monsters of the jurassic deep or heroism does not take a holiday

26.07.2026

The day was ending. Quickly, quickly, I was writing a list of things I had done today for A. It had been a day of art, nature, relationships, politics, literature, scholarship and social duty.

1. Reading news.
2. Shaving.
3. Phoning friends and family.
4. Contacting professional acquaintances.
5. Crossword, Scrabble and Jigsaw puzzle online.
6. Breakfast with parents.
7. Languages learning. Short stories and news in Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Spanish, French and German.
8. Reading psychology articles.
9. Messaging friends and sharing writing with them.
10. Reading history.
11. Listening to Hindi music.
12. Natural History Museum exhibition, ‘Jurassic Oceans: Monsters of the Deep’.
13. Window shopping in the Natural History Museum shop.
14. Natural History Museum garden visit. Took a photo of a family there for them.
15. Chinese lunch at Chopstix.
16. Buying books at the bookshop in South Kensington: – Art Deco – 100 years of Fashion – Rare Plants by Kew Gardens – The Language of Trees – History of Illustration – The Great Tree Story
17. Ice cream in Macdonald’s.
18. Sitting in St Martin in the Fields.
19. Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller ‘Landscapes’ exhibition at the National Gallery.
20. Watching the Palestinian protest in Trafalgar Square.
21. Shopping: buying sunglasses on a 70% sale.
22. Embankment Gardens visit.
23. Meet up.
24. Reading Skandar and the Phantom Rider.
25. Breaking up a fight where two young men were beating up a lone youngster.
26. Dinner at home – Chicken Biryani.
27. Writing.
28. Sketching.

1. would ask me about breaking up the fight. I had just got off the bus for home. Two lads were beating up a third lad. They started just as I had crossed the road from them. I was carrying a heavy bag of books on top of another bag I was carrying. I was rushing for home because I was very hungry. It was dark. I couldn’t see much, especially as I was not wearing my glasses. I was tempted not to get involved. It was dangerous. But I would not think of myself as a man or a Punjabi if I did not get involved. I shouted at the top of my voice, an order. ‘Stop what you’re doing or I will call the police! Stop right now!’ They looked at me and they stopped what they were doing straight away and walked off. I looked over to make sure that the kid that was bullied was okay. He was. He was grabbing his stuff that had fallen to the floor. Someone else would not have helped. A woman was there on the other side of the road where they were a few metres in front, just watching and not doing anything. But I was not a woman. I was a man. And I was not any man. I was The Tiger. I am the bravest. I am the warrior. Sometimes, people tell me that god sent me to help them. Just in time. It is not true. I myself am god on this earth. My name is the name of god. It is the duty of the strong to protect the weak. It is the duty of god to protect the People, the Oppressed. Thanks or no thanks.