Revisitation

Shit. I did it again. Sigh. And after telling myself to me more aware of such things. Anyway, thats unrelated to the post.

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http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/22065_250653144634_675579634_3358074_5849099_n.jpg

There is an old story told of a child who lived in a house with a majestic tree. Soon after, he left the house and migrated, never returning. Years passed and he grew into a man, but all these while he always remembered the old majestic tree. He dreamt of the tree, he thought of it all the time, and desired to revisit it. He spoke of it to all his friends, the great vast majestic tree of his childhood home. One day, he bought a plane ticket and flew back to the old country to visit the old house and its old majestic tree. With great anticipation, he returned and headed to the house. He walked into the courtyard and found the tree, but it was just slightly taller than he was. The majestic tree was but a small one, unlike anything he envisioned.

Sometimes our memories play tricks on us. Sometimes, the things from the past which we remember glowingly in our memories are nothing much in reality.

In January 2010, seven of us visited ubin as part of our NYAA expedition. We had a great time there. In December 2011, three of us (together with thirteen others) revisited the old land.

I had a great time there then, even though I had gotten injured on that trip, it was an enjoyable experience. The campfire, the dirt roads, the endless laughter, many things. Returning from the trip, there were certain things that were seared into memory. For example, the long steep downslope in the chek jawa exit which we enjoyed dashing down, standing on our bikes and feeling the breeze.

Evidently though, having it 'seared' into memory was not quite correct. Or perhaps the memory had rusted over time, deforming its exact nature. On this return trip almost two whole years later, the long steep downslope did not seem that steep nor that long. It was really anticlimactic.

Thats a small matter though, just one of the many examples of how our memories sometimes play tricks on us.

There one was place I wanted to return to ubin for. The one place I really wanted to visit. I fell in love with the place the first time I was there and I knew I would be back. It was a beautiful turquoise lagoon (medium turquoise I would say fits best), the one you see at the top of this post in a picture I took 2 years ago. There was no place else in the whole of this country where one could find a view as beautiful as it. It was untainted by the city, unpolluted due to a combination of its inaccessibility, the mangroves and a hillside which traps any litter. The sun shines over it and the reflection creates a shimmering effect.

I was really hyped up to reach that place, as im sure anyone else who were there would have known. The talks about the reward at the end of our steep climbs. About ensuring that we take a photo when we're there. Its the biggest reason why I wanted to return to the island, why I first even desired to organise a kairos outing to ubin long ago. When I reached the peak and looked out myself, the beauty of the place still strikes me.

But it was a little disappointing. Its still beautiful of course, but it wasn't amazingly beautiful. I dont know if its my memory or the season or the sun, but the waters seemed to be of a slightly greener tone. It didnt leave me awestruck. It didnt make me want to stand before it and drink it in. Maybe it was because I had been to europe recently and seen much more amazing things till I got bored of them. Maybe it was because the last time I came, it was not only a physical experience but also an emotional experience, and that beautified that memory. It was different.

It changed. Whether it really did physically or just my emotional connection with it, it changed. I found that the majestic tree was still a large beautiful tree, but not quite enough to be called majestic.

This lagoon will continue to remain precious to me nonetheless. Its a pity that the cameras we brought that day weren't good enough to capture the right shade of colour of the water (looks like two year old cybershot phones are better than iphones uh). In more ways that one, this lagoon is symbolic of my start and end for many things. For one, I opened year 5 with it and closed year 6 with it. More than IB though, it has been an eventful two years in many others ways.

And it got me thinking for the rest of the day. Its the opening of things, perhaps its time for the closing.

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P.S. On a less pensive note, while searching for shades of turquoise on wikipedia, I found out a shade of it called 'pearl mystic turquoise'. I lol'ed when I saw it and im amused that such a colour exists. Pearl I guess you just found your new favourite colour =p.




















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