COMMUNICATION

Photo credit: www.wikipedia.org Memory tag: On seeing a young man speak intensely into a mobile phone under a banyan tree.

A young man spoke intensely into a mobile phone under the banyan tree. From its small beginning as a seed, the tree had grown into this giant not only aerially but reconnected with the earth through its myriad earthward extensions. Both communicated to worlds beyond themselves, through different means. Life itself would stand still if we did not communicate! An unnatural stillness is associated with death. "Silence, like a cancer grows", sang Simon and Garfunkel,! We speak, we sing, we dance, we talk, we act, we touch, we gesture; anything to reach out! Cell to cell, tissue to tissue, organ to organ, organ system to organ system, individual to individual, population to population, community to community, ecosystem to ecosystem, biome to biome, planet to planet, and galaxy to galaxy. For communication is universal! Did it begin when the big bang happened? Was time and space created then? And was communication born to bridge this space in time?

We humans are certainly not the only species that communicate. From the rustle of leaves to the roar of the lion, all of nature is communicating loudly or softly. The dance of the bees, pass messages to the rest about food, water and danger. The alluring fireflies are not just lighting up the darkness but are actually signalling to each other in firefly Morse code. The dance of the cranes, a ballerina,   folkdances to celebrate seasons and harvests all add to the variety that is communication. Chemicals via perfumes, odours pleasant and unpleasant, serve to attract, repel or warn friends, foes and mates. Humans go one step further, they use things that are not part of their body to add to their capacity to communicate. Musical instruments, rudimentary and sophisticated, art, writing, radio, wireless, television, various electronic and other devices, telephone, mobiles and the world wide web, to name some of the many.

What vital role does it play in all our lives, small or big? Is our very survival dependant on it ? The answer is a resounding , yes! The internal environment of a cell or living being must communicate with the external to maintain a viable equilibrium, on which life itself depends. When this is stopped it dies or stops functioning .Systems must communicate within themselves to run efficiently. If they don’t, they would become sick or diseased. Intersystem communication could be a poem, a flag, announcement, publication, warning, a meeting, a festival, the list is endless.

Are wars and violence results of failures of communication or products of miscommunication? Can communication be used to avert and resolve them? Can they be used to inspire, motivate, change, move ahead, create humans that don’t wait for the word to be made flesh but can be worthy of its tremendous power? So that we can say,”thank you for the music , for giving it to me!”