Comments on: All Creatures Great and Small http://commonplacer.wordpress.com/2007/05/24/all-creatures-great-and-small/ Mus-Can Views, Muslim Blues, Canadian Muse, World News, Music Cues, Artsy Hues Sat, 28 Nov 2009 12:19:03 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Sunshine Girl http://commonplacer.wordpress.com/2007/05/24/all-creatures-great-and-small/#comment-1711 Sunshine Girl Tue, 12 Jun 2007 10:10:29 +0000 http://commonplacer.wordpress.com/2007/05/24/all-creatures-great-and-small/#comment-1711 Hello Commonplacer, Your thoughts reminded me of many trips I have made to the zoo. Now that I think of it, zoos that I have visited take on the flavour of the country and regime they are in I suppose: the zoo in Mumbai was called "Rani-cha baug" which means The Queen's Garden, after all half the things in India were named after some British monarch. Recently though it has been called Jijamata Udhyan after the mother of the great Maratha freedom fighter Shivaji Raje Bhonsale ( whose image sadly adorns a utensil stall in Gerrard Street and no one recognises it, except my family and I who pay tribute to the great man every time we visit) The animals live in dismal conditions and nobody notices much. yet World Wide Fund for nature ( WWF India) has a movement going on to better the conditions for the animals. However in India, the question is conservation at whose cost? Often the people who foot the bill for conservation have encroached into the tiger's land beacuse they have no where else to go. Infrastuctural collapse hits the poorest of the poor hardest. Jim Corbett is revered in wildlife conservation circles in India, I too had my phase of wide eyed devotion as a young University student. yet today I ask questions about cages for all and whether they should be there at all. Then there was Vietnam. My daughter, all of 4 in 1998 commented as I walked around with her and my infant son. " The zebra is like us "Mamma. I think he is far away from home. See, his eyes are so sad" It is said in Hindu mythology that when Krishna's mother asked Him to open His mouth so that she could see if He had indeed eaten butter, she was stunned to see the Creation of the Universe reflected therein. This is what I feel sometimes when children utter these pearls of wisdom. I think the little ones are put on earth to raise jaded adults. And then there was Singapore. Night Safari is an experience to be enjoyed and absorbed. With 9 different ecosystems recreated in the small space of the park, it is a wonder to be seen. No cages, only wide deep moats. Singapore is a tourists paradise and I often question the checks and balances that are invisible to te eye. This is reflected in the park too, all is glittery and there are wooden "mashaals" (flaming torches) and even kid sized sinks ( universal design? they won my daughter's activist-y heart right away) And then there is the Toronto Zoo. Yes, I don't like the circus. But to the naturalist in me this is one way of preserving these beautiful animals and helping our kids see what wonderful creatures the Creator has shared with us. We recently took my son and his friend over. They were delighted and it was a pleasure to hear these two 9 year old boys talk so sensitively. ( Adopt a giraffe, I wonder how that works. Do you think it would fit in my back yard? That's not what they meant, they want you to pay for it like that Worldvision thingy. You cannot take it home, right Mamma" ( my son, the ever pragmatic child!!) And there were a lot of "remember whens" Mamma do you remember when you volunteered and I was in kindergarten? You had to pick me up then. I can see clearly now on my own!! I am going to NEVER going to let anyone buy ivory, it hurts them. How would you like it if I pulled out your teeth and sold them?" Whoa, good for you Kid. I don't have to pick you up anymore do I? , my son? You can see ahead on your own. That is the value of uncaged minds. In peace... May we all be free of the chains that bind us, seen or unseen. Hello Commonplacer,
Your thoughts reminded me of many trips I have made to the zoo. Now that I think of it, zoos that I have visited take on the flavour of the country and regime they are in I suppose: the zoo in Mumbai was called “Rani-cha baug” which means The Queen’s Garden, after all half the things in India were named after some British monarch. Recently though it has been called Jijamata Udhyan after the mother of the great Maratha freedom fighter Shivaji Raje Bhonsale ( whose image sadly adorns a utensil stall in Gerrard Street and no one recognises it, except my family and I who pay tribute to the great man every time we visit)
The animals live in dismal conditions and nobody notices much. yet World Wide Fund for nature ( WWF India) has a movement going on to better the conditions for the animals. However in India, the question is conservation at whose cost? Often the people who foot the bill for conservation have encroached into the tiger’s land beacuse they have no where else to go. Infrastuctural collapse hits the poorest of the poor hardest. Jim Corbett is revered in wildlife conservation circles in India, I too had my phase of wide eyed devotion as a young University student. yet today I ask questions about cages for all and whether they should be there at all.
Then there was Vietnam. My daughter, all of 4 in 1998 commented as I walked around with her and my infant son. ” The zebra is like us “Mamma. I think he is far away from home. See, his eyes are so sad” It is said in Hindu mythology that when Krishna’s mother asked Him to open His mouth so that she could see if He had indeed eaten butter, she was stunned to see the Creation of the Universe reflected therein. This is what I feel sometimes when children utter these pearls of wisdom. I think the little ones are put on earth to raise jaded adults.
And then there was Singapore. Night Safari is an experience to be enjoyed and absorbed. With 9 different ecosystems recreated in the small space of the park, it is a wonder to be seen. No cages, only wide deep moats. Singapore is a tourists paradise and I often question the checks and balances that are invisible to te eye. This is reflected in the park too, all is glittery and there are wooden “mashaals” (flaming torches) and even kid sized sinks ( universal design? they won my daughter’s activist-y heart right away)
And then there is the Toronto Zoo. Yes, I don’t like the circus. But to the naturalist in me this is one way of preserving these beautiful animals and helping our kids see what wonderful creatures the Creator has shared with us.
We recently took my son and his friend over. They were delighted and it was a pleasure to hear these two 9 year old boys talk so sensitively. ( Adopt a giraffe, I wonder how that works. Do you think it would fit in my back yard? That’s not what they meant, they want you to pay for it like that Worldvision thingy. You cannot take it home, right Mamma” ( my son, the ever pragmatic child!!)
And there were a lot of “remember whens” Mamma do you remember when you volunteered and I was in kindergarten? You had to pick me up then. I can see clearly now on my own!! I am going to NEVER going to let anyone buy ivory, it hurts them. How would you like it if I pulled out your teeth and sold them?” Whoa, good for you Kid.
I don’t have to pick you up anymore do I? , my son? You can see ahead on your own.
That is the value of uncaged minds.
In peace… May we all be free of the chains that bind us, seen or unseen.

]]> By: commonplacer http://commonplacer.wordpress.com/2007/05/24/all-creatures-great-and-small/#comment-1312 commonplacer Tue, 29 May 2007 02:25:27 +0000 http://commonplacer.wordpress.com/2007/05/24/all-creatures-great-and-small/#comment-1312 Samira, on every visit as soon as I see the first caged animal, I can't shake the feeling that it's not right...yet, at the same time, I know seeing them "up close" also allows children to deepen their love of animals - but then if they love animals, will they love seeing them out of their natural habitats? i guess it's a classic catch-22 situation. I laud you for taking a conscious stand on the issue. Asmaa, that's one of the reasons I love teaching - working with children keeps your mind limber and open to the world in interesting ways. Samira, on every visit as soon as I see the first caged animal, I can’t shake the feeling that it’s not right…yet, at the same time, I know seeing them “up close” also allows children to deepen their love of animals – but then if they love animals, will they love seeing them out of their natural habitats? i guess it’s a classic catch-22 situation. I laud you for taking a conscious stand on the issue.

Asmaa, that’s one of the reasons I love teaching – working with children keeps your mind limber and open to the world in interesting ways.

]]> By: Asmaa http://commonplacer.wordpress.com/2007/05/24/all-creatures-great-and-small/#comment-1268 Asmaa Sat, 26 May 2007 18:09:39 +0000 http://commonplacer.wordpress.com/2007/05/24/all-creatures-great-and-small/#comment-1268 That was lovely. It's funny how children often make us venture into this realm of thoughts that we wouldn't necessarily venture into on our own. That was lovely. It’s funny how children often make us venture into this realm of thoughts that we wouldn’t necessarily venture into on our own.

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