Gambling to avoid being born as an owl” screamed one of the headlines in the newspaper – highlighting the way a vice is justified by linking it to a traditional theory.
In Orissa, gambling is considered the “done” thing on a festival night, failing which one is likely to be born an owl in the next birth. Hence, everyone, from a child to an adult is encouraged to gamble on that night!
Well, gambling apart, what is wrong in being born as an owl? If I were to be born in a so called lower species, as an owl or a horse or even a rat, I am least likely to envy other higher species let alone a human and feel inferior to them. In fact, I would be too engrossed in pursuits befitting my species. I would have my own triumphs and frustrations to keep me occupied.
As an owl in particular, first of all, I would have taken birth-like any other species (including humans) – without my personal will being involved. I would have enjoyed my mother’s coaching in feeding, foraging and fending. I, with my bloodshot brooding eyes and the hooked nose would never have thought myself as ugly or as a harbinger of evil. I would have had my first love affair, exulting in the fact that I beat so many other aspirants in the rat race.In adult life, I would never have had to worry about terms such as BPL, SC/ST, OBC, common man etc. etc.
On the contrary, I would have had all the advantages over the most superior creation, namely man, being locomotive aerially, albeit nocturnally. I need not have had to worry about traffic jams on the road nor about being hijacked while in transit. I would see my children launched in life without bothering to pay heavy donation or bribes at every stage. As for my living quarters, I would never have to worry about house tax, home improvement loans or a bothersome tenant.
As I grew older, I would have succumbed to my debilities without worrying about the medical expenses or having to pay my wife's breast cancer bills.
Finally, confronted with the atrocities committed by the 'Homo sapiens', I have come to the conclusion that I would rather not gamble on Deepawali night but prefer to be born an owl – an innocent creation of god!
