Skipping Stones - A young man's adventure in India and Africa

Afternoons in Bhuj

Gokul skipped a stone over the salt pan, trying to beat his own record of eight skips. He collected flat stones suitable for this feat in the pocket of his

kurta

(shirt). It was what kept him busy in the lazy afternoons of latenineteenth century

Bhuj

(Gujarat, India). The heat lulled the townspeopleinto a dreary hebetude, but drove Gokul to an animated bout of stoneskipping. At fifteen years old, he was strong enough to help collect dried salt in

gunny

(jute) sacks and stack them for collection every week. Gokul looked forwardto these collections, when he would often be allowed to ride the camelpulling the loaded wagon.Of the two camels, Gokul preferred Luv, the gentler one that would eat hayand jaggery from his hand. Kush, the other camel, would ignore Gokul'sofferings and instead express discomfiture over his harness, the heat or theweight of his load. Prior to helping at the salt pan, Gokul would attend the

shala (

school), underthe banyan tree at the village center. His friends Vijay and Paresh wouldaccompany him there on the walk across a stream and through anabandoned fort.Vijay, the eternal shirker, would produce creative excuses to evade anythingthat resembled work. Because of this, they would often stop to rest at thefort. This allowed Gokul to climb to the top of the fort and look for milesaround at the knobby dunes in the north to the shining sea in the south.Paresh shared Gokul's zeal but could never wholly participate in Gokul'schosen antic due to his flat feet. Instead, he supported Gokul by collectingflat rocks and keeping an eye out for lizards to pelt. Gokul and Pareshenjoyed chasing lizards till they dropped their tails. Vijay, of course, wouldhave no part to play in this bizarre undertaking. Their teacher's name was Guru Granth, whose wrinkled brow was a sign of his old age and wide range of knowledge, from yoga to the Englishlanguage. He spent his time between tutoring children and serving as thepriest at some of the larger

Sati Mataji

(sacrificial mother) temples aroundBhuj. He claimed to have travelled on foot to as far as Vaishno Devi, andmost of his teachings and values borrowed from the

Mahabharata

. One bright morning, Gokul, Paresh and Vijay made it to the

shala

just in time,after Vijay's particularly indolent ambling. The lesson for the day wasgeography, which Guru Granth taught once a month. "Lord Krishna travelled

Skipping Stones Amish Gandhi

from Mathura to Dwarka on his

rath

(chariot). As a God, he did not need amap. But we as mere mortals are bound to lose our way without one. A mapcan show you where you are, where you want to go and the best route totravel there". He opened his satchel and unraveled a cotton sheet with religious markings,and said "In here I have some maps that I got from the British cantonment atMandvi".He had three maps. First he showed them a map of Bhuj and itssurroundings. The boys were able to identify their route to the

shala

,including the fort and stream.Guru Granth explained further, "This is the area surrounding us. The farthestyou may have travelled is Mandvi. But look, if you cross the water there, youcan reach Dwarka".Gokul began to understand how to read the maps, and queried "But how do Iknow the right direction to go?”Guru Granth explained how to determine direction by time of day and thesun's position. Next Guru Granth showed them a map of all of India, on which he hadmarked the routes of his various pilgrimages. Bhuj was reduced to a meredot, and Gokul was perplexed at the size and scale of India.Finally, with a rare exhibition of élan, Guru Granth pulled out a map of theentire world. He announced the places on the map - America, Europe and theDark Continent, Africa. "So that is where the

Goras

(white people) come from?” asked Vijay, pointingat England on the map."Yes my son", replied Guru Granth."What about these other places?” he queried, pointing to France, Italy andGermany."Why, those are other countries in Europe, full of other

Goras

who speaklanguages other than English". But Gokul was bewildered by the icons of lions, mountains and whatappeared to be a long and wide river, on the continent of Africa. "Why is thiscalled The Dark Continent,

Guruji

?” asked Gokul.

Skipping Stones Amish Gandhi

Gazing towards the west, Guru Granth replied "Because my child, it is atapestry of vicious jungles, untamed animals and reckless volcanoes." Gokul thought about the teachings of the day on his way back home. Herealized how insignificant Bhuj was compared to the vast world he had justbegun to understand.When he got home, his mother Kasturi was waiting for him to eat dinner. They lived in a house padded with cow dung, which was the only means tokeep the house cool in the desert heat. Kasturi had prepared Gokul's favoritemeal,

bajra rotis

(brown bread), jaggery and buttermilk. Gokul relished it, ashe thought about what he had learnt. He told his mother about it, and shenodded as she continued patching an old blouse. The door swung open and Laxman, Gokul's father returned from the saltpans. As he entered, he complained "Those damn buyers from Mothala,always looking for discounts. Why don't they understand that our prices arefixed? And the canal is drier this year, so there is less sea water and henceless salt. But they just don't understand. Where is my food?”He sat on the floor next to Gokul and ate hurriedly. Gokul would never talk tohim casually, and his relationship with his father was one of subordinate tomaster. Laxman enquired with Kasturi whether Gokul had been to the

shala

and then continued his diatribe about the salt hagglers from Mothala.

Surprise on the Shore

The next day, Gokul awoke to an emphatic knocking on the door. It wasParesh, shouting at the top of his voice "Gokul, you have to come now. Thereis a big crowd of people near the sea; we can see it from the fort. We mustgo and see what's happening". Gokul got up and, barely put on his sandals,and grabbed his tooth stick on his way out. Kasturi, sweeping the floor, sawthis and shouted "Where are you off to, you over-eager mice! At least drinksome milk before you go".But they were off, sprinting to the fort lest the moment pass them by. It wasvery rare that anything of notice ever happened in Bhuj, and from whatParesh told him so far, Gokul did not want to miss this for his life. As he darted on the beaten path to the fort, Gokul was still shaking off adream about swimming through the big river on The Dark Continent. Dazedby this, and a rising cloud of dust, he left flat-footed Paresh in the distance."Wait for me Gokul!" cried Paresh.

Skipping Stones Amish Gandhi