chapter 22

Whale WatchFor one who had seen a whale only in books or on screen, and for whom Moby Dick was the last word in leviathans, I was as keen on the New England Aquarium Whale Watch as VK. Luckshmi’s delicious idli-sambhar-chutney breakfast put us in the right frame of mind for a day with whales and dolphins. We could hardly wait to set out; yet, true to the pattern we had set for ourselves, we realised we would only be on time for the 12 o’clock trip.Fortunately, it wasn’t raining when we left, though thunder showers were predicted for the evening. We needed two vehicles and a cab was booked to play second fiddle to Anil’s car. I found myself in the Uber with VK, Arpitha and Malavika, who couldn’t be separated from her book of jokes. VK wasn’t given a chance to prise out the driver’s biography, for all through the ride she kept us entertained with a relentless volley of ‘Knock, knock, who’s there?’ riddles. Only the cabbie tried to guess the possible responses, though Malavika wasn’t really looking for answers. The cabbie began to look a little harried and I bet he’d have loved to fling this riddle at her, if he had been able to get a word in edgeways: ‘Knock! Knock!’ ‘Who’s there?’ ‘Voodoo.’ ‘Voodoo who?’ ‘Voodoo you think you are, asking all these questions?’When we reached the harbour, we found there were other diversions in sight. I was captivated by a street musician performing on a saxophone and halted. A little boy was shaking a vigorous leg to the music, but other than the two of us, and the boy’s parents who were fondly filming the scene to send it all over the world, no one around showed the slightest interest. Probably this was normal. Some people did contribute money, though, slipping a note or coins into a box kept for the purpose.On the other side, a Black man was playing the trumpet and, very close to him, a White guy was doing the same. This was interesting. With my knowledge of the trumpet limited to the certainty that it wasn’t a guitar or a piano, I tried to figure out whose music sounded better to my untrained ears. But I need not have bothered, for the two began judging each other. A quarrel broke out. ‘Your music is all shit,’ said the White musician. ‘What about yours, man? Buggering crap,’ the Black one retaliated. The argument sounded promising and I would have enriched my vocabulary too, but it was time for the whale watch, and I tore myself away with some reluctance. What was uplifting about the verbal duel was that both musicians stuck to their trade, exchanging insults only about the music; there was absolutely no other form of abuse—neither racial nor personal.People were already queuing up beside the twin-hulled catamaran, ‘Cetacea’. Perfect name for a whale watch expedition, cetacea being an order of marine mammals like whales and dolphins. VK and I followed A&A who had already booked the tickets online. Once inside, we prowled around, decided that the prow would best provide the wow view, and planted ourselves there. We noticed that the corresponding bow was already occupied by an excited group of children and two harried grown-ups.The high-speed catamaran blazed out of the harbour, and with a stiff breeze accompanying us, we were on our way. We could hear the pleasant-voiced tour guide over the intercom welcome everyone and give details of the weather and the 3-to-4-hour expedition. We would go about 40 to 50 miles into the ocean before sighting the magnificent mammals, she said, adding that we’d be given free tickets for another trip if we didn’t see any.‘Anticipatory bail,’ I commented in a low voice to VK, and then shouted for he couldn’t hear me; the wind had carried my voice away.‘What?’ VK shouted back. ‘Anticipating whales? Sure, but not yet. Be patient.’‘Not whale. Bail,’ I wailed, then gave up and concentrated on the sea. Standing at the prow with Arpitha beside me, I couldn’t believe we were rushing along the Atlantic Ocean. What a fabulous experience it was. The catamaran surged forward cutting through the ocean that cleaved, curled and bubbled under its assault. I could have stood there forever, with the wind on my face, the ocean stretching all around endlessly. At first a lurch, caused by an oncoming wave hitting the boat, took me unawares and I stumbled, but I quickly adapted to the waves and learnt to balance myself against the sudden rolling, reeling and tottering movements.Arpitha began to feel queasy and sought refuge in the cabin. Amar spent the rest of the trip holding her hand and soothing her, while she rested her head on a table, much to the admiration of Malavika who was keeping her seasick mother company.‘Look! A whale,’ the excited voice of the guide alerted us, and there was a ripple of excitement as everyone in the open portions of the catamaran rushed to the sides to get a good view. And the whales didn’t disappoint us. They came in a pod and, as if they had planned to dazzle us with an impressive show, they showed off. They leaped, twisted, dived, somersaulted, sometimes in tandem, as we watched, bewitched. The guide gave distinguishing details about the whales and addressed them by their names. We should have been impressed, but we weren’t really paying attention; all eyes were peeled to watch, photograph or videograph the spectacle. We had a whale of a time and were spoilt further by dolphins joining in. After we had had our fill of the marine creatures, the guide announced that we were turning back.Now I began to feel a little dizzy. The waters had turned a little choppy—perhaps a sign of the predicted thunder showers coming on—and every time the boat rolled, my stomach churned. I thought food might make me feel better and so I went down to the cabin to get a couple of rolls of chappati and potato that Luckshmi had thoughtfully brought along. I felt worse in the closed cabin, and after a quick pat on Arpitha’s head and a soothing word with Amar, I ate the chappatis and joined VK on the deck. The rush of fresh sea air on my face made me feel better immediately.VK soon went to get his rolls and returned looking serious. He said the scene in the cabin wasn’t very encouraging—people puking, sitting with heads bowed or looking green in the face. Arpitha and Luckshmi still had their heads down on the table. When the trip ended, they tottered out, already beginning to feel better. Looking back, I am amazed I didn’t suffer as they unfortunately did. I am a sitting duck for motion sickness. I can only conclude that the novelty of the experience and the adrenaline rush it generated had kept me going.The New England Aquarium was just a hop away on the Boston waterfront and who did we see waiting at the entrance but a lookalike of a dear friend, Mujib, who I believed, was in Canada. Then why was this man smiling so familiarly at us? Spending all that time in the sun watching whales must have addled my brains. Before I could shake my head to clear it, the lookalike was shaking VK’s hand.It was Mujib all right, not his doppelganger, and his friend, Madhav, was with him. The explanation of their presence was simple. Madhav was leaving for Seattle soon, and Mujib wanted to look him up before he relocated, but knowing we were coming to Boston, had planned his visit to coincide with ours. He wanted to surprise us and succeeded. He shocked me, in fact. He had been coordinating with Amar, whom he had taken into confidence, and had arranged with him to meet at the aquarium. Whoops of joy and introductions followed and soon we went inside after a quick hello to the Atlantic harbour seals that were on outdoor display and could be viewed for free. The seals looked like they were sulking. Understandable, after all who would take kindly to being an unpaid source of entertainment?Unlike many parts of the U.S., the aquarium was teeming with people, and since there was every chance of getting separated, we divided ourselves into two uneven groups. Malavika was determined to be with A&A—their devotion to each other in seasickness and health had won her over completely. The rest of us formed the other group.The gigantic, four-storey Ocean Tank at the centre of the aquarium would have taken my breath away if a kid hadn’t already done that by butting me as I came in the way of his escape from his pursuing friend. I gasped, held my stomach, sighted the magnificent tower of water with its equally majestic occupants and gasped again. We hadn’t even got over the sight of those playful whales and dolphins and here were these exotic sea creatures one had only heard of, all under one roof. There were different varieties of fish of varied colouring and size, penguins, green turtles, eels, barracuda, sea dragons, sea jellies … The singular exception was the octopus whose fellow we had seen in a different form in Chicago. VK took one look, shuddered and turned away.We were lucky it was feeding time. We witnessed the absorbing sight of trainers in wetsuits dive into the water to feed a variety of fish to the nun-like penguins waiting patiently on the cluster of rocks. We were told they were African and Rockhopper penguins who appeared to be in no mood to hop.Who can miss Myrtle the huge green sea turtle, a healthy nonagenarian and the queen of the Ocean Tank since 1970, swimming about with majestic nonchalance, as if she was the last word in longevity and meant to hold the title forever. The fascinating coral reef at the top section of the tank, well, fascinated, while the Amazon rainforest exhibit gave us an enticing second-hand taste of the Amazon experience. We gave the Ray Touch Tank, where we could actually touch the rays or sharks, a wide berth, choosing instead to watch the electrifying sight of the fearless or the reckless try their hand at it.By the time we came out of the aquarium, the two kids were fagged out. Anil and Luckshmi decided to take them home while the rest of us took a subway and walked around the Boston Commons. It began raining once again. After dinner at a restaurant named ‘Prescient’, we bid goodbye to the two Ms and took two trains back to Alewife where Anil was waiting for us. We reached home by 10, exhausted, and promptly tumbled into bed.Amar had to get back to work and left for Neenah early next morning while we got ready for tours of MIT and Harvard. Luckshmi and Anil had taken the day off to take us there.