I was brought up in a strong Hindu household, where, we were taught that every living being possesses a soul. Hence, killing of any living life was considered a strict taboo. We attended religious gatherings/ceremonies thrice a year, which always felt more cultural than religious. For our family, it was an opportunity to dress up in colorful Indian clothes and see the larger Indian community we loved gossiping about.
After high school, I moved to USA and started living a life of a secular American. Coming to USA, meant embracing a bigger world and becoming independent of my Hindu upbringing. Or so I thought.
But I endured a horrendous trial last week…which will go down in history as “The Battle of the Cricket.”
I encountered a cricket in my bathroom. This little six-legged creature was merrily perched on the wall. I am not sure how he managed to get in. I wrongly assumed it would just be a brief visit – where we could exchange a few pleasantries while I completed my daily bathroom ritual, and then he’d be on his way. However, the next time I was in, he was laid out on the floor, making himself comfortable. Time and time again, he just sat there, changing positions, making his presence felt but making my toilet time very uncomfortable. Suddenly, his accusing eyes glared at me while I reached out for the bathroom roll. “I’m just trying to wipe myself, clean sir. Do you have a problem with that? Leave me alone!” I grunted. By then, I had become very agitated.
Upon my friend’s suggestion, I attempted to do this whole cup and paper trick, but I guess I did not have the skill set for it. This nasty little pest started moving his legs backwards and forwards as if doing Zumba and then almost hopped onto my nose in defiance. I was miserable and frustrated!
Being fed up, I eventually, decided to leave my bathroom door wide open. My hope was that he would just hop out at some point or crawl outside to any other place in the house where he couldn’t be seen or heard. This would at least allow me to use the commode in peace. We could even try and learn to cohabit if need be. Somehow, we could make this situation work. We could have a day where we’d watch movies together and eat popcorn together– but otherwise, we’d keep to ourselves for the sake of our own respective sanities.
Finally, on searching the Internet, I discovered that sticky, sweet molasses is irresistible to crickets. Who knew! I decided to use this to my advantage by making a live trap, using a small shallow container, filling it with one inch of water and adding about 2 table spoons of honey to it, creating some sort of a glue. The thought was that he would be attracted to the molasses and hop onto the container and get stuck! At least that way I would not have to live with the guilt of killing my unwanted guest. As I left the room to get the molasses, and returned back, the cricket was gone… However, I saw Mr. Boots, my cat walking out of the bathroom, looking smug! I actually think he even winked at me. I now was feeling terrible- relieved but terrible…
I must confess, earlier I was grumpy, distressed and irritable. I was even contemplating murder. But the truth is, however we’re raised, and however far from our traditional values we THINK we’ve evolved, when met with a crisis, there are no atheists in foxholes. There are some Hindu’s who might even eat beef, but don’t feel good about it. As far as I am concerned, I still can’t kill a bug without feeling terrible… and I think that’s okay
Life Is Like That! 