IS IT A MEAN ITEM? ASS / DONKEY -2

 IS IT A MEAN   ITEM?  ASS / DONKEY   -2

In response to the previous posting on the same topic,  Prof.  Dr  K.Venkatraman had opined that  Ass is the wild version and that donkey  is the domesticated version. The seeming cousins- Donkey, Horse and the Zebra are distinct by attitude

Horse can be quickly trained for cart-pulling, racing and as quick messenger carrying letters or items over rough hilly terrains tirelessly every day.  That is why humans choose to avail of horse for its swiftness, agility and heavy-duty services. Horse is both intelligent and harsh; can read too much and can violently react with uncontaminated contempt.

Being very intelligent, horses can thwart human efforts to perpetually subjugate them;  that is why,   the masters shield the animal’s lateral vision by a bridle and permit only the view of the immediate few feet ahead for the animal to see and run. Seeing certain specific landmarks, the cart-pulling animal knows the vicinity of its home and can simply drag the cart homeward with all the commuters. Horse owners know this too well and take the cart through some other path to safely off-load the commuters. As a young boy of 10-12 years, I have learnt of these horse habits from a horse trainer cum master who had his horse-cart for livelihood.

Let us recall how RK. Narayan –the famous author has critically reviewed Donkey’s routine.

He says “Donkey identifies the abandoned old homes collapsed , left with short stretches of walls [ captivatingly named kuttichuvar = wall remnant ]  and always stands parallel to the mud wall in the mid noon, sheepishly watching his own shadow with neck lowered to the floor.

"Even if two of them stand they stand parallel but facing opposite directions”. [An observation par excellence –I should endorse]. When, these donkeys leave the place? or what they eat?-- are items requiring keener study. They may drag posters stuck to walls and devour them. Occasionally they graze the blades of fresh grass. Soiled paper is a delicacy for asses/donkeys.  They avoid turbid waters to drink and prefer clear water for drinking.

While Cows, bulls, bullock are tied by their neck, horses and donkeys are held by long ropes tied to the ankle and are not neck-tied. Massive elephants are also chained in the legs.

Among the domesticated animals, Donkeys are let free and never fettered; at best the fore-legs are tied together to contain the animal from running. It can delightedly hop and it does.  If disturbed, donkeys can run quite fast even as they bray in delight or despair.

Quite a few things put we humans in the light of shame, considering the donkey’s  strict adherence to duty, with no commitment logical or legal with no pay or perks from the master. A donkey never misses his or her schedule even with the obligatory maternity round the corner.

Despite freedom to move off they faithfully visit the thankless master’s place by the morning to carry the day’s linen for washing heaped in bundles on their backs. At the destination, they wait at that spot where the master /mistress wash these clothes. They don’t rid themselves of these bundles, till the master does it. After off-loading linen bundle, they move off as donkeys are used only to transport dirty linen. By sheer instinct they take to the routine on a daily basis.

The donkey is a very loyal animal with no demand for wages, food or leave; but a very obedient creature. Yet, anger in people tempts them to call anyone a donkey, though the animal is not guilty of any misdeed. Humans are highly impulsive in choosing to call people, names. In our hurry and zeal to accuse someone we pick animal names with utter disregard to their utility to us.  Thankless are the humans and shamelessly so.

Prof. K.Raman