May the Fish be with you!!! - Life in MangrovebayEcocamp - River Kollidam
May the 4th, Star Wars Day. Happy that an experiential outdoor camp to learn about fishes was held on the very same day at my favorite place at the banks of river Kollidam (although I’m pretty sure this wouldn’t have cracked the top 500).
MangrovebayEcocamp - River Kollidam
The swell of the waters, the beautiful streaks of patterns forming in the sky as the sun dipped into the horizon, the sounds of nature that emerged from within the mangroves, the change in water temperature at the meeting point of the two water bodies, the golden ripples of the waves at dawn, the flying birds above and leaping fish below – this time I saw quite a lot of things. However, I didn’t take as many pictures as I would have liked to; they remain in their raw, unedited form in my memories.
What is the first image that pops up in our minds when we think of the word “aliens”? Most of us would think of a cartoonish green or blue character, or even a humanoid character, but not many would think of microorganisms or even plant life. It’s the optics, constantly reinforced, that we don’t think things through beyond what’s told to us. I believe we have been treating nature the same way. The word “wildlife” brings to our mind the picture of big cats, the word “forests” brings to our mind the picture of a dense evergreen forest, and for some reason, deserts mean golden yellow sand. We know there is a huge variety of literally everything, but we need to acknowledge that we often fail to connect the dots. The choppy waters – that’s “wild” too!
This was the point of the session with Fish Conservationist Aravind Manoj, in which we discussed native fishes, their ideal habitat, the methodology of how they were researched, and the lukewarm reception of fishes in the man-made idea of wildlife. Extraterrestrial life might be an unassuming bacterium for all we know, and still, it would prove the existence of alien life.
The highlight of this visit was the one thing I love the most – meeting new people and building a bond. Forget icebreaker questions, the real icebreaker is facing common experiences and sharing our versions of them with others. And what amazing people I met! Almost all of us lead vastly different lives, and yet when it comes to living the way of nature as mostly urban residents, we unanimously connect. Isn’t that beautiful? And the kids, man, they had fun like anything. Wide-eyed in wonder, they became versions of Moana in the ocean! To end on a high note – something I have always wanted to happen – I finally met a fellow Star Wars fan! What can get better than that?
Connecting with nature is literally the core of Paddleforfuture.com, and everything they do, be it art or science, connects to nature almost naturally. Even for a moment if we set the technical details such as IDs and names aside and just admire how beautiful each fish is, and by extension each component of nature is, we’ll fall in love with it again and again.
The unbearably hot summers and increasing weather aberrations show us that Nature is equally as ruthless as it can be beautiful. Just like us – flaws and all, we are undeniably a part of Nature, aren’t we? At this juncture, I remember a quote in the amazing TV series Agents of SHIELD. It’s when two friends trapped at the bottom of the ocean prepare themselves for their impending death.
I like to think about the first law of thermodynamics, that no energy in the universe is created and… none is destroyed. That means that every bit of energy inside us, every particle will go on to be a part of something else. Maybe live as a dragonfish, a microbe, maybe burn in a supernova ten billion years from now. And every part of us now was once a part of some other thing – a moon, a storm cloud, a mammoth. Thousands and thousands of other beautiful things that were just as terrified to die as we are. We gave them new life. Good one, I hope.
Thanks to Mangrovebayecocamp - River kollidam
About the author...
Shruti - Writer by passion and profession. Lover of science and science fiction. Explorer of this beautiful world and beyond. A forever student.
I write about my travels here: Into the Unknown..
I write about the basics of fitness at First Things First.
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