15/04/2021
Books and movies had long ago led us into the world of shells and their interesting sounds. Shells being held to one's ear - is it one's heart beat or is it the roar of the waves? Conch shells being used as blowing horns and trumpets.
As such, shells of all shapes, sizes, sounds or no sounds fascinated and intrigued us.
So when Rajanna, a fisherman from Ghouspalli and our in-house fishing expert got into the Katakshapuram lake waters and started digging into the wet mud near the banks of the water body in the quest for snail shells, without any further ado, we followed suit. Once Rajanna dismissed our doubts about life lurking in the shells, we went ahead with full gusto. All our digging led us initially to handfuls and later to heaps of these muddy snail shells which get stuck and buried in the mud.
We were hushed up by Rajanna when asked as to the objective of our muddy endeavor. Once the treasures were out, Rajanna gave them a good wash and let out a triumphant whistle. In unison, we squealed WOW in delight. The moment of truth dawned onto us after a while - we realized that Rajanna had whistled using the snail shell.
If the incredible sound got our admiration, this fascinating feature of the shell got our adulation. Especially those amongst us who weren't adept at whistling- it felt like we found our path to instant moksha! And just like us, our young travellers can't get enough of whistling with these snail shells.
The act of rummaging, finding, trying, failing again, giving up, blaming the shell - it is too wide/it is not big enough/it can't be held properly, throwing away, searching for more, coming up with one's own thesis as to what works and what will not, beaming with accomplishment, feeling on top of the world.
But for these simple joys of life, life would never be the same....
