In search of Mississippi

In search of Mississippi

 

                      Minneapolis is a beautiful, placid city of ups and downs that make the drive exciting and adventurous. It was interesting to know that this twin city, the other being Saint Paul, was named by the first school teacher of the city. I wish the school teachers in our country were enterprising and powerful enough to name places. One lazy afternoon, when we had nothing specific at hand, someone suggested why not take a peep at the river that was flowing through the city since it had a long history.  The lunch at the crowded, Italian restaurant was quite palatable and filling and a nap at the hotel room wasn’t wise because you don’t get to visit such places at your will and pleasure. Britto was very much willing to take us around and show places. An excitement in our face seemed to reward him much. You should be fortunate to be accompanied by people with such spirit of wanderlust. So, off we went, just three of us in search of the fourth longest river in the world. My poor academic wisdom had whispered that Mississippi was the longest. Travels teach you better than most teachers and help you keep a good memory of that as well. I learned that the Nile in Africa, the Amazon in South America and the Yangtze in China take the pride of the first three credits. Britto’s frequent texting through the GPS while driving through the disciplined traffic did alarm me but he was dexterous enough to drive us safely in that alien city. It took us long to reach our destined spot only to realize that after all we had been misled by the technology. The abandoned waterfront with nobody at sight forewarned us about our misadventure. We got out of the car and moved on our toes eyeing the trash all around. Helplessly, the misled technology was once again consulted and we quickly made a retreat and came back where we started.  Random motoring is sometimes very fruitful and soon we were on the bank of the great river. Surprisingly, there were hardly any curious tourists anywhere in sight in spite of the elaborate walkways and view posts. The river was quite unpretentious, neither boasting of great width and expanse  nor flaunting man made vegetation, very much American-like to be precise. It was amazing that this modest stream was passing through 31 states of the USA flowing quietly, free from  any covetous desire of people inhabited on its long stretches of bank. I couldn’t help thinking about the fate of Kaveri and Krishna with the frequent spells of bickering between governments ruling the states and the innocent people falling victims to the vagaries of selfish politicians. How magnanimous were people and law makers here! Probably because water is so ubiquitous in America. Linking rivers is a very popular manifesto easily voiced but never even considered or discussed issue in India. Looking at this great river mutely flowing with selfless charity, I stood there long and ruminated the message it was offering to human kind who thoughtlessly grab all the benefits without any reciprocation whatsoever. Many generations have reaped their gains. The Mississipi seemed to echo the famous verse of Tennyson “Men may come and men may go, But I go on for ever”. How marvelous Nature’s lessons are!