Nemo

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 30; the thirtieth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

From an Oceanographer's diary: 

From 1982-84, as an oceanographer of Navy, I was based in Sindhu Sankalp Vessel moored into the depths of the sea on this stretch. Wonder, what would have happened in that insipid surroundings if I had not met this charming, bubbly, inquisitive boy. It was a brief sojourn somewhere in the unknown, which had influenced and affected me momentarily.  

My bags were packed. I was under the orders of transfer to the Northern point... I was almost ready to leave the chalet, when I heard a voice,' Sirrrrr...'.

I knew who it was; nevertheless, came to the balcony gazing at the sea shore.  The sun had almost disappeared into the celestial purlieu, complimenting the figures silhouetted against the auburn background. Nemo,  Captain Nemo, as I used to call him, was hanging upside down, like a sloth bear, from a palm tree just outside the balcony. A bud of rose was stuck between his lips. I grinned and stretched out my arms and plucked it.

He looked at me innocently, and asked: ‘can you not take me with you, Sir?'

Nemo, was our caretaker's son and like me, he had a deep fascination for sea. Our off-shore unit was a little away from the township, totally cut off from public view due to security reasons. The noise and bustle of the town never filtered into the compound, it used to make me feel lonely....Often Nemo came to the research station with his father.

Gradually, the oceanic activities caught his attention and his love for learning touched me. The little fellow was not smart, yet there was something in his attentive eyes ---some quiet alertness, some quality of listening, that set him apart. Gradually our friendship bloomed, and our world in a short time, utterly transformed. Soon, Nemo was walking in and out of my room at his will. He'd sit with my books on oceanography and flip through the images. I still remember those eyes filled with amazement and wonder---undoubtedly the ocean meant 'a world' to him than any other place on earth!

One day, I decided to take him inside our computer room, which used to record the solar influences on that entire region. The full-screen computer pictures, reflecting the glorious details of galaxies and the planets gave him a graphical representation of the sky....he stood speechless, stupefied, frustrated, exhilarated; after all he was looking at something he hadn't seen ever...The translucent lights were overpowering and finally gave him goose bumps. He held me tight and sat still for several minutes, almost paralyzed. His face tightened slightly, and then slowly relaxed. A strange well within him was tapped, and I started filling it up carefully and methodically with facts of oceanography....and then there was no looking back.

He started spending hours in the shore after school. The setting became significant and compelling for his interest. When our team members would do their chores on the shore, he'd sit in full silence and listen to them talking about apertures, wave-dynamics and filters. Though he wouldn't understand a word.

One morning, as I was leaving home to board the vessel. I found Nemo in the veranda. I stroked his head with one hand, and moved ahead. Nemo sulked,' I've been waiting here for a long time. Can't you take me along.., I want a ride...please' his eyes were pleading. 

The timing seems right. We weren't going too deep that day; so I decided to take him half a mile down on a undersea cable car built with 8 x magnifying glass-walls all around. This was, yet another bewitching experience for him..... External lights from the inspection cable car was shimmering across the ocean floor, and he saw long fields of corals, exotic varieties of fish, sea urchins in hundreds of colors wandering freely in the water. A gentle reflection of blue light wavered on Nemo’s face and it looked as serene as the water. He didn't speak for several moments again, stood still with his palms pressed against the glass wall.... Perhaps, he was silently remembering the photographs, the images on the computer, and comparing the delicate structures with the real marine life..

‘It is so beautiful; suddenly he sighed and whispered. ‘Sir, life underneath is so colorful and happy!’

The cable-car was moving him over light and shadow. Nemo kept watching life evolving in actual sense; something not engineered by humans. He was probably thinking of all the mysteries the ocean contained; especially the marine life with their glimmering golden hearts....

'Good phases are generally too good to last.' The rituals of transfers in a government job doesn't leave one with a choice. Grudgingly or ungrudgingly one has to follow the orders...I moved on, but I knew that I had inspired yet one more oceanographer....

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.Recently I experienced life's most enthralling moments in a glass-boat ride in Andaman and Nicobar Islands  for coral viewing. A part of the story triggered out of it...

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. I’m thankful to Jaish who introduced Blog-a-Ton to me, and I debuted in 29th edition.

Credits

Image - Shades of Orange by Harsha Chittar
Courtesy - Curious Dino Photography via www.blogaton.in