter that what is the loss of a few hundred elephants or a few thousand birds in the face of development worth hundreds of crores. The problem is, while development often is more tangible and crops up right in front of our eyes, the damage is imperceptible, but often fatal. Indeed, the impact of environmental degradation is not sudden. Our ignorance, connivance or indifference leads to indecipherable decay and slow rot daily that results in massive outbursts of natural fury years later. Take for example the Mumbai floods and the Uttaranchal landslides; the damage would perhaps have been less had the city a better waste- management system or the hills hadn’t given in to rampant weak constructions over precarious slopes and loose foundation to feed the onslaught of tourism industry.

In her 1962 book Silent Spring, Rachel Carson talks about how the rampant use of DDT pesticide had entered the food chain and impacted not just birds and animals, but humans. DDT was eventually banned in the United States. In India, we haven’t been that vigilant enough about the use of Diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory drug commonly prescribed for cattle.

Vulture populations across India were wiped out because of consuming carcasses containing traces of Diclofenac that is fatal for the birds. Vultures face extinction in India today but Diclofenac is still in use. The Parsi community, which leaves its dead in the Towers of Silence to the hands of nature again, is also reportedly facing huge issues because of vulture deaths. The dip in scavenger population also manifests by causing serious problems of hygiene, increase in diseases and waste management.

From vultures to elephants, everyone plays their role in our existence and we will realize their irreplaceable place in our lives only after they are gone, just like we feel a void in our homes when our guest, the Ganesha, takes our leave. Let us at least bid the elephant God an eco-friendly goodbye this year.

- Gauri Gharpure studied journalism at Columbia University, New York, on a Fulbright grant. She is the coordinator of the mass media department at Don Bosco College, Panjim and makes paper jewellery on the side. She tweets @gaurigharpure