Saturday, 20 April 2013

How I wonder!

Look at the plastic lining of the bulbul's nest
And here is the inside
Since childhood I wonder about many things that I see, hear, touch, feel...

The funniest of all would be my wonderment when the radio is switched on and I hear people speaking or singing. I would wonder how those people can shrink to the size of a radio and how they could go in and come out, invisible to my eyes!
Everything around me made me wonder..how, when, what..
Everyone around me seemed to understand everything and I kept wondering why I am so ignorant. 
As I grew up, I started understanding the theory part of it, but continued wondering how on earth things are done practically. Again, no one else seemed to have a problem nor they wondered at the little things of life.
I used to watch the spider making its web, from beginning to end and would stand stunned at its amazing talent and perfection. The honey bees making its honeycomb in the hexagonal shape and storing honey that they collect from flowers, birds making their nests collecting small sticks and coir pieces from the garden..everything made me wonder.
The rain coming with a hissing sound from the nearby hills and finally pouring down from the tiled roof, sound of thunder and flash of lightning, (I truly believed it when someone told me that lightning is the flash when God takes photos and thunder is the sound heard when God puts coconuts on the attic.) colours of the sky, the wind, the sun and moon and stars appearing and disappearing, moon becoming bigger and smaller...and what not..practically everything made me wonder.
I was so fascinated by the book Alice in wonderland and I was consoled by the fact that there is yet another kid like me.
And even now there are times I just watch and wonder...
The climber in my garden was hanging down from the car park and I thought to myself that without help it cannot find a place to roll its tendrils. The next day I found it attached to the hook that was nearby and I wondered how it saw the hook which was out of its way..
Then one day I spotted the bulbul’s nest on the tree, with a plastic coating! I thought it was an accident. But then, I found the same done on many nests. The inner layer made with twined soft strings of coir, and plastic was always used in the outer covering. I thought of the folks who nickname ignorant people as 'kuruvimoola' (bird's brain) and I wondered what is so wrong with the bird's brain!
Recently, I exclaimed about these things to my friend and she smiled at me and my innocence and told me fondly "it is intelligence..intelligence of nature'
Wow! That was a good answer that satisfied me.
Apart from these things outside me, there are some feelings inside me which makes me wonder if..? will..? could..? may..? and they confuse and sometimes make me sad..
But then, I go to my happy corner of innocence, without trying to know the reasons or answers, and I sing the happy melody of the little innocent girl who sang 'Twinkle twinkle little star" and I become happy. And then I wonder how a little song could make me so happy!!

To Captain, with Gratitude

  (Dedicated to Dr Rajesh M Ramankutty, Cardiothoracic surgeon, Caritas Heart Institute, Kerala. My Papa got a new lease of  life through a ...