The story of Gokul Munda, a local boy from Assam, and how his curiosity made him what he is today.
A lot of things keep happening around us all the time. But are we even looking?
I was recently on a trip to Kaziranga National Park, Assam (India). It is a UNESCO world heritage site, famous for the Great Indian One-horned Rhino.
The park offers wide variety of wildlife - reptiles, mammals, birds and flora & fauna. The visitors can hire a vehicle and can take trips around in the park (coined as "safari"). You can also hire a guide, who will accompany you in the vehicle and help you spot the animals and the birds - basically an easy access to information right during the safari.
We usually opt for a guide during such safaris. Our guide on this trip was a peculiar chatterbox and overall quite an enthusiast person. On one dormant afternoon safari, he started telling us the story of how he actually became a wildlife guide in the park.
He began - "I was a kid. Plenty of tourists have been visiting this side of India from quite a long time, some of them from foreign lands. I once saw a group of foreign tourists, who had gigantic camera lenses. They also were peeping at the tree tops through something glued to their eyes "
"I did not even know the name of that thing then", he continued, waving his binoculars.
"They were clicking pictures, and discussed something amongst themselves. This pattern continued for the next few days and I only used to observe them from a distance. The curiosity bug in me made me restless. I wanted to see that exact thing they were so interestingly looking at. I strolled near them and stood right there. I did not even know English".
His eyes had a spark as he was juggling through his memory.
"I wanted to see the exact same thing, which these people were looking at through their devices"
"They asked me if I wanted to take a look, forwarding the binoculars. I only nodded. One of the lady held the binoculars before my eyes, and adjusted the diopter so that I can have a clearer look."
"I was amazed! There was a bright colourful bird perched on a branch. Although I had seen this bird in some poster before, but I never had an opportunity to see it with my naked eye. After gazing at it until my heart was full, I let go of the binoculars"
He told us that the very first bird he saw through binoculars was a common kingfisher. A tiny colourful bird, but equally attractive. Though sighting this kingfisher wasn't rare in this part of India, it was the excitement of looking at it closely, and seeing the actual colours which are not clearly visible otherwise - that triggered his interest in birding.
Gokul Munda, a local boy from Assam, had begun his birding journey that day.
Gokul then started observing and started learning about the birds from his locality. He then memorised their names - first in the local dialect and then their English names. Gradually he started studying the birds around Assam and eventually throughout India. A local boy from a remote village in Assam, Gokul is a commerce graduate and certified guide at the park. He also learnt Hindi and English.
One summer, when he was already an official guide with the park, a few guests from France were visiting him. He had a diary with him, in which he noted down the french names for the birds commonly found in the park. Gokul has memorised the french names for the birds on the tip of his tongue now. Gokul told us, "Next time I have any French guests, I am going to surprise them!"
"I am curious what makes you curious" - Django Unchained
The overall experience has stayed with me. How one incident of curiosity led Gokul to actually get keen interest in birding and how he could make a career out of this!
Of course this also involves his hard-work and persistence to gather the knowledge and a constant hunger to grasp more information every moment. But it was curiosity in the first place, which then led to interest and then to knowledge. And it is not always about making money or making a career out of something, we may also acquire a new hobby out of some curiosity.
The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. - Albert Einstein
Children are always curious, and they pester the adults with their questions. It is this curiosity which makes them aware. But somehow as we grow, we tend to lose the curiosity and the auto-pilot mode creeps in.
Naval Ravikant on Curiosity -
Learning is a by-product of curiosity. Ultimately, if you are curious about something, you will be successful at it.
So next time you find yourself having questions about something, go get them answered. Try something out you wanted to try from a long time.
Curiosity killed the cat. But remember, you are not the cat.
Very well articulated, Bharat. Loved it. Curiosity also keeps our minds active and us young forever :)
Good One Bharat. Keep it up.
Crisp and clear !! Keep writing. Wonderful write-up.
Godspeed Gokul!