Communicating without Language
As a wildlife biologist I often have the privilege... nah... the pleasure of travelling to comparatively less explored spaces on Earth. It has its own set of adventures, joy of exploring and pure bliss of new, that no money can buy. However, it often comes with minor issues, no knowledge of local language or customs. While they both can be learned one easier than the other. After quitting as civil engineer, I started working as research intern on Tigers in a National park in Karnataka. The local language there is Kannada and I was as ignorant about the language as is an earthworm about theory of black holes. Here I was in the middle of the forest with tribesman a local mentor, none of them knew English or Hindi. Silence seemed less golden and more of shitty yellow. I tried to hold on to words but could hardly stay afloat. I loved what I was doing. I was living the dream but the silence was deafeningly loud. I had two options. One was to only work in regions ...
