Better to be free than comfortable in captivity

The same sort of thing can be said for the sharks, tortoises, stingrays and countless other colorful creatures dancing inside the 10-m long, 6-m tall bulletproof glass window at the center of the aquarium.

Said to be one of the biggest of its kind in the world, it is an awesome sight for first time visitors. But as we watched a diver feeding the fishes with vegetables and bits of fish meat, I couldn't help feeling sorry for the "prisoners".

They seem to be living a life free of worries - plentiful food, no natural enemies, or bad weather - but they are deprived of freedom, the most precious thing for all beings on this planet.

When my son put his hand on a small window in which only one fish was on display, the chubby creature looking like a puffed up goldfish seemed to like my son and followed his hand everywhere. Maybe the fish thought my son was going to feed it? But maybe, it was trying to communicate to us its feeling of entrapment.

Victor Hugo once said: "There is a prospect greater than the sea, and it is the sky; there is a prospect greater than the sky, and it is the human soul." Maybe some day, humans will stop capturing other living beings for their own amusement. Perhaps we could all learn to be humble and respectful to Mother Nature.