“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” ~Leo Buscaglia
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My Babu and Fanindra were both eating blissfully near their wallow. The weather was fair – with patches of white clouds here and there. Watching them eat, made my stomach growled.
“………, right?” I was a bit shocked. I thought I was alone. On my right, there stood a man looking at me waiting for my answer to his question.
“Pardon”
“The rhinos, one weight 3 tons, aite?” he asked. I was trying quite hard to concentrate on his thick Scottish drawl and his gruff voice.
Like I know how many kilogram equivalent to 3 tons, but politely i answered, “Yep”.
“They are heavier than a land rover then”, the man continued. And like I know the weight of a land rover?..huhu..
“Owh, is it?” I asked looking interested.
“Aye. They are the third largest among the rhino species”.
“No, they are the second largest”.
“No, they are third”
“NO, they are second. It’s written on the board outside their enclosure over there”, I pointed to the indoor enclosure.
“Owh. So they’re larger than the black rhino?”
“Yep. Black rhino is the third largest”, I felt quite good for being able to remember that fact and told the man about it.
“Still, they are massive. I wonder how old they are”.
“Both of them are 3 years old. Not fully grown yet”, I explained.
“Not fully grown and they are this big. Imagine when they are 15, 20 years old”. He sounded really surprise by the fact that both my rhinos are only teenagers. I chuckled.
We were both in silent for a few minutes watching the rhinos browsing for food. Just trying to be nice, I asked “Are you from Edinburgh?”
“Aye”, he answered.
“So, you often come here?”
“I came here last year, but it wasn’t Indian Rhino here.It was White rhino,” he explained.
Then we talked a bit more (>10 mins) where he told me about his collection on animal’s models, asking me about my dissertation and some other things before he thanked me and went to see other animals.
There wasn’t any point for this post. Just a remembrance of my conversation with a stranger.
hehehe..Later!
