THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY
The oldest amongst them was speaking in measured tones and the youngest listened with their ears and eyes pealed to him.
" Your whole life lies ahead. Live it for others and live it to full," the quivering geriatric voice was sharing his wisdom.
"He has seen the setting of the sun yesterday. My mum said that no Mayfly has ever seen the setting sun of yesterday and lived long enough to talk about it the following day". The youngest mayflies talked amongst themselves in hushed tones as they fluttered on the surface of the pond with their long tails trailing their streamlined body and their 2 pairs of wings buzzing rapidly in synchrony.
As dawn was erupting at the bottom of Parvati hills, 3 amongst them were locked in a battle that was going to define who won the right to win over the lady on the lotus leaf. They danced around her, each in trying to demonstrate his supremacy over the other by flaring it wings and performing arial acrobatics. The lady in question, remained poised at the centre of the leaf, soaking the heat and weighing her options, contemplating who would be the ideal father to her offspring.
Millions of years of evolution of basic instincts was played out in full glory on that spring morning, in front of the 9th standard children as their science teacher explained.
" This pond is their ecosystem.
This is where they live and die.
Mayflies have the shortest life span. They perish the same day they were born on.
There sole purpose in life is to eat, mate and procreate.
Yet, in this short life, they fight against each other to show of their might.
If they had realised , that there was enough food for them all and enough of them to pair up with, they would all live happily a little longer.
Alas, in their greed and short sightedness, lies their demise."
That's rather silly.
Thought the young uns.
They live for a few hours
And even in those few hours
They squabble and kill each other..
Meanwhile,
Millions of lightyears away
In a galaxy much beyond the milky way,
A planet of gigantic proportions, Orbited it's star on its yearly routine.
A gathering of 5 school children of 9th standard peered through the skies and beyond,
At a planet millions of lightyears away.
Peered through their telescopic glasses, at a planet some called Earth.
Their Guru explained,
"By the time our home planet, Tiber goes around itself once,
Earth has completed 250 revolutions around its star, The sun.
So when you are 8 hours old, the earthling will be 80 Earth years old.
Some die much early due to hunger, poverty or diseases."
"And what are those little puffs"? asked an eager pupil pointing towards one corner of land on Earth from which smoke bellowed.
"That,", sighed the Guru, "Is how they settle their arguments.
" What is an argument? ", the little one was persistent.
" They have segregated themselves into diffetent groups.
Then they disagree on trivial issues and mock each other.
They mock about whom to pray towards,
They mock about how to pray,
They mock who should be their leaders
They mock each others leaders
They fight for small pieces of land each group have.
When they don't agree they kill each other with those puffs of smoke. "
That's rather silly,
Thought the young uns.
They live for 8 Tiber hours.
Yet in those 8 hours of life they squabble and each other.
Meanwhile,
Billions of lightyears away
On a planet of gigantic proportions....
Theory of relativity was being enacted across the universe..