THE GOOD PIEDPIPER

Martha came out into the early morning Sun and scanned the vast swathe of land that lay ahead. The day was bright and the winter tinge had set into the atmosphere. Martha knew that a lot of work had to be done to meet the challenge of surviving through the winter. She had the onerous responsibility of setting up the food reserves for the harsh winter that was lurking around the corner. Martha led a diligent work force and was under orders to stock up her Ant Colony to meet the formidable weather change.

Marshaling her resources and team, Martha set the pace in search of the food. Foraging ants travel distances of up to 200 meters (700 ft) from their nest and scent trails allow them to find their way back even in the dark. Distances traveled are measured using an internal pedometer that keeps count of the steps taken and also by evaluating the movement of objects in their visual field (optical flow). Directions are measured using the position of the sun. They integrate this information to find the shortest route back to their Colony. Martha led her team of workers and soldiers and moved fast but cautiously. She well understood that, a group of foragers who become separated from the main column sometimes may turn back on themselves and form a circular ant mill. The workers may then run around continuously until they die of exhaustion. She had to avoid any such happening and had to get back the day’s load back to the storage section of the Colony.

The scent of the food had hit the nostrils of the moving ant column and they walked at a brisk pace. Soon the Colony dipped out of their sight and the navigation schemes were being put to use by Martha and her deputies. The soldier ants were accompanying the marching column to defend their workers. The scent trail soon hit a high wall and Martha had a challenge at hand. A quick runner ant was dispatched in alternate directions to discover the new way even as Martha gauged the climbing challenge. The runners came back after a while and reported water bodies along the route. The option of circumventing the wall could not be exercised by the long column. The long marching column full of bubbling workers had to be kept disciplined and in order till the decision could be made.

Martha knew that the time was running out and the mission had to be completed. Raising her long antenna, she started a climb up the wall and set course for a new trail. Digging her powerful legs into the craters and crevices of the high rise wall, Martha led the way and the ant column started to climb. The wind gusts took charge of the column at the half way mark and many a soldiers and workers flew off the wall only to join the queue again at the bottom. Leading strongly, Martha continued the climb and soon was standing at the top of the wall and marshaled her followers. The team was now laying a new scent trail. The column moved down the wall and soon enough, each worker had a big load of grain and they were turning back towards the Colony. The Sun had reached its zenith and clouds were building up in the sky.

Martha and her team knew that they had to cover the distance back to colony at a brisk pace and there was no time to rest. One after the other, the column kept its march back on the scent trail left behind during the approach march. The tough wall again loomed ahead and the strong workers mounted it with ease. Those who fell back again joined the column and dug in their legs strongly to cater for their grain’s weight. The first drops of rain had started hitting the ground when the ant hill was sighted by the column and the entire marching contingent disappeared inside their safe haven. The work was far from over. Inside the colony, the food stocks were being stored in an orderly fashion. Each team member put their load in the designated place and Martha’s mission was a success. Martha was a worker ant. She had spent the first few days of her adult life caring for the queen and young. She then graduated to digging and other nest work, and later to defending the nest and foraging. These changes are sometimes fairly sudden, and define what are called temporal castes. An explanation for the sequence is suggested by the high casualties involved in foraging, making it an acceptable risk only for ants that are older and are likely to die soon of natural causes. She had led her foraging mission and completed it successfully. She could now rest and if life permitted, lead another forage mission in search of food. She had proved to be an efficient Piedpiper. Her followers had followed her on a designated mission and she had brought them back safely to their haven.  

Martha’s life was full of hard work, guts, zeal and courage. Similar is the life span of humans. The only difference is that Martha did not work for her own progeny. She was born and lived as a worker for the entire colony. Humans also end up doing something similar in their entire life span. They are trained, taught and brought up to meet the myriad of challenges during their life spans. They follow their various leaders and follow the scent trails. Someday they become leaders in their own rights and take charge of their life’s situations. Each human at some stage of life becomes a Martha and has the same dilemmas. The trails lead up to high wall bottoms whilst the target is on the other side. The courses to the right and left of the wall are neither clear nor easy to navigate. The only option is to climb the wall. The day starts ticking by and the straight wall has to be surmounted. A careful look at the wall would reveal small crevices and craters. The climb must begin with firm grip and equal disposition of weight onto the stretched limbs. The gusts of wind test the mettle of the climber even as the body starts aching through its joints and skin. The level of difficulty keeps increasing as gravity pulls though the distance to the top starts reducing with every small step. Soon enough the climber hits the top of the wall and the huge target stand clear in front of his eyes. From there on, it is a climb down the wall and a rush to bag the target.

Many a humans take the plunge to climb the wall and fall backwards. They are not as fortunate as ants to get up and join the climbing column. Humans, most of the times, are alone when they meet such walls. Their agony and pains are theirs alone. The hurt, the agony, the injuries and the wounds only ache their own minds and bodies. The journey, at times, gets bitter and lonely. However, each climber achieves some success in his endeavor. The fire to meet the challenges of life brings in results.

Along the walls of difficulty connections are made with other climbers. Looking at the adjacent climber’s fighter spirit pumps up the resolve. The road less traveled suddenly starts looking a lot brighter as human dots start to move together on their designated missions. Each climber becomes a Piedpiper for the other and this cycle continues. The ones who reach the top of the wall meet their missions and the ones who get blown away during the climb must get back to the climb. Efforts pay dividends and after all it is the dividends which bring forth the challenges.

Each failure is a challenge which has to be accepted afresh. The mistakes of the past need minor corrections to set the course straight. The job of a good Piedpiper is not easy and this role has to be played by each and every human being. Struggles and pains are a part of the good Piedpiper’s life and the efforts pay their rewards eventually.