First of all it is very humbling. You watch, 65 million years ago, a small mammal Purgatorius, our ancestor, hanging on to her dear life and you realise what all you need to worship in animal kingdom beyond elephants, snakes and cows.
Second I imagine if the likes of Dnyaneshwar (ज्ञानेश्वर), Tukaram (तुकाराम) and Shakespeare knew these extinct animal kingdoms and their annihilation, their imagery would have been even more colourful.
For instance, this is how Tukaram describes the importance of being small (and humble):
तुका म्हणे बरवे जाण| व्हावे ल्हानाहून ल्हान|| महापुरे झाडे जाती| तेथे लव्हाळे वाचती||
(Tuka says become smaller than small. In a deluge trees are washed out but grass survives.)
Tyrannosaurus Rex goes, Purgatorius lives.
As I watched the documentary television miniseries, I realised that, with luck, I would dodge an animal armageddon in my lifetime.
But yesterday, on Laxmi Pujan day, as I heard and saw crackers being burst so savagely around me, I felt many birds and animals must feel that this indeed was the armageddon of their life.
Deep down, even I can't escape that feeling.
My ancestor PurgatoriusPicture courtesy: Wikipedia
p.s. 'प्रलयकाळी' (cataclysm / universal devastation) is one of my favourite Marathi words. Why? Read this.