So I am on one of my regular Researching-about-Random-Things-That-Spark my interest Mode. I woke up with a strange dream about mermaids. I saw that I went to visit a place where it was rumored that Mermaids were sighted. It was all very vague. I was near a water body and there was a general buzz about the place-about a mermaid being sighted a while back. I remember that the location was very peaceful and serene with a lot of trees. When I woke up, I could still smell the musty, mossy smell of the water. I went to work this morning with two thoughts in my sleepy mind

Thought One: Hot Tea and

Thought Two: Mermaids!

Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid

The reason why I love the internet is because of it's amazing ability to feed any curiosity that we might have. I started looking up about mermaids. Just sharing what I found interesting.

Accounts of Mermaids are found in most cultures of the world, the most famous being that of The Little Mermaid, which is based on a Scandinavian Folklore.

The Statue of Little Mermaid in Denmark

The South Asian Counterpart of the myth can be fo und in the Thai and Combodian Versions of the Ramayana. Suvannamaccha (golden mermaid) is a daughter of Ravana and a mermaid princess who tries to spoil Hanuman's plans to build a bridge to Lanka but falls in love with him instead.



The Most Recent Mermaid Sighting had been at Zimbabwe in February 2012 and also was attested by the Water Resources Minister (!) himself.

Water resources minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo told a Senate committee last week that work on the pumps at Gokwe dam had stopped after terrified workers complained of machines breaking down under mysterious circumstances, and blamed mermaids. You can check out the whole news reported by a state-run newspaper.

Mermaids-not always imagined beautiful

Nkomo said the same problem had been reported at Osborne Dam, near Mutare in the country's east. He called for traditional rituals to be performed at the dams, including traditionally brewed beer, to rid them of the mermaid menace.

Now, whether they believe in it or not, people from all over the world are almost as fascinated with mermaids as the American Government is fasinated with Oil.

During the recent floods in Thailand, few locals provided entertainment in the midst of the nationwide distress. "Mermaids" were spotted waddling in the flood waters and posing for pictures. Here is a picture a fellow blogger posted on his blog.

A Flamboyant Thai "Mermaid" Posing among the flood waters

Another mermaid-buzz happened in Israel when the people of the coastal city of Kiryat Yam started saying that they spotted a mermaid swimming around in the water while touring the beach. Some even went ahead and said that the mermaid smiled or waved at them. The Local Authorities bought the story and announced that any proof of this myth would be rewarded with a Million Dollars. But according to a report by CNN, this mermaid is quite "camera shy" as none of these witnesses could provide a picture. In fact, the witnesses also seemed to be camera shy as none were available for first hand interviews. Check out the entertaining report by CNN!

After researching for a while, most of what I came across about Mermaid Sightings, were Hoaxes. But this one Hoax that seems quite real is a video someone claimed to be a video dating back to 75 years. It's a black and white video that shows a mermaid swimming gracefully. But here's the twist, the video also shows that it is a footage from a "Breaking News" bit by BBC, which makes it seem a lot more credible. However, the "kind" hoaxers provide a footnote with the video asking the viewers to use the video to punk their friends. Troll, much?

Well, I'm done finding out more about Mermaids for today and till I spot one myself (fingers crossed). However, at some point in life, I do wish to visit the Weeki Wachee Springs State Park in California where ,I heard, they have the best Mermaid Shows. Pretty girls, go through intense training for putting up these magical shows underwater for the spectators to enjoy. When I go there, I will definitely post pictures but for now, here is a picture of one of the Weeki Wachee Mermaids.

Mermaid Stayce doing a flip-over during a musical performance underwater

It’s been a while. It’s been a while since the last time I’ve taken this bend. A very familiar bend. This bumpy ride through the narrow alley beside the slimy pond leads to the final turn towards the big rusty gate. This gate had been rusty for as long as I can remember. However, this gate doesn’t open up to reveal the red-bricked, moldy building from my childhood anymore. It doesn’t expose the glimpse of a melancholy green of the long, serene coconut trees peeking from behind the building. As I took the last drag of the odd-hour cigarette, I realized that the opening of this gate doesn’t revoke the age-old anticipation and excitement that churned up inside me every time I waited for this gate to open in the past. “Hey, lose the cigarette, we’re here. My sleepy cousin knocked on my thoughts from the front seat. We have arrived at our destination. The very familiar and green environment where the very first,the most embarrassing and the very much treasured memories of my life took birth. Those are the steps where I had my first fall, that is the tree under which me and my cousins fake-cooked leaves wearing grown-up clothes(the same day i took the most embarrassing picture i would ever take) and that is where Nana told us animated stories under the moonlight. This is the first time I have come to “Dream Villa" since Nana’s death. Nana is my grandfather. He had been a retired government officer who liked bird-watching very early in the mornings.





Comilla Visit...january '07