Anopheles Goes to Karnataka

My female friend of the mosquito species, Anopheles, recently had another small chat with me. About elections this time, among other things.

She unexpectedly came in tonight, as I was preparing to retire. Her first question, after the usual niceties, was,

"Why do you think the Congress won in Karnataka?"

I was surprised that she was so 'in' with the news of our elections. I said, "I think people expected development from the earlier government, which they did not get. They were mined only for their votes. So they changed their mind, and voted for change."

"Hope they don't start cleaning up garbage and drains," she sounded worried. "Where will we go?"

I was stunned with the realisation that one man's food is another man's poison. I said, "If they do, you are welcome to come and stay here, " pointing to a closet.

"Thanks, that's very nice of you," she said.

Then she asked me, "What worries you about the future?"

I had to think, lest I appeared to lack the essential qualities of the homo sapiens. "Terrorism?"

"Who do you think are terrorists?" was her counter-question.

"People who kill others for no good reason, of course," I thought that was easy.

"What about those who are cruel to nature? Or those who instill wrong values in their kids? Or even those who indulge in corruption, as your newspapers seem to keep proclaiming? Isn't that a form of terrorism?"

I said, "How so?"

She said, "Terrorists take the easy way out, by doing whatever they do. These guys also harm society, but insidiously, by preventing welfare of a large number of deserving people. And parents who develop wrong values among children..what could be more damaging to a society?"

I had to admit she was convincing, like a good marketing prof I knew.

I asked her, "Does your society have corruption and bad parenting too?"

She was quite vehement. "Yes, and that's why we have the fat mosquitoes who drink far more than they need, and make the life of us commoners that much more difficult. There are also those who have created blood banks so that their children will not starve for generations."

"But won't the blood get spoilt in tropical weather?" was my innocent query.

"Who said the blood banks are here? They are in Switzerland," she shot back. That was enough to send a chill up my spine, and I kept dreaming about this even as I slept.