satire: Bears on the Road: Mount Abu’s New Protest

 

 

Imagine the state of our great India — a land so full of Incredibles that even its flora and fauna are now taking to the streets. Once it was the students, then teachers, then workers and farmers. And now… the bears have joined the protest march!

 

Yes, Mount Abu’s streets recently saw a sight to remember — four bears walking in quiet procession, like a furry delegation demanding justice. Nobody quite knows what their demands are, but I think we can take a wild guess. The reasons that push humans to the streets — unemployment, injustice, hunger — are probably not very different from what has driven these poor bears out of their forests.

 

They’re simply fed up. “Where’s the honey?” they might be roaring politely. “You humans have invaded our forests, stolen every drop of real honey, and now you’re selling fake, chemical syrup labelled as 100% pure. Imagine their pain! Once upon a time, they lived simple, sweet lives. They didn’t adulterate anything, nor could they digest adulteration. Now they’re forced to survive on imitation honey with the taste of betrayal.

 

And what did we humans do? We banned the poor street performers — the madaris — who at least used to give these bears two decent meals a day and a little dance practice in return. The madari earned his bread, the bear earned his applause, and secured shelter. Everyone slept happy. Then came the Animal Rights Activists. They saw an opportunity and grant in every growl. They opened NGOs, collected donations in the name of bear rescue and what did they actually do? A few press conferences, a few hashtags, and a lot of lip service.

 

So here stand the bears, disillusioned and hungry, protesting in peace. Please, dear authorities, don’t lathi-charge them. Don’t lob tear gas. They are crying already. Just talk to them sometimes listening solves half the problem.

 

Their list of complaints must be long: “Our forests are shrinking. Our food is gone. People say our claws cure diseases — but they’re no different from yours, dear human! Stop chasing us for your black-magic experiments!” Even the monkeys have a slight advantage — Hanuman devotees keep them well-fed with bananas. But we bear, descendants of mighty ‘Jambavan’ have no one left to care for us. Dear humans, give us back our madari! At least he treated us like his family. These NGOs treat us like their ATMs.

 

Think about it: if we were truly happy, would we be marching on your roads? The truth is, the forests are gone, replaced by colonies and eco-villas. Every tree is being plotted, printed in glossy brochures, and sold to city folks looking for peace, greenery and second/weekend home. But where should we the original residents go?

 

So, please, act fast. Because if we bear really lose our patience — trust me — your peaceful morning walks in Mount Abu will never be the same again.