by C.M. Pratibha, I B.Sc. Physics
So I was just sitting on my balcony on an ordinary day, sipping tea, observing the world doing its thing. That's when I noticed a huge flock of birds chirping away in a nearby tree. It resembled a scene from the Lok Sabha. Parrots, sparrows and crows fighting over their place in the tree, leading to a state of complete pandemonium.
I wish I could understand what they were talking about. I am pretty sure they were discussing the catch of the day, or how dumb we humans are, and how we are just blatantly destroying their homes and making their fellow mates extinct.
I feel it’s a privilege to even listen to birds chirping. Many people living in cities can't even recall the last time they heard a bird’s call.
Not just birds, what if we could learn to talk to animals? Imagine how easy it would be to make your pet go back to your house when it starts to rain. Well, it would make my life much easier. Oh, how I envy Dr. Dolittle. But if you notice, animals do understand us more than we can understand them. Your pet knows when you are sad or in a good mood to play fetch.
Talking comes naturally to us, just like barking to dogs and chirping to birds. In reality, it is impossible to talk to animals. But if you think about it, sometimes words are not enough to satisfy our wild and woolly imaginations. Also, people lie. “I love you” has been said enough times, but it’s the little things and actions that are more reliable. Visual arts, dance and music express intense emotions when words cease to. This reminds me of a tweet by Daniel Howell, a YouTuber, that said, “So many years being forced to learn foreign languages in school, when really all you need to communicate in any country are passable charade skills and literally no shame.”
We talk a lot, but most of our speech is so trivial. Imagine the way in which we could communicate with just a touch, a smile - no speech or syntax. Perhaps, the way we look at Dr. Dolittle is erroneous. Instead of learning to talk to animals, we should just quiet down and learn to listen.