Mullah Luis and I were invited by some friends to visit the local aquarium recently. It is suppose to be one of the World’s largest aquariums, which attracted record three million visitors a year since opening for business in 2005. The last time I visited an aquarium I was in Bombay and it was not a very memorable experience, so I was not very keen on joining these folks. But since I am a team player, I decided to chug along and meet some friends. I am not a fan of things that live under water. The only seafood that I enjoy is fish and that too of certain kind and prepared in a certain manner. Mullah says the only time he likes fish when they are barbecued and served with cole slaw, hush puppies and sweet tea with lots of ice!!!
So here we were and sure it was busy. I felt like I have gotten inside a “big fish tank”. It was cool with each fish tank having a certain theme and a certain corporate sponsor. It was a pretty educating experience. I noticed Mullah stopping by each tank and chatting animatedly with guides. I asked Mullah why couldn’t he stop flirting every girl he finds on earth.
“ What you call flirting is not flirting. I call it exercing my humor” Mullah defended.
“Exercing humor”
“Yeah – look man it is not easy to be humorous ok. You have to work at every day. Why don’t you call it flirting when I do the same to the office janitor, just because he is a man – besides this time I was trying to get an answer to something that found I perplexing”
“ And what is that?” I asked
“ We have been taught for ages that big fish eats the smaller ones. Have you noticed the big fishes here are not eating the smaller ones”?
Yeah – I looked around and saw fish of each size from Shark to Grouper to Bass hovering around each other like they are best buddies and this is some kind of a happy hour networking party after work.
“ That is a good one Mullah, what did they say?”
“ They responded like a politician, words but no meaning. I think either the big fishes are dumb, blind or are running for some political office. I am beginning to suspect their intentions. Something is missing here."
“Nothing is missing Mullah they are just tolerant – that’s all” I reasoned”
Mullah went into momentary philosophical silence and then said “ Imagine man, if we can bring all these politicians and corporate CEOs over here and demonstrate that a 4000 lbs shark can hang around a 1 lbs fish and NOT feel insecure.
Rewind a little bit and imagine a World with no conquest from superpowers of the day on smaller weaker nations, from Alexander to Ghengis Khan to Hitler, Russian czars to present day. Imagine no corporate wars for supremacy, no domination of one class over another, race, neighborhood, continent, and city over another.”
“I think we need to bring these religious right wingers over here Mulllah, they are one that almost always feel most insecure in the World, no mater what century we are living in” I added.
“ I don’t know what they feed them here, but look at that shark, don’t you think she knows how tasty that grouper can be? She is got that grouper within her jaw range man, but she is not even threatening her let alone eating her.
“ That is a good observation man” Mullah was making sense.
“ Going a step further we can bring all these quarreling wives and husbands down here to show that folks with different temperament, ambitions and dreams can exist in complete peace and harmony under the same roof thus reducing number of divorces.
“ Do not forget the gang wars of Mumbai man” I knew, now he will keep on explaining till he exhausts all the examples and establishes his theory.
“Yeah man – I forgot about them. Imagine no bloodshed, no rivalry no Bhai giri - only Gandhi giri. Most of the problems in the World can be attributed to a desire by some one to dominate the other, be it political, social, religious or geographical and if we want a peaceful World, we need to secure each and ever human being, all 6.3 billion of them ...
Mullah kept talking and I stepped back, looked at the fish of every shape, size, color, and strength floating, dancing enjoying their existence and wondered, “If fishes were horses”!
