2 big life discoveries in Kerala, South India
Trip Start
Dec 01, 2005
1
3
14
Trip End
Dec 12, 2005
Varkala, Kerala, India
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Part 1:
I saw it. I saw it!!!!!!
I was looking at that miracle in front of me from the canoe boat I was sitting in on our journey through fascinating "backwaters" in Kerala, South India.
Backwaters are basically some waters:))) hihihihi, back in the land from the sea:))) isn't it inspiring definition? OK, seriously, backwaters are really amazing small streams, canals created by nature in palm's forests where u can just chill out on the canoes and observe everything around u. That is what i was doing with 7 friends of mine from different parts of the world.
Coming back to the first sentence, i have to say that from everything we saw during this unusual sailing trip the biggest surprise i got was from myself. It was not surprise from simple, almost primitive life of people living by this backwaters, it was not the art of the coconut tree climber, it was not snakes or other animals.....
It was big shock from my own knowledge about the simple pineapple fruit. After living 22 years in this world i discovered only right now that pineapples grow from the plant from the ground not from the tree!!!! Pineapples don¡¦t grow from TREE but from PLANT!!!
I was really shocked. How is this possible? Why didn¡¦t i know it? For 3 years I study at 2 universities, i worked 3 years for NGO AIESEC and right now i work with top management of the more than 1 billion dollar company in India.... and i don¡¦t know that pineapple grow from plant. That moment i realized how much i probably increased the opinion about my skills and abilities since i came here, because i was really disappointed from myself. I would never expected that i dont know this kind of thing.
Really, i even didnt know that i dont know this, u understand, right? For example, i know that i dont know English grammer very well:)), but at least i know that i dont know it very well, so i can improve it. But about this pineapple i even didnt know that i dont know. OK, i think i try to be too much philosophical :).
Hmmm, this small thing made me seriously to think more realistic about myself and it lead me to found out that actually it was the best experience i could receive as a present at the end of the year 2005, exactly on 31st of December. Maybe exactly this i need to realize, i should never stuck and think that i know everything, because in spite i know that i dont know everything, maybe something i can act as i know everything.
Part 2:
The rest of the trip was great, but i think i should mention one other very unusual experience i could observe. In the other canoe were sitting one lady with two lovely sunny hair sons. Younger one, 5 years old guy was really cute, exactly the type of child who everybody have to love. He was very proactive, so started to chat with us when we stopped for cup of tea and our canoes came next to each other. Ups... ooo, and he put his small hand in between canoes which hurt him a lot. He started to cry soooooo much.... first reaction in my feelings was to jump close to him and to hug him, to dry his tears on the face by my hand, to give him some kisses and take his hand at the same time to stop him cry somehow. Maybe I will start to cry with himfº
But it didn¡¦t happened from the side of his mother. She stayed calm, asked him to go and put his hand into the water to cool it a little bit by himself. Och, how come? I was so much surprised. I couldn¡¦t understand why she is acting like this. For me it was very cold reaction and it gave me impression that she is not carrying about her child. She had to repeat 3 times, because small boy was crying but at the end, he went to put his hand to water, she took his hand after and told him that now it is OK and he stopped to cry. I realized that of course, she is taking care about him, because I saw the love in her eyes, but the way for me was so new, so strange¡K. totally different from what I have in the map in my mind.
Long time I was thinking about this situation, because the way how Australian mother approached her child made revolution in my mind. The target in my head and her head was the same. To take care about the boy and stopped him crying. So, what is the best strategy how to achieve it? On the base on culture I come from, on the base of my experiences and observations I created the style as I describe, but maybe it is not the most effective and right one, I don¡¦t know. Since this experience I was persuaded that my style will be the best, but after it, I am not sure. I experienced something new which has advantages and disadvantages and everything I can do is just to open my mind and perceive old thing from the new perspective.
Wish u nice day ahead.
Comments
To help some one is to help them help themselves
Hi Beata,
Nice to read your travel logue in Kerela !!!
Well,
The best way to help some one is to help them help themselves :-)
and that is exactly what the mother tried to do !!!
Wishing you many more eventful journey's ahead !!!
Regards, Harshal