Pale Parabola of Joy

That's right A pale parabola of joy Are you trying to figure out where you read it? Well it was in a book by the man himself - Wodehouse. The phrase confounded PSmith (The p is silent) and suffice to say it bamboozled my eager, young mind when I first read the book in a time and era long long long in the past. And it has bugged me ever since. But not anymore, not anymore good people because I have seen the light. You see, recently, yours truly went on a trip to the Sunderbans. Why, you ask? Well, apart from a humongous affinity towards all species of animals - except the Bong tourists - Sunderbans also happens to be an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Now, there are various way of going there, but if you have the doubloons, go by motor launch,,,,,and stay at the West Bengal govt's bungalows at Sajnekhali. This is West Bengal, so don't expect good service, amenities are basic....you get a double bed room with attached western toilet. That's pretty much it - no tv, no ac etc. But, what you get is the chance/opportunity to stay the light in the middle of the core area of the forest. There are many private hotels and resorts, but none of them inside the core area. That's why Sajnekhali trumps them all. It also has a watch tower, so you can just climb up and enjoy the jungle. And because it is in the middle of the fucking jungle, your neighbours are monkeys, birds, turtles, an alligator, a monitor lizard etc. And earl morning, villagers come by ferry to sell you forest honey and date juice, which, by afternoon, turns into hooch. However, awesome as they are, they all pale into insignificance when it comes to the river cruise. As I said, if you have the doubloons, just book a motorboat of your own - else you will end up sharing it with that most toxic of all species - the Bong tourist. The boat will go through a number of canals and rivers - all distributaries of the Ganges - and on both sides will be dense jungle with overhanging mangrove tress. You will get to see a whole host of birds, and if you are lucky and its low tide, then crocodiles sunning themselves on the banks. You just keep on travelling like that, with no destination in mind, with just the wind and the water for your company. You won't see anybody else (apart from the boatmen of course...who will cook lunch for you as well) for minutes and hours untill you come across a couple of old world fishing boats, straight from the pages of history. And just like that, all of a sudden you will realise that you have somehow managed to lose all the tension and stress and worries of civilisation......and if that's now what joy is all about, then nothing is (apart from taking the piss out of Arsenal fans of course) And soon the day will pass, and it will be dusk, and the whole world will change in front of your eyes.....and then you will see a huge ass ball of fire somewhere above the horizon - something you will never see in a city - and then it will be dark. Picture it if you can - there is no light anywhere apart from those from the stars (electric lights can't be used as they mess up the pilot's vision), no sound apart from the gentle throb of the engines and the lapping of the water. Its certainly one of the most evocative experiences of your life (don't ask me what it's going to evoke - just general evokiness I guess) And just when my cup of joy overfloweth, my spine decided that enough is enough and went on a strike, leaving me a motionless pile of crap. A true parabola indeed.