Living with nature

Samarjit Kambam *

This piece is a purely imaginative one. It tries to underscore the human tendency to forget that we are part of nature and have to follow the laws of nature.

Any living person claiming to have resemblance with what’s zotted down underneath can be considered a total liar.

Somewhere on planet earth lived a peace-loving, down to earth, handsome, kind and compassionate person. He had a firm belief that a person is born to carry out good deeds and to make the earth a better place. He was also an environmentalist and a writer. He was a linguist, attained a PhD and taught in a renowned university as a Senior Professor.

Like every human’s primal instinct, he has an intense desire to remain forever young. Being highly educated he knew that it’s not possible as we are all programmed in our genes since birth – to grow from an infant to a kid, to attain puberty, reach middle age and grow older till we encounter our natural death.

Course, some deaths are unnatural. But he was so obsessed with his ‘forever young’ thoughts and fantasies that his obsession has become a part and parcel of his life. He was happily married to a beautiful woman whom he loved dearly, had a son and daughter. Everything about him and his family was perfect.

People admired him for his position, his humaneness, his idealism and his eagerness to help others in need. He was a philanthropist at heart because he knew very well that the wealth he possessed cannot be taken away after his death. However, his obsession for remaining young nagged his mind constantly.

One night, in his dream, he saw a bright halo of light. The light got brighter and brighter. Suddenly, he woke up and realized that it was no more a dream. He pinched himself, felt the pain and knew that nothing could be more realistic.

Suddenly, a voice spoke out mentioning that his wish to remain forever young has been granted. And then, the bright halo of light vanished. Gradually, he became younger and younger at an unimaginable pace.

Within one year, he looked like a 23 years old. His wife, his kids, everybody around him were wonderstruck when they saw him. But nobody could deny that it wasn’t him. Some religious oriented people claimed that it was a miracle, some even came to worship him claiming that has was an incarnation of sort, some worshipped him as if he were God himself.

Time fled by. He superannuated from his job after reaching sixty years even though he looked 23. Being handsome, many young girls fell for him, many directly proposed him. But he rejected their proposals as he loved his wife and kids unconditionally. With time, his wife aged looking more like his mother.

He and his kids looked like siblings. His son got a job and got married. His daughter-in-law could not believe him as his father-in-law because of his young looks. The changes that occurred to him turned out to be a curse more than a blessing.

One day he picked up his daughter from her coaching centre in the evening. On the way, one of the car tyres went phut. While he was replacing the tyre, it was already night-time. By the time, a group of youngsters gathered around him and asked him what he’s doing with a young girl at night-time. His reply that she’s his daughter was unconvincing to them.

Shortly, he was beaten up black and blue even though his daughter pleaded with them to stop by telling the truth. That was the beginning of his unpleasant experience of being young.

With time, his lively wife passed away due to old age, then, as per nature’s law, his son, his daughter and all his loved ones around him passed away gradually. He was looking after his children-in-laws. Things got more abnormal.

The society began to look down upon him as some sort of imposter. Nobody actually believed him that he has aged more than 200 years as he still looked 23. The intelligence agencies of the Government began to scan him on their radar.

He had to change his name and address many times to cope with ever changing society. The big medical corporates began to hunt him down to study his body. Being young had become like living on a lake of fire to him.

You must have watched the movie “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” with Brad Pitt as the protagonist. Well, that is just a movie, not possible in real life. However, there is a disorder called ‘Highlander Syndrome’ whereas a person ages relative slower.

That is depicted in the movie “Orphan” where the adolescent looking girl killed every father who adopted her as she wants physical relationship with them due to her biological needs. That movie also depicts that her life was not in line with the laws of nature even though it wasn’t her fault.

So guys, lets remember that when we were born in this world, we brought an invisible “Return Ticket” with us. Let’s live our life to the fullest. Let’s not forget that we are a part of nature and follow her laws. We have plundered mother nature in such unimaginable ways that that the sea level is rising due to melting icebergs, desertification, enlarged Ozone holes etc due to global warming.

In the 21 st century, we have witnessed many new diseases viz, SARS, Ebola, Marburg Virus Disease, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, Human Monkeypox, West Nile Virus Disease, Avian influenza, Covid-19, Human Monkey Pox etc.

The reason for such is encroachment into the wild animals’ habitats in the name of development which is against the laws of nature. Let’s not forget that.