THE UNIVERSE LIES WITHIN US

 



“I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did.

I said I didn’t know.”

Mark Twain

 

If some of us have travelled all around the world – experienced different cultures, cuisines and customs – there are two reasons for it. One: Our professions; two: our interests. I have met many people, who fire our imagination by telling us stories around the world. I have also met many people, who keep the stories to themselves, even though they have been around the world, many times…

The storytellers are a distinct breed. I think, unless one is gifted with this talent, stories only remain in one’s head… Yes, whether one has been around the world, or just around his courtyard! Stories come from one’s imagination and that irresistible itch in one’s soul - to tell them!

Meanwhile, should a person like me - who has never stepped out his country, and not been to too many places in his own country – feel inferior while interacting with those who have globetrotted?

I don’t know about others. But, sometimes, I do feel a bit tongue-tied. So, what I do in such a situation is: instead of suffering inside silently, I show a childlike interest to the Johnathan Swifts  and enjoy their Gulliver's Travels… Then, I console myself saying, “Everybody cannot travel around the world like Kartikeya hoped to do. Ganesha, his brother, was blessed with a different strength, you see!" Ganesha’s vehicle was the humble mouse, unlike his brother’s supersonic vahana – the peacock… Ganesha was too heavy to complete three trips around the world faster than his brother could… So, to impress my own listeners, I try to do what Ganesha did to impress his parents (Shiva and Parvati) – He took three trips around his parents and said, “The world is contained inside my parents”… Karthikeya had just taken off, hoping to complete his three trips around the world!

Ganesha won his parents' hearts… I have hope!

 




No matter how many countries we have visited, no matter how many languages, customs, cuisines and cultures we have experienced, we have to remind ourselves, that we haven’t even scratched the surface of the enormous treasure called ‘Knowledge and wisdom’…

Imagine this: Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam is interacting with the students of an elite school… and I am a student out there who can speak like an Oxford erudite… Would our beloved Rocket Man and former President – late Kalamji – feel inferior, tongue tied?

And, what about me – the child who can present myself as a sophisticated kid – but, knows where I stand – yes, would I feel horrible about myself?





No matter how much we have travelled, studied and experienced, we are still scratching the surface of the treasure… Let’s, therefore, tuck our tails in, and sit glued to the great storytellers… And, importantly, let’s never feel small or ashamed to recount our own ‘globetrotting stories’, yes, when our hearts long to…

Everybody cannot be a Karthikeya and a Ganesha, at the same time!

Let’s go, and tell our Gulliver's tales… The universe lies within us!”

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic’s: 1. Source unknown 2. alamy stock photo

 

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