Jain mutinies save insects

Relative to insects we are gigantic. And we have god-like control over them in one-on-one situations. Take this little ant that was caught on the lid of a pot on the stove. As it heated up the ant started running about crazily to get away. I blew it onto the kitchen dresser and off it scampered. Then there was this little spider which had crept into the folds of the pool cover. As I pulled the cover over the pool some water seeped on to the top, trapping the little creature. Every now and again it would make a dash in one direction or another looking for a way out. This would only last a second or two. I guess instinct was telling it not to move for too long so as not to be spotted by a  predator. I left the cover to dry so the spider would find a path to freedom. Sure enough it was gone a couple of hours later. In VS Naipal's book India - a Million Mutinies Now, he talks about a Jain who is unwilling to walk outdoors for fear of treading on insects scuttling in the street. I can't say I'm that freaked out but I don't like to hurt little creatures if I can possibly avoid it, drawing the line at mosquitoes, which deserve termination with full prejudice. Of course, were the human race to decide to wipe itself out in a nuclear war insects would most likely have the best chance of surviving. The QSL is from All India Radio, Kurseong in the north-eastern corner of India, near Bhutan. This is another classic, signed by AK Bhatnagar and heard in Kent in 2001.