It was a Sunday morning, the kernel of the rose and the raat ki raani plant growing in our garden were splendidly adding fragrant air to the sweet and tender cucumber creeper in our garden. My father and I were sitting in our garden lazily, and were leisurely reading the newspapers. My mother was tending to her kitchen garden and my younger brother was watering the plants.

These moments of calm and tranquility are the ones for which I wait for the whole of the week impatiently. The sweet twittering of the humming bird and the singing of the koyal was adding a melodious and heart melting music to the scenic beauty of the creepers and the flowering buds. Suddenly, the serenity of the environment was disturbed, by some peculiar noises from behind the bush followed by some more tapping noise on the tin roof of our additional attached garage. No sooner than that a flock of pigeons flew from above the roof.

Oh! My god! A hoard of nasty looking monkeys appeared on the roof and jumped on the gate of our garden. My brother was terrified and my mother was confused. We all left our wares outside and rushed inside our house for safety.

They were difficult to count because, they were continuously and haphazardly moving, moreover, more and more monkeys were coming in small numbers like waves crashing against the shore. Some of them had their siblings tied to the under side of their bellies. It was quite a funny moment as it seemed that we were the animals and they were the spectators who had come on their days off with their families to show their kids some nasty monkey like species too mischievous to be left out in the open!

After quite a while when the waves of monkeys crashing in our house had retreated, leaving litter and garbage in our lawn, like sea- weeds and sea- shells are left behind by the retreating waves. My mother was angry as all her own grown plants were broken, torn down and crushed by the monkeys. All of her fruits were stolen by them and there was no sign of any existing flower or bud!

My brother was terrified and my bibliophile father was searching a cure for the “Monkey Menace” in his books, and was later consulting with the officer- in- charge. I was trying to pacify my mother and was trying to sympathize with my brother. As always my mind was racing somewhere else. But, one thought was still dangling in my mind.

“Are we a menace for them?” or “Are they a menace for us?”

We intrude in their territories and steal and occupy their land, as we expand our cities daily. We destroy their “Green Jungles” to build our “Concrete Jungles”! Their natural and life- sustaining forests are replaced with artificial and ornamental foliage and landscapes, by well fed humans who only know how to exploit. They are deprived of not only their land but, also their food sources. And we who thieve unashamedly blame them when they show their willingness despite all of our efforts to suffocate them!

It is an issue not only with the so called, “Monkey Menace”, but, is also an issue with stray cats, dogs and cows roaming homeless in the cities. There are so many organizations making hue and cry over these issues, hardly a handful have recognized the root problems and a few of these are doing the efforts in the mail direction.

Man has been cutting trees at an unstoppable rate. These felling are a total disaster for these creatures. Moreover, these felling are causing the factor called as – “The Green House Effect”. I feel that if man is cutting trees he should replenish them. I oppose the building of any artificial environment for them to grow. “Why can”t their natural habitat be sustained?’ We should stop intruding in their territory and limit our selves to our own space.

Moreover, China is planning to build a road on the Himalayas to which many environmentalists are concerned and are protesting against this act. I am totally with them as I feel that this construction would kill and destroy animals and their habitats. Only a few- varied species have existed and survived in the Himalayan region, and this construction is a big obstacle for the sustenance of those species.

Man is a greedy and a selfish creature. If one needs only a room to stay. “Why should acres of land be cleared, for his want of more than his requirements?”, “Why shouldn’t man save for tomorrow?” Man only spoils and blames the nature for the disastrous effects of those acts he commits himself. I feel that if man could be limited to his requirements and reuses and saves resources, this condition of the Earth and other species would have been better! One thing that man should learn is:

“IF MAN TORTURES, MISUSES AND HARMS NATURE, ONE DAY MAN WOULD HIMSELF BE DESTROYED BY THE NATURE, AND THEN, NOTHING COULD SAVE HIM FROM IT!”