White-rumped Munia: round is the world

 I was at the coastal temple town and backpacker tourist destination of Gokarna last monsoon, through my window I could see the mammoth Shiva looming in the horizon. In this grandness of world human creates it was easy to miss White-rumped Munia nibbling earnestly in the rain soaked grass lawn beneath the window.   Occasionally taking a break on a rock and preening itself. Engrossed that I was realized much later that I could take god damn pictures! Life, only a few years back, was quite uncomplicated, wherein you could stretch out next to a lake for hours, with nothing but a binocular and that would be it. Every lake had potential to be a Walden!! Now ofcourse there are cameras, there is business of chasing, they even have birdrace! (ah the angst of birdgroups, the arguments and counter arguments, the Yagnavalkyas and  Gargis/Maithris). I have so far steered clear of these, Surveys though are much interesting, the leisure, the pause, the agreeability of little things. Slowly though I have realized that the best company on such occasions is your own. I once spent half a day watching Siberian cranes at good old Bharathpur (by the way for the initiates they stopped coming since 2002). Now who in the right mind would do that? The other day I was at Sultanpur, and riveted to flock of Northern Shovelers among Bar-headed Goose for an hour, who wouldn’t be?

White-rumped Munia (Lonchura striata) is common throughout peninsular India.

Konkani: the enigmatic story of a language that came back from the brink

Imagine a once flourishing language that losses its speakers to different languages and suffers the ignominy of being dismissed as a dialect and then, after decades of effort, establishes itself to its rightful place and honor. It is not only the official language of a full fledged State, Goa, but recently one of its writers is honored with highest literary award in the country (Jnanpith award to Ravindrabab Kelekar for the year 2006). That is the charming story of Konkani language we all should know.  

To be very frank I wasn’t aware of Konkani, except occasionally bumping into someone in Kochi, I used to think that Kamaths/Pais/Shenoys are malayalees. It is much later that I gathered they are Konkanis and are spread across the western coast, even then I took it as one of the languages around. It was while I was cycling on Konkan coast earlier last year that I came across a man running a tea shop, just before Goa on the Karnataka side (somewhere before Karwar), who explained about how Marathi is different from Konkani. Till then I wasn’t aware of these things. It really was an eye opener. I did some research and found that World Konkani Centre is located in Mangalore, and decided will visit it on my way back. That didn’t happen but I did visit it subsequently.

Konkani is an Indo-Aryan language, and is argued as an ancient language, the claim has credence as can be gathered from the reference to the coast as Konkan and that it was the language spoken by the Aryans who moved to south of Vindhyas. Proto-Australoid substratum is very prominent in Konkani, particularly Mundari (of Munda) who were pre-historic inhabitants of these regions. Ancient Konkani prakrit was confluence of Indo Aryan dialects, the Vedic Sanskrit and Dravidian. This archaic form of Konkani is referred to as Paishachi by some linguists. The earliest inscription in Konkani language is of Gupta period. It is found in Arvalem in Goa, ascribed to 2^nd century AD. Another indicator of its ancient origin is the major speakers of this language are Saraswath ‘Brahmins’ (I am using the term ‘brahmin’ as a slang that has absolutely no connection with the original idea of Brahmin as understood in evolved scriptures. This slang is used as casteist reference in contemporary India -necessarily a reference to ritual driven dimwits, very much acknowledged by khap media). These are set of people who seem to have originated from the banks of, now vanished, Saraswathi River and have strong references to ancient traditions. This set of people settled in Gomantak, now Goa. Philologists of repute consider Konkani to be the living form what was probably the ‘Sarasvathi language’ spoken in and around what is now Punjab –on the bank of Sarasvathi and Drishtavathi rivers. Like the ancient Vedic form of Sanskrit language sarasvathi balabasha has affinities with modern derivatives of Sanskrit language, and is believed to have best preserved in Konkani. They thrived for centuries, the decline happened with Muslim raiders and later quite viciously by Portuguese. They dispersed to different places and this was beginning of travails for Konkani language.

It need be noted that their contribution to education and commerce has been quite significant. It was Dr. T.A.Pai who created Manipal –near Mangalore that probably is the only education town in the country!! This community’s presence in Banking sector is nothing short than intriguing. Canara bank, one of the leading banks in the country was started by Ammembal Subba Rao Pai. During the year 2000 A.D, for instance, five out of twenty government owned giant banks were headed by people from this community. They were Andhra Bank-Shri B. Vasanthan, Bank of Baroda - Shri P. S. Shenoy, Canara Bank - Shri R. J. Kamath, Syndicate Bank - Shri D. T. Pai and Union Bank of India - Shri V. Leeladhar. Shri K V.Kamath, MD & CEO of ICICI, one of the largest financial institutions of Asia.

It is interesting to note that a major number of linguistic innovations in Konkani are also shared with Eastern Indo-Aryan languages like Bengali, Oriya which have its roots in Magadhi. Presently Konkani is written in Devanagari, Roman, Kannada and Malayalam scripts, therefore these languages have influenced Konkani locally and thus further differentiation. Recently there are attempts towards standardization and Konkani has accepted Devanagari script officially, though it is resisted by goan Christians who prefer roman script. Credit should also go to Shenoi Goembab (in the picture) alias Vaman Raghunath varde Valaulikar (1877-1946) who through his prolific writings revived Konkani and is regarded as a pioneer of Konkani Renaissance. The contribution of Portuguese missionaries (particularly on grammar) as also other Christians is also very significant (Rev Father Jerome D’Souza part of Indian delegate to UN, made his speech in Konkani).   

This a compelling paragraph from Kamat’s potpourri ….“if one has to see the diversity of today's Konkani language, one should travel the Indian west coast. In Bombay, they speak in Marathi accent whereas in Konkan, they stretch the words so that no outsider can understand!. The Hindus of Goa liberally use the Portuguese words whereas the Christians use it as if it's a Portuguese dialect. In Karwar and Ankola, they emphasize the syllables, and in Kumta-Honavar, they use consonants in abundance. The Konkani spoken by Nawayatis of Bhatkal is very melodious with smearing of Persian. People of South Kanara do not distinguish between nouns of Kannada and Konkani, and have developed a very business practical language. They sometimes add  Tulu words also. The Konkani of Kerala is drenched with Malayalam, and the Konkanis of north Karnataka add Kannada verbs to Konkani grammar. The city-bred use a plenty of English. To write Konkani,  Kannada, Nagari, Roman, Arabic, and Malayalam scripts are used and this way, Konkanis declare themselves as members of world family (Vishwakutumbi). There is no other language with a possible exception of Sanskrit that a language is written in so many scripts”. The fact though is that Konkani unfortunately was compelled to become a language using multiplicity of scripts.  Indeed there is a vast literary output of considerable high standards of Konkani authors in more than a dozen languages including English, Portuguese, Sanskrit, Pali, Marathi, Guajarati, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Singhalese and so on.  Needless to say Konkani suffered, as much as most Indian languages now are since more people prefer English as their language of expression.

    

(the blogger expresses gratitude to Kalaangan –the Konkani Heritage Centre in Mangalore for access to books)  

Stumbling onto vintage Ranjit Lal …and ensconcing into little worlds…

It was fortuitous to stumble upon Ranjit Lal’s Wild City -Nature Wonders Next Door (published in 2008) at Sunday second book mart, Daryaganj for 50R.  It couldn’t have got better than this, ofcourse it took me about six hours of siphoning through books and pensive bargaining on a tight budget. Ranjit Lal undoubtedly is a charming writer and a keen observer particularly of nature. Not a single line is disappointing, but I need point here that though Mr. Lal is critical, and rightly so, of anthropomorphic references he himself falls into it by sometimes referring male and female species as husband and wife, probably in jest but more than few times makes it extremely irritating. This ofcourse in no way dilute the fact that he is one of the most endearing contemporary writers, his heightened awareness and nuanced expressions laced in humour is always a pleasure to read, indeed it is difficult to keep the book down once you start. This book is precious and strongly recommended. I am a keen observer of insects, ants and spiders topping the list. It is an experience to watch the spider weave its web, always difficult to put these amazing feats in writing. Ranjit Lal does it with much dexterity, almost matching the “forgotten son of genius” (Dickenson)!!

“…and watching one do so is always worth the half an hour so it takes. The spider will first crawl up a suitable twig or post and let loose a light thread of silk. This hopefully will snag on some similar post or twig a little distance away and the spider will haul it in until the line is tight. The bridge line is done. The spider will now crawl along this, releasing a thicker and much stronger thread which serves as the basic scaffolding from which the web will be hung. Once this line is in place it will crawl back along this, releasing yet another thread in a loose loop below this scaffolding line. Now it crawls along the loop line and drops another line vertically down from its lowest point waiting for it to snag. Once it does, a basic Y-shaped framework for the web is complete. It continues in similar fashion until a proper radial framework for the web is complete. Then, starting from the centre, it begins spiraling outwards, laying the lines which will form the ‘body’ of the web. Once this is done, it changes direction and starts spiraling inwards along the same route it just came along, but now eating the line it had just laid and replacing it with sticky thread. As it reaches a radial junction, it ‘twangs’ the line so that the droplets of sticky stuff coat the thread equally along its length. As it nears the hub, the sticky silk is shut off for a ‘free zone’ to be formed so that the spider does not get caught in its own web, and the spider settles itself in the centre, awaiting guests to its parlour…”

 Ranjit Lal’s has a way with humour “…many years ago, I used to photograph the sea gulls that flock to Mumbai’s marine drive, right opposite a hostel of women. I hung around the place for hours, armed with binoculars, a camera with telephotos lens et al. If any police constable had asked me what I was doing opposite a women’s college equipped thus, I would have had to tell him the truth: ‘I’m photographing gulls’. You can well imagine the response! ‘Photographing girls? Abbe saala, sharam nahin ata hai? Chokri dekhta hai? Chal thane!. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? Come with me to the lock up!’

Fortunately, havildars in Mumbai minded their own business at that time. Not like the cops here in Delhi, where I now do my birding. Out on the ridge one winter morning with a few friends, we were suddenly accosted by a couple of cops.

‘Kya kar rahe ho? What are you doing?’ they demanded truculently.

‘Chidiya dekh rahe hain,’ we explained eagerly, wondering if we could convert the lathi-loving police into avid munia-watchers. They stared at us incredulously. ‘Chidiya dekhna hain to chidiya-ghar jaiye,’ they promptly ordered. If you want to see birds, go to the zoo!”

That is the charming world of Ranjit Lal that you are eminently invited.  

From the scribble pad…

The city gets a layer of flesh

everytime it inhales

takes everything

distorts the details

and belch happiness

The beauty is a White Wagtail

 White wagtails summer in Himalayas and are common in plains of Indian peninsula during winter. I was at Topchanchi Bird Sanctuary located about an hour’s drive from Dhanbad in Jharkand. The forest surrounds a lake. I walked about 3kms into the deep, not a soul nearby. Unfortunately the birds were wary of human presence, and I couldn’t a get single shot, even common mynas were showing nakharas. Geez. It was while I was having tea at the only shop around, -run by an old man who talked about the golden days of the sanctuary, popular movies were shot here, now it has fallen to disuse and anti social elements (maybe I escaped that one!!), there landed the white wagtail, fresh as milk white with a hint of cream. Giving me ample time to focus and get some good pictures. Cheers to that!!      

To speak is to sing and to walk is to dance: meet the Munda tribes of Jharkand!!

Munda tribes are well known tribes that inhabit jungles of central west part of India. There is a settlement about 20km from Ranchi. I contacted the Tribal & Regional Language Department (TRL) in Ranchi University, few references were given. Basesar Munda was the contact person at Khunti, he arranged for a youngster belonging to the community, Jaganatha took me to the hamlet. Women were selling rice beer at the alley leading to the entrance, people sat scattered around in huddled groups. It was late afternoon. I was introduced to Pandu Munda, an ecstatic old man. Extreme respect is shown as people meet each other. They stretch their hand in sort of Namaste and Japanese bend, and say ‘jowar’. Indeed if you travel around Jharkand-Bihar region people many times use extreme reverence in their speech. For instance they tell a bus conductor “yahan rukiaga”; polite in Hindi is “yahan rukiye”, “rukiaga” is very polite. Contrast this with Delhites saying “yahan roko”, it is an order! 

Pandu Munda was really into music, couldn’t control himself he got up and started dancing! (visit http://youtu.be/2zNY9rypQNQ for Munda dance) Pandu he says means snake, and did a bit of snake act. He explained that songs in Munda are close to nature, and of course expressions of love. Jada rithu, Basanth rithu and Barsath rithu are three seasons on which most songs are based. He ridiculed the Christians (many Munda are converts) for having similar songs for all occasion. Hindus, they use ‘dikus’ (commonly used insult) that is filmi songs. That, he said, has no charm or sense.           

    

Munda tribes are one of the well studied tribal communities’ in India. Encyclopedia Mundarica is a sixteen volume work authored by Reverend John Baptist Hoffman (1857-1928) and other Jesuit scholars that described as “authentic account of munda land”.  Another book “The Munda and Their Country” - authored by anthropologist SC Roy, first published in 1912, is considered authoritative documentation of Munda tribes and is a classic in Indian ethnography.  The book is also referred for judicial matters regarding Munda tribes. Though must add his mention to Birsa Munda borders derogatory, as also there are unnecessarily lengthy, sometimes eulogizing, references to colonial Christian missionaries. I guess it falls into the pattern of pre-colonial sycophant Indian elite, clamoring for favor. Birsa Munda is a respected figure in Indian history as also in popular imagination of people. He fought against oppression and tyranny of colonial Britain. Indeed his name is used in India with reference. This picture is of a statue of him at Ranchi. Another book worth noting is Musical culture of the Munda tribe by Sem Topno.  

         

Munda language (Mundari) is Austro-Asiatic, there is a indication that Munda language was formerly spoken in Gangetic valley. There is a striking point of agreement between the Munda language and Kanauri (which is spoken in the neighborhood of Shimla). That the Kolarian tribes (includes Munda), Khasis of Khasi hills, the Sakei and Semang of Malay peninsula, the Mon-Khmers of Cambodia, the Anamese of Cochin China, the Nicobarese , the aborigines of the Malacca and the Philippines, and several aborigines of Australia all speak allied dialects which seem to an intimate racial contact in the past, if not of common origin. It is conjectured that before the Aryan invasion, the Kols (the Kolarian aborigine tribes, that counts more than dozen tribes, Munda being a major component) occupied much of Gangetic plains. Brahminical texts broadly refer Kol tribes as Asuras (indeed in the context of things Lord Krishna came quite heavily on aborigine tribes!). Mundas do find mention in Kurukshetra war as part of kaurava army, as described by Sanjaya. Aryan warrior Satyaki boasts mundanethan hanishyami danavaniv vasavah (I shall kill these Mundas as Indra killed the danavas). 

Mundas to this day sing songs bewailing good old days…

Sato jugu Kale jugu, Sato jugu taikena

Sato jugu Kale jugu, kali jugu hijulena

Sato jugu taikena, ilige-ko nukena,

Kale jugu tebalena, rengetao goetana

Neaiting sanaiya, ilige-ko nukena

Chakating moninga, rengeteko goetana

Then was the satyug, -now the Iron age

O gone the golden age of old!

Then reigned the satyug, - now the reign of kal

On the earth hath come with woes untold.

Men in that blessed ancient age of gold

Had naught to do but drink their ale

Now that the cursed kali reigns supreme

Dire death from hunger doth prevail

Oh for the days when men no cares did know

But drank their fill of home brewed ale

Woe to this age when men on earth below

Do daily die of famine fell

Many names of north Indian villages can be traced to munda or other kol origin. Munda call themselves Horo. Slowly after age long wandering, after being uprooted by the Aryans, the Mundas settled in the jungles of chotanagpur, what is now Jharkhand –the forest country, finally confined to present district of Ranchi, the capital city of Jharkhand (indeed the name Ranchi originates from Mundari word aranchi meaning short stick used to drive cattle).  Walled by jungles they have been living in peace for past many centuries. The settlement was referred to as khunkutti hatu, and the boundary was clearly demarcated by the elders, beyond which was god’s land who kept vigilant. Within these demarcated land all property was common property, space of god is uncleared forest within the village (hatu bangako, was called sarnas. The supreme deity is “Sing Bongka” related to Sun). Gradually they became agriculturalist. The cutting of wood from the jungle was done on a chosen day and only some portion of jungle was used, in rotation. The head of the village was Munda, and he never had any superior rights but settled disputes. Even women actively partook in armed ventures under the leadership of Munda, as the situation demanded.  Gradually group of villages came together as group –as pattis, to ward off enemies (the Dravidian tribe Oraons being the earliest). Each pattis was headed by a Manki. They followed an egalitarian system wherein the Munda, even the Manki, was only a chief among equals not a ruler. Unfortunately though, with the passage of time these have become hereditary.  The mankis grouped to elect Raja, the relation was tenuous and slowly the rajas, and even the mankis, got hinduised and got themselves elevated to rajputs and clans, completely breaking the clan trust and values of equality. The Mundas repent their follies…

The thorn we have reaped

Are of the tree we planted

They have torn us and we bleed.

We should have known what fruit

Would spring from such a tree.

With passage of times during the medical period the zamindars started to oppress the Mundas, they sought refuge by converting to Christianity enmass. 

The favourite drink is rice beer or ili, each family brew its own ili. Made from boiled rice which is fermented and mixed with some vegetable roots and is stored for about five days before its ready for use. Dancing and revelry is another of Munda passion, Akhra or dancing ground is generally located in the middle of the basti.

Kote karambu dumang sari

Jige ho lilib litiba

Ho lilib litiba!

Barigara karetalsari tana

Kuram ho dopol dopola

Ho dopol dopola!

Kote karambu dumang sari

Senoge sunaia

Ho senoge sanais!

Barigara keretal saritanae

Bridge monea

Ho Bridge monea

The dumang sounds at Kot karamba

My heart leaps up at the sound,

At the sound

The kartal rings at Barigara

My heart with glee doth bound

At the sound

The dumang sounds at Kot karambu

O haste my dear to the dance

To the dance

The kartal clanks the barigara

O rise my dear from the trance

To the dance.

For Munda work and amusement go together in their life. They say ….

kaji ge durang (to speak is to sing),

senge susun (to walk is to dance)

kumuni dumang (fish traps is a musical instrument)

imagine a set of people for whom every action is song and dance, even the household items are musical instruments!!!

Asar chandu tebalena –

Dola maire roa nalate.

Haturen horoko do oronglena

Sobenka senotanako.

Midtarebu kamiabu panti pantige.

Singido dubuilena,

Dola maire alatalate

Nalabutelakeda

Rurungiabu mandiabu,

Honhopon tenda nuiabu.

Now asarh is here

O come my dear

Transplant the paddy seedlings green

The village call

Obey the call

Out streaming from the house seen

Together we

Will work in glee,

O sisde by side in rows so gay

When sets the sun

We will be gone

And take our wages for the day

Our wages taken

We’ll husk the grain.

Prepare and boil sweet rice for food

Our children dear

Will share the cheer

With us will quaff the gruel good.

(Thanks is also due to Anthropological Survey of India, Nagpur for letting me use the library. It though would help if they open it on time, I lost a day). The picture herein of me sharing rice beer with Pandu Munda and Jaganatha

From my scribble pad…

In the twilight

There is time for happiness

and there is time for sadness 

and then there is a time between happiness and sadness

blurred feeling of life passing by

just about the dusk when the birds row to their home

embrace the setting sun

when the breath slows down 

 and a strange calm sooth the body

.

Lesser Goldenback aka Black-rumped Flameback

It’s always fun to watch a Woodpecker, and it does really make my day. I must have written about quite a few Woodpeckers in last many years. From White-rumped to Rufous to White bellied ...so on. This one here was spotted in the outskirts of Siliguri (North Bengal) sometime back, indeed one of the commonest Woodpeckers in India they avoid forest and are found near human habitat that has open space with garden and old avenue trees. 

“Of Birds and Birdsongs” is a collection of essays written by M. Krishnan (forward by Zafar Futehally, edited by Shanthi and Ashish Chandola). I must admit that my knowledge of such a great man was rather sketchy, this book therefore was a revelation. What an amazing man.  In one essay he writes about our education system that still is devastatingly true (though the other day i was reading that schools with support of Agriculture department have taken up vegetable gardens so on rather seriously):

One of the chief defects of our education is that it fails to stir or inform the natural curiosity of every child in the life around. This failure is so sustained, so gradually asserted and insidious, that no one notices it –and then one is through with school, through with college, and wholly preoccupied with a life that is blind to the rest of creation. Few people realise how complete this lack is, for it is a lack not only in our education but in our culture too.

Krishnan as is evident was not only a great Naturalist but also an influential writer, his knowledge and experience found precise expressions in words that knit seamlessly into brilliance. This is one book you must have.

The cover picture (a painting) of this book quite coincidently has a Flameback (indeed a Black-rumped). These few interesting lines on Flameback Woodpecker in inimitable Krishnan style ...

I find these woodpeckers fascinating. They looks ornate and outlandish, like birds out of a fairytale; and they run easily up the shear surface, or slip down it, with no change in the rigidity held pose but for quick, sideway transposition, they do not look like birds at all. Their movements have that quality of change of place, without obvious, free use of limbs, that suggests clockwork. ....Actually, these woodpeckers represent no exotic, romantic survivals, but only extreme adaptation to a way of life. Their chisel-tipped beaks sound bark and crevices for grubs and wood boring insects most efficiently, and their stiff tail feathers serve as props in their precarious stance. At first it may seem strange that things as flimsy as feathers should bear body weight, but the weight of these woodpeckers is surprisingly little, and the tail feathers only help, in an adventitious manner, as a third leg. Woodpeckers are so used to vertical surfaces that movement along them is normal and easy for them –have even been observed asleep, stuck on to a tree trunk”.

The reclusive Muthuvan tribes of Western Ghats

Irittala kudi is about an hour’s trek from Marayoor (Idukki district, Kerala),Vijayan mashe was the local contact person who arranged the trip, of course permission was taken from the forest department. The trek has scattered elephant presence so one has to be careful. Overnight wind had brought down the crops that preceded the forest land. I was told that the sugarcane grown here are much sweeter, Marayoor jaggery is acclaimed for its unique taste. We did visit one shack where they were making the famous jaggery. On the way Vijayan mashe pointed to a crevice along the hill and said this was where a man was trampled by an elephant few months back. The man was drunk and ambled to his home late one afternoon. The elephant didn’t like it a bit and rest as they say is tragedy.  

One of the most reclusive tribes in India Muthuvans are found in the Adimali and Devikulam forest regions of Idukki district of Kerala, the largest concentration is around the Anamudi hills, the highest peak of the Western Ghats. The Muthuvan settlement is referred to as ‘Kudi’ and their houses are made of bamboo reeds thatched with leaves. They are mostly dependent on the forest products and cultivate essentials like ragi, banana so on. In some areas cash crops like ginger, pepper, lemongrass etc are also grown.  Though they nurture cattle they don’t drink the milk; meat even chicken is eaten only on special occasions.

The word Muthuvans is derived from the word "muthuku" which means ‘back’ in the Tamil and Malayalam languages. According to tribal legend when dynasty of Madurai was deposed, they crossed the mountains into Travancore and on their way the Muthuvans were the ones who carried the idols of deity belonging to the royal family on their backs. Another legend speaks of them carrying all their belongings and children on their back, even now unlike other people in the region the women carry their children on the back, therefore Muthuvans.

Muthuvans are one of the few tribes that actively try to avoid outsiders. Indeed they even evade eye contact and turn away their face from strangers. Muthuvans have a tradition of maintaining separate dormitories for unmarried males (the picture herein), and females. After they attain puberty they stay separate from families, and women, in particular, avoid outside males.

 

"Muduvans follow the matriarchal system and have an innate fear of outsiders and strangers. They used to be shifting cultivators of ragi and rice. They are also adept at hunting and trapping game. Over the years, they developed a symbiotic relationship with the environment. Their keen sense of sight, sound and hearing coupled with an innate fondness for animals made them skilful trackers…Muduvans are proud race and were unwilling to work in the restricting environment of the expanding plantations. However, from the inception of these plantations, they have served as guides, trackers and game watchers" (The Story Of Munnar by Sulochana Nalapat)

The law and order in the community is handled by a council of elders under the leadership of the Kani, the headman. Another headman ‘Thalaivar’ takes care of social issues. The language spoken is proto Dravidian closely linked to Tamil (visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mv18CDWqaI&feature=plcp for video on Muthuvan songs) .  

from my scribble pad... 

Dissection of a Rat

Dissection of rat was a subject of study in school

disemboweled internals were identified and tagged

systems –Digestive, Respiratory, Excretory so on.

It doesn’t differ from us.

When the rat is cut, it dies

and stays that way

without any attempt to be alive.

Just like us.

We live and die

never making an attempt to be alive.

Where we differ from the rat

is never taught in the school.