“The essential is to excite the spectators. If that means playing Hamlet on a flying trapeze or in an aquarium, you do it.”
My prince of Denmarks tale happened in the aquarium!!!!!
Seafood has always been my favourite in the food chain as has been keeping little tropical fish in an aquarium...a strange combination but thats what strange men are made of...moderations...huh??
An angler in its truest sense I as much enjoyed fishing for survival as I do taking care of what my mother believed was a little water world in our abode...something that made our house feel closer to a greater geographic entity where man was still not the top of the food chain.
A little tropical world which consisted of Guppies,Gouramis,Tetras and Sword tails...A collectors treat and an onlookers paradise...It was her daily routine to sit and look at these coloured lil beauties and be taken to a different unexplored world where she believed she was the fairy god mother!!!
She would dilligently feed them and clean the aquarium everyday and they all had names!!!!!
My love for the aquatic fauna grew from there and it actually began to haunt me everytime a fish was served in my platter...not that it stopped me ever from eating it but the thought always crossed my mind before i devoured it with a vengeance!!!
Well enough of talking about aquariums!!!
Time to get to the real thing!!!!
We had once gone to our farm in the tarai's of Uttar Pradesh...the banks of the ganges spotted with its numerous little distributaries and lakes..and what do we do...decide to go angling!!!
I had never before even heard the word and related it to catching fish with a rod!!!
There was my cousin...a year older than me...n me!!
Arjun...the cool dude who had just moved back from the states with his cool fishing gear....A Cabelas Fish Eagle...n all the cool baits in the world..spinners..bobs n spoons...n me with no knowledge of anything at all....how the hell do yu catch fish???
I only knew that yu had a line n a hook n you put bait on it...so what do i do??
I end up in the market place buying myself a hook n line that costed me 15 rupees all together to compete with his...whateva!!!!
I had some ham left from the ham sandwich packed for us and that was going to be my bait!!!
Watch out little fishies....you are going to be dinner!!!!
Any how...we landed up at this tank where the fish were supposed to be a plenty...and the rivalry enormous!!!
American rod vs Indian line!!!
We both found spots close to each other and let go our wares...Arjun's bobber vs Vikrams stick!!!
Kinky..aint it ;-)
The sandwiches got over as did my bait but not a single fish!!!
Then Arjun caught one...a 6" beauty!!!
I could have died drowning myself in shame :-(
How could he win??
I decided to change my spot!!!!
The ham had run out n so were my hopes!!!
A local villager sitting next to me in my new spot and catching away to glory....he had atleast fifteen fish with him...6" n more!!!
God knows what fish they were but looked like eels!!!
“A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity.”
N neurotic i was at that time...ping..the devils mind!!!
I walked upto our village bloke there and bought the damn fish off him!!!
he had them in a bucket...i even paid for that to see those beauties swim around in it!!!
Two weeks pocket money gone...I walked up to Arjun with my catch n the look on his face was worth every penny spent...15 funny fish vs 1 measly 6" lil sole he had caught.
They were my prize!!!!
He threw his rod and marched off.
Me marching behind with a bucket full of eely fish...thats what i called them!!!
They travelled back to Delhi with me...my victory over the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!!
INDIA ROCKS.....
Mom had decided to stay back with my granny n dad n me came back...I was the "pirate" king of the aqua marine...
My 15 beauties...I had to preserve them for as long as i lived to boast my victory!!
My pets...I put them into the Aquarium...they enjoyed the freedom from the bucket to the tropical paradise they found themselves in!!!
I slept with content like never before.....
Arose the next morning with the deep desire to see my babies...hail n hearty n looking gorgeous...
Oooops...why were they the only fish in the aquarium????
What had happened to solomon n sheba n dasho n all of my moms beauties????
I was a dead man...survival of the fittest...food chain...my monsters had eaten my moms angels for breakfast...the same way i would be for dinner by my mom!!!!
I have never seen her so angry and upset together in all my life!!!
Hamlet in the Aquarium...the fish were removed and given to the servants for dinner!!
Hamlet had avenged in a manner even Shakespeare wouldnt have imagined...served as dinner for the servants...huh???
Well the Aquarium was locked up after that as was i in my room for many a week!!!
But my heart still swelled as i thought of the look on Arjuns face...he never knew...n he still doesnt!!!!
Well now he will
;-)
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