An Impression Of A Polar Bear
By Pakhi Pragya Sinha Wednesday, Aug 17, 2022
“Mama! I am very hungry!” the youngest one of my four cubs cried. I could relate to her. My stomach would not go a minute without growling with hunger. I scan my surroundings, trying to spot a few scraps of sealskin to feed them. They seem to grow extremely agitated by the minute. The previous time they ate something was last evening when I managed to find a dead baby seal at the edge of the ice. I remember my parents teaching me that if ice is present, then seals would be too, but lately, most of the ice has melted, and thus, there are no seals. I can hardly remember the last time my oldest cub ate anything. Trying to be a responsible sibling, he sacrificed his appetite for the sake of the rest despite my constant refusal, and now, he is weak and cannot move around properly.
“Mother,” he speaks weakly, “I don’t think I will be able to survive much longer but promise me you will feed the rest of my siblings well.” Tears well up in my eyes, clearly visible. ‘Of course, dear, I will not let your efforts go in vain, we all love you so much.”
“I love you too,” he smiles and steadily closes his eyes, embracing death willfully.
I want to cry my lungs out, and let the world know what despair I live in, but I have other responsibilities to take care of. My other cubs do not seem to understand what has happened. “Big Brother must have gone to sleep, let him; he has been tired of quite long now.” Despite the state I am in, I cannot help but marvel at my children’s innocence and love for each other. All of us lay down beside him, trying to escape our hunger by resting. I weep, silent enough to not let my cubs notice.
After a few hours, I woke up because I felt abnormally warm. I try to not lead my eyes towards the dead body of my son and focus on my other children. I see two of them huddled at the edge of the ice, by the water, trying to pull out something. I rush towards them to find out that the second eldest of them is in the water, trying to fight the current. I try to help her out but fail miserably. Suddenly, a large boulder of ice hits her and sends her flowing towards…a waterfall? It was never there before. I sprint to that side, desperately trying to reach out to my daughter, but it is too late. She is gone.
My two children cry out in anguish, clearly affected by what they just saw happen to their sister. I am not any better. I scream in pain, still trying to register what happened and my voice echoes across the icebergs. Two of my beloved children were gone, in a span of just a few hours. This is all because of humans, no other living being is as capable as them of causing this. They have harmed the planet in so many different ways, I cannot even keep track. Couldn’t they think of other living beings too, who suffer day and night because of them?
- Pakhi Pragya Sinha
