I had returned home after that blissful evening with friends at the beach. It is always special when you spend time with your friends and more so when it is on the Friendship day. I had taken my camera along and had caught the carefree and happy smiles of my friends and had them frozen for life. Thanks to technology. It had been a near perfect evening and I was in a state of real calm, ease and happiness. Everything seemed just a little sweeter. The drive back home in my bike was so much more enjoyable. Nostalgia took over me completely and when I reached the parking lot of my home it seemed life was just perfect.
I was about to park my bike when I found a little butterfly, shriveled and lifeless lying wasted on the floor. After parking the bike I bent down to remove the insect from where it was so as to give it a better resting place. I reached for its wings and lifted it up and to my horror found that one of its wings was being eaten by ants. When I lifted the fly, that torn wing broke free and detached itself from the insect’s body and immediately the butterfly flapped its 3 remaining wings and tried to wriggle out of my fingers. I was momentarily shocked, I had presumed the insect to be dead but it was alive and god knows how much pain it was in. Shock and surprise flooded me in equal measure. It was shocking to know the butterfly’s beautiful wings were being eaten by ants and surprising to know the fly had survived the attack and was still alive.
I put the insect upon my bike’s seat and realized the opportunity to take a wonderful snap of the beauty. Seldom do you get close up shots of a really beautiful butterfly and so I readied for a macro shot. But the plight of the helpless insect broke my heart. I did click a picture but it seemed so cruel to me to be using the insect’s condition to my advantage.
Not wanting to continue clicking, I abandoned the endeavor and picked the fly again, this time gently and carried it over to a small enclosure outside my parking lot where there are a few plants. The fly flapped its feeble wings and shook its tiny legs to tell me it was alive. I went to the enclosure and looked at the pretty insect once again. I felt sad for it. A crippled, 3 winged butterfly could not live for long. I felt sorry. I knew it was hopeless for the insect and breathed deep and dropped the fly into the plants, thinking it would fall down and lie there till its life dried out. All I had was pity for the insect.
But the moment I dropped the butterfly it flapped its 3 wings and in a move that made me ashamed of my own self, it flew and gripped a stem and stayed there. I had given the insect only pity and sympathy but not the credit for bearing the pain and staying alive. When I dropped the fly it did not give up. It flapped its wings, it must have hurt, it must have seemed beyond its powers but the insect did not give up. It chose to stay alive. It showed a spurt of energy and grabbed to the stem and winked at me.
In a single gesture the butterfly had mocked at me. That moment stayed with me. It gave me so many thoughts and made me feel low of myself for having imagined only the worst. It did seem the butter fly was better dead than living a cripple’s life. But the insect would have none of it. It wanted to live; nothing else crossed its mind even for a fleeting second. Maybe it was worried about death when it was trapped on the floor, maybe it would have given up had I not intervened without my knowledge and saved it; but the fact was that it did not brood over what was lost. Personally I couldn’t let go of the moment and the desire to capture this gladiator insect through my cam took over. Till date I believe this picture is the best of my clicks, not just because of its clarity, but also because of the emotions involved in it.
When I look at this picture now and reflect back on that particular evening. Questions and emotions flood me. What could have made that insect fight back? All it had for life are the 4 small wings; one can only imagine what it would feel like to have lost one. Yet, it never crossed the insect’s mind to give up. It never occurred to it to just let go, to fall down and accept defeat. Humans with their superior sense think and choose and tend to give up. But the insect knows no such choice. It does not know the give-up option and it fights. Many of us fume in desperation for such trivia like a fracture, a common flu, hunger, an escalation at work and more. But such a major impairment like a lost wing did not deter the insect from loving life and wanting to live on. Its priorities were unclouded and clear.
I do not really have to put in words what most humans would tend to have done if they suffered the insect’s plight….
That evening gave me truly mixed emotions. I started out as a selfish photographer but ended up a good friend who had helped an insect in despair without my conscious knowledge.
This little butterfly offers a valuable lesson for all those wishing to learn from it. What we learn from this episode is up to us. It is personal to me and I am sure it will be to all. But in essence the fact is that this incident has loads in it for us to get inspired. It is true what they say; “The biggest moments in life may come from the smallest entities”
I knew of it… But now, I truly believe in it.
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