The crying stops abruptly. The eyes come out of its socket like it was never meant to be there. The never to be seen neck carrying the heavy head keeps turning 180' in both directions. Karun, my 6-month-old is seeing the world! No, not for the first time. Every time, when we step out of the house. Every single time. 'Wonder' written on his face.
So I decided to get into his brain and see the wonder the world is, through his eyes!
So where do I start?
Step out and see the huge tree. The leaves are green and beautiful. But does his brain comprehend colour and size? I mean, how will he know the difference between green and yellow? What will big and small mean? Are the plants big? Are trees big? Is an elephant big? Or is the goat big?
When something moves, his eyes widen! How does the brain understand movement? For example, one day I saw a small skink (பாம்பு ராணி ) move around in my backyard. My adult brain immediately said, skinks aren't harmful; It is just going from one hiding place to another. I just ensured it doesn't enter the home. Now, how does a skink moving around register in Karuns' brain? I'm sure the first time he sees one, there will just be the sense of wonder! But why exactly does it appear wonderful? Isn't it just an object moving? Can sheer movement inspire wonder?
The other day, there was a peacock at my home. As beautiful as a peacock dance, it sings horribly! The sound was piercing my irritated ears. Yet for Karun, the sound meant something. It meant something he hadn't heard before! He doesn't know it is the peacock. But every time the peacock sings, or tries to imitate the cuckoo as my brother puts it, Karun gets excited. The wonder on his face comes back!
Ah, the wonderful world! Where did I lose the wonder of it all? Does monotony stain the brain so much that it has started to rust? Is boredom a by-product of the loss of wonder? Can I remove the rust off my wonder genes and make my life more interesting?
The questions my brain throws at me on a Friday night!
