Row row row your boat gently down the stream :)

"Row, row, row your boat - Gently down the stream - Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily - Life is but a dream."

Well, when we were taught this nursery rhyme, we were not on any real boat. We just use to just sit opposite to each other, hold each of our hands and pretend as if we were clasping an oar and steering a boat through some limpid waters.

It has taken almost a complete 20 years before this turned a reality for me, when I visited the Bethany state park in Bethany, Connecticut. This park has something unique to it, I feel. Other than being associated with the memory of the veterans, the sense of serenity here is simply unthinkable elsewhere - probably because it is not any closer to any of the Interstate highways which keep the northeast busy and connected with a heavy traffic volume.

Located behind the hills through which the CT-8 northbound cuts across, this park is a perfect blend of synthetic tennis and basketball courts, set amidst sprawling woods - where man meets nature so simply and wonderfully..!! There is also a mini soccer / football field out there on the grass, with some trekking/hiking trails and horse riding too.

Now, that's for getting into the setting. Coming to the best part - the boating on the lake. First thing - there are free boats available (though you could get one too I believe). They are of three varieties. One is like a kayak. The other is a pedal based boat. And the last one is the oar-based boating.

I was with two of my friends - Zakir and Gosa, who had been courteous enough to come down all the way from Hartford, CT to Shelton, traveling for about an hour, believing my words that they can get ample enjoyment in this small state park - My many a thanks to them, again..!!

Gosa was pretty excited about the whole idea of rowing a boat in the still waters. We get to it - there are three lifeguards on duty to assist should you be in any kind of trouble with the waters. Zakir and Gosa get onto the boat. I get on. The lifeguard struggles to push the boat into the water. She was well built, no doubt. But she couldn't surely move a 260 pound rounded object which is 6 feet and an inch tall single handedly :) I leave my sandals in the boat and step out. Asked her to leave and I pushed Gosa and Zakir into the water and jump in all by myself when the boat was just on water but not so much into the deep waters yet.

"Row, row, row your boat - Gently down the stream - Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily - Life is but a dream."

Well, it didn't sound all that rhyming when we were gone into the waters. Gosa rows. Zakir rows. But in opposite directions. The boat starts to turning and I was thinking we would head somewhere... no - it was turning in a circular fashion :) I suggest that I jump over and try to coordinate things when Gosa reminds me that Zakir is a married guy who had a kid recently and I cannot think of doing any circus business in the middle of the lake :)

With much difficulty and pretty much a tiring stint with the oars, Gosa and Zakir managed to redirect the boat to the shore. Gosa signed off stating he would prefer doing it individually or taking out a pedal boat. I wasn't all that interested in pedaling as opposed to rowing using an oar.

Using the oars to row the boat meant many things to me at that point in time:

1. Nursery rhyme come true :)

2. Principles of refraction in physics - we had always been told how an oar would appear bent/broken.. I have NEVER got an opportunity to observe that phenomenon from a boat myself.

3. The sheer pleasure of putting something into the water and creating waves and see myself getting propelled

and so many other things which would take paragraphs for me to keep writing about :)

I was with Zakir now. We were sitting in the opposite directions and trying to get the boat going somewhere. It was an absolute fun experience for me. I dip my oar into the lake, first using my left hand - on the left side - which meant myself and Zakir were in the same direction - but we were rowing in the opposite direction of each other. Second time, we had our ours in a different direction and rowing pushing the water in the same directions.

Many a thoughts ran through my mind during all this - thoughts on literature, physical laws etc. We could see Gosa had long retired happily with his Canon camera in one of the benches in the park by the lake shore, watching us row and steer throughout the lake and crossing over into the swimming area too, frightening some of the kids there who were out swimming :)

Ask me another time - I would still say I want to row a boat gently down the stream, whether merrily or other wise. Whether life is just a dream or real.

With this, I am signing off abruptly :)