Tagore and floating Paper Boats in the rain

Nostalgia hits you at the oddest moment. I got a stirring dose of it this morning. I was standing by the window, watching the rain pelting out of a dark grey sky in torrents, like the lady upstairs was overturning bucket after bucket of water onto my roof. Glad to be home and not trampling about outdoors on this squelchy and slushy day. When I saw them.

A young girl and boy in colourful raincoats. Barefoot in the lane that was awash with red mud. The girl playing hopscotch. The boy trying to float a paper boat in the gutter gurgling with rainwater. She was going well. He was floundering. His boat was capsizing. Heavy raindrops from a weeping Gulmohur kept sinking his efforts.

Realization

Then it struck me. The boy might have been me. Many, oh – so many, monsoons ago. It is one of the big achievements of boyhood to successfully sail a paper boat down a gushing gutter in the rain. Making paper boats and planes come as natural to a boy as does flying a kite or riding a cycle. I could do it with my eyes closed after tearing a page out of a school notebook.

I watched the Gulmohur strafe the boy’s paper boat with rainwater, sending it to the bottom of the gutter, like Japanese torpedo bombers sinking US naval ships at Pearl Harbour. The boy watched it go. Then joined the girl in hopscotch. Children have greater resilience than adults. They accept tragedy and move on. Maybe the boy remembered he had a notebook full of pages at home.

And then nostalgia really washed over me as I recalled Rabindranath Tagore’s poem of hope ‘Paper Boats’ that I studied in primary school. He had said, “Day by day I float my paper boats one by one down the running stream. In big black letters I write my name on them and the name of the village where I live. I hope that someone in some strange land will find them and know who I am…”

About Mark Manuel

The above thoughts/content has been proudly copied from the wall of Sir Mark Manuel. Being interviewing almost every role model of this country and going stronger each day. Mark Manuel is a respected Mumbai editor, writer, and columnist.

With over three decades of journalism in leading publications. This includes the Free Press Journal, Times, Dainik Bhaskar, Mid-Day, and Afternoon. He is famous for his brilliant pen interviews. He himself is a TEDx speaker.

Further

His interviews have featured in several leading media houses. They include the Hindustan Times, Huffington Post, BBC, and Network 18. Almost every famous person has been interviewed by him. In the country from Mother Teresa to Muhammad Ali. His first book is just out. It’s titled Moryaa Re! It is a crime thriller that is perhaps the country’s first police procedural. He began his career covering crime. And in a tribute to his experience and knowledge of this beat.

Several distinguished officers of the Mumbai Police and its Crime Branch collaborated with him to make this book possible. In a statement of friendship for Mark Manuel and admiration for his work, Amitabh Bachchan wrote the forward.

About Storyofsouls

Leave your comments on how did you like this story. If you love it do share it to bring that change that we wish to see in the world.

You can also share your inspiring story with us at replytosos@gmail.com. Story Of Souls is an initiative where we invite people to bring their stories to us. We want people to “write to heal.” The idea of Storyofsouls is appreciated by ALL INDIA RADIO. An Online Platform where you can share your real-life stories. The impact of our stories has reached the UN, Harvard University. On some real-life stories, web series are also planned. You can also visit our Youtube channel. You can follow us on Facebook LinkedIn Instagram

Storyofsouls is glad to inform you that we are now a Google news verified platform.