“'The Living Sea' celebrates the beauty, power and importance of the ocean. Filmed in locations around the world, underscored by the music of Sting, the motion picture explores our relationship with the sea. The giant IMAX film format, allows us to explore the mysterious ocean depths and come face to face with whales in their natural size.”
Sounds interesting, right? That’s exactly what I felt when I read the above given summary, of the film I was going to see.
As a part of my vacation in Kuwait, with my father, the three of us, my dad, his friend and myself included, decided to visit The Scientific Centre. With a week left of my one-month stay, we decided to make the last week of my stay memorable (The trip itself will never be forgotten!). So on the 3rd of August 2001, a fine Friday, we decided to go there. On that very day, the temperature and humidity were very high, with the thermometer recording 51 degree Celsius as the shade temperature and the humidity was recorded cent percent. That was the hottest day in Kuwait in the year 2001.
We set out at about 4.30 p.m. and reached our destination in twenty minutes. The cool air from the air conditioning was indeed welcoming from the sweltering scorching heat of the sun. The curator gave us a briefing about the various shows and programmes of the day. We decided
to have a tour of the aquarium and then see the movie at 6.30 p.m., “The
Living Sea”.
After having a mug of cappuccino each and a slice of lemon cheesecake, we set out to see the aquarium. Though not as large the ones in the USA and Australia, it is a world in itself, showing living species of the various insects, reptiles and animals and aquatic creatures in the land of Kuwait. Let in its natural habitat, artificially made, shakes, bats, racoons, cuttlefish, devilfish and sharks all presented a wonderful view. We did not notice the hour go past.
Exiting from the aquarium, though not apt to call it so, we went to the IMAX theatre to see the movie. We were given special headsets to hear translations in English, because the commentaries and explanations were in Arabic.
The movie started by around 6.35 p.m. It started by describing how the seas were formed as according to scientific theories, thus starkly opposing the biblical data. It stated the seas being formed due to a tremendous explosion, volcanic in nature and the vapours condensing to form the ocean we see.
Filmed in Hawaii, Florida, Pagau, Canada and such exotic locations, the movie was a wonderful treat to the eyes and the mind as whole. The background music of Sting’s was the dash of pepper, need to flavour the show.
It showed and explained in detail the various algae, plant and animal forms in the ocean – from the fragile jellyfish to the ferocious whales. The show though of only forty-five minutes duration was a mind opener. The sight of the waves surging one hundred and fifty feet high, the US Coast Guard trainees fighting it, the surfers using it and the tourist enjoying it was simply wonderful. It included a research conducted by a Dr. Laura, who wanted to study the three layers in a particular sea, the three layers being, the sea water which we see, the red layer consisting of red algae, and the toxic layer – 5 minutes there could prove fatal.
As I saw the wonderful sights flashing in the screed in front of me, my thoughts went to the person who was responsible for all this. It was not the high technology and the complex technicalities involved in making the film which astonished me, but what really astonished me was the person who created the wonders that was filmed. The Bible says that God made the sky, the land, the sea, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the plants, the animals and man in seven days. All the plants and animals in the land and the water, according to the Bible were made on the fifth day. What the God Almighty made in one day is vast and tremendous, so much that, even after centuries and centuries of probing and finding, much is left to be understood and found.
Walking out of the theatre, we went for a short walk along the seaside. As I walked, I thought about that great invisible force, which made whatever we see, and whatever left to be seen in a matter of a week. As I saw the vast sea in front of me and the waves lapping the rocks, I placed myself apart from the rest of the universe. On doing so, I found myself to be smaller than the smallest grain of sand – so weak, so powerless, so small. I found myself humbled. I felt myself grow so small that I feared I didn’t exist. In the presence of the vast creations of the God, I am nothing! Yet, I, in my smallness am a miracle. I am a work of God, an infinitesimal part of his wonderful work. God who made the heaven and the earth, who made the beautiful sunrise and the hauntingly mesmerising sunset, who created all the living beings, from the smallest humming bird to the large albatross, from the tiny ant to the giant elephant, from the microscopic algae to the mighty whale, is the greatest architect, artist and above all, the ultimate creator. The works of God are uncomprehendable. Man may search and find; yet a lot remains undiscovered.
I used to enjoy, and still enjoy, the setting sun and the waves crashing on the beach, but never have I thanked God for his wonderful works. Never in my 17 years of life in this world had made me so aware, so near the presence of the invincible force. For the first time in my life, I saw the world in a new perspective. As I saw the clouds skimming through the skies and the waves fluttering through the ocean, a sense of awareness dawned on me, one that I never had. I found myself wondering about the God who made it all.
When we were walking along the shore and got into a pier used for fishing, I stopped and gazed out into the sea, the vast, huge, tremendous sea, the dark sky above it and the twinkling night lights of the city, I marvelled at the strength of the force who made the water splashing underneath me, the ground on which I stood and the sky above, providing a roof for me. I felt a chill running down my spine, a chill of astonishment, a sense of wonder, a feeling of understanding something new. I thanked the Lord God for the wonderful works.
I looked up into the skies. I saw the moon shining down at me all silvery and bright bathing the whole land and sea, with a soft glow. As I stood looking at the skies, a soft, cool, breeze blow. Some might say the breeze was due to the waves, some might say it was due to the tides, but for me that soothing cool breeze were the fingers of God, touching me and embracing me, comforting me and reassuring me about what I found out making me feel at home – a part of this wonderful work. The chill I felt before was gone. I felt strangely relaxed and soothed. God did not leave out a single thing when He made this world, giving each and everything, a place of its own, along with its own superiority and inferiority over others.
I can very clearly say that, the ‘me’ who went to the see the aquarium was not the ‘me’ who came out. I came out with a little more knowledge and understanding than what I had already. A little sober and a little more wiser. But yet, borrowing from Tennyson, knowledge is like an arc, the more we feel we are near it, the more we have to go to be near it. In fact it is endless. But most importantly, I understood the value of myself as a person in front of God and His marvelous works and learnt to enjoy them and thank Him for His wonderful gift.
Ps : This was written 7 years ago, when I visited Kuwait... I saw this article in among the many docs in my comp... one of my fav articles i've ever written...!
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