India, April 27 -- A group of Claretian School children were taken to a botanical garden owned and operated by the city's businessman. Excited, they ran through the garden paths and looked at the colours. The garden looked like a painted canvas with a riot of colours. But the flowers were only hybrid. After a while, the children showed their disappointment. They asked the gardener, "Where are the butterflies and honey bees?" He had a blank look. Then he said, "Ask the maalik (owner)." The children left the garden in protest.

This incident sounds like a modern-day fable-a poignant commentary on the disconnect between commercial "perfection" and ecological reality. The children's disappointment highlights a profound truth: Nature is a syst...