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Monkey-man menace mends human values

Our Bureau

NEW DELHI, May 20

THE only being who has single-handedly contributed in improving the standard of life for the Delhiites during the last few days is the mischievous monkey-man.

It has been able to improve the quality of life for Delhiites in this scorching summer by making the lackadaisical Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) spring into action.

The street-corner lights, which were defunct for months, are suddenly being repaired by the DVB overnight so that the residents do not fall prey to the monkey-man's mischiefs and people can spot it.

Simultaneously, power cuts during the nights have completely stopped in various areas. The local police authorities took up the matter with the board to ensure that there are no power cuts during the night.

Also, the crime rate in the city has come down. The police is on a sort of red alert conducting hourly night patrol on the streets supported by extra force for two reasons -- give the residents a feeling of security and trying to spot the monkey-man. As a cumulative effect, crimes have come down.

And, it is also true that the monkey-man's activities have also contributed in promoting human values. People in various areas are opting for community living in panic. Neighbours who weren't on talking terms following earlier quarrels are finding ways t o become friendly again -- because both need human support if it attacks.

No one knows as yet what the creature is. Though some claim that it hails from the Indo-Nepal border (actually some rickshaw-pullers here have claimed that ``there were two such monkeys in our village near the Nepal border. They had a fight and so one ha s shifted here'').

Some say it is a plant of the Pakistan's Interservices Intelligence (ISI). Some even say it is a creature whose evolution process has stopped just before becoming a complete human from the monkey stage.

No one even knows how it looks like. It has injured many and even caused two deaths. But the injured eye-witnesses differ on how it looks.

The incident has also put Delhi on the international happening map. The international media, which rarely monitors day-to-day developments in India, is carrying regular reports on the monkey-man.

It is being termed as a menace. But looking at the role played by it in reviving social bonding, improving the power supply situation during the peak summer, and role played in bringing down crime rates, who say that it is all that bad?