मिनूचा जलप्रवास Minu's River Journey

एका निळ्या, स्वच्छ नदीत मिनू नावाची इवलीशी मासोळी राहत असते. सगळे मासे तिच्यावर खूप प्रेम करतात, पण नदीत राहून राहून तिला कंटाळा येतो. समुद्र किती मोठा असतो, हे जाणून घेण्याची तिला खूप उत्सुकता असते.

The story opens on a blue, cool, and so clear a river that the sand and pebbles on the riverbed are visible from above. In this river, among a group of fish, lives Minu, a tiny silver-gilled fish barely the size of a little finger. The other fish dote on her and never let her out of sight, but Minu has grown tired of living every day in that same low stretch of the river. She asks her mother where all this water goes every day; her mother says it flows into a big sea further on. When Minu asks how big the sea is, even her mother doesn't know the exact answer. Minu keeps wondering to herself just how large and deep the sea must really be, and, delighted at the thought, gives a happy little leap.

एके दिवशी मुसळधार पाऊस पडतो आणि नदीचे पाणी गढूळ होऊन वेगाने वाहू लागते. सगळे मासे घाबरून एकमेकांना शोधतात. या गोंधळात मिनू आईपासून वेगळी होते आणि पाण्याबरोबर वाहत वाहत तिला खारट चव लागते - ती समुद्रात पोहोचलेली असते.

One day a torrential downpour suddenly begins, and heavy sheets of rainwater come rushing off the land into the river. The river water turns muddy and its current grows very fast. All the fish, panicked, begin searching for one another, but in the murky, swift water no one can see anyone else. In this very confusion, Minu gets separated from her mother, and she too is swept along, spinning in the fast current. After drifting a long while, she gently opens her mouth and tastes salt water everywhere. Realising she has actually reached the great sea, she is astonished - it stretches out so far that her eyes cannot even see its end.

थोडा वेळ फेरफटका मारून परत जाऊ असे ठरवत मिनू पुढे निघते. वाटेत तिला फुलांसारख्या दिसणाऱ्या रंगीबेरंगी खडकांची रांग दिसते. तिथेच घोड्यासारखे तोंड असलेला व पोटावर पिशवीत पिल्ले घेऊन फिरणारा एक विचित्र मासा तिला भेटतो, पण तो काहीच न बोलता निघून जातो.

Deciding to take just a short look around before heading back, Minu slowly swims on. Along one side of the water stretch long rows of rocks, and on one of them bloom flowers of red, pink, and magenta hues - as if they were flowers floating on river water! Delighted by this sight, Minu finds it great fun. Just then she bumps into a strange fish - its face shaped like a horse's, with a pouch on its belly holding tiny little babies. Amused by this odd creature, Minu laughs. She asks it, 'Who are you?', but the yellow fish swims slowly away without answering.

तळाशी असलेला एक मोठा कासव तिला त्या माशाची ओळख 'घोडमासा' अशी करून देतो. मिनू कासवदादांना नदीत भेटलेल्या कासवापेक्षा हे वेगळे कसे, असे विचारते. कासवदादा सांगतात की ते समुद्रातच राहतात.

Just then a voice comes from below: 'That one's name is horse-fish, seahorse!' Turning toward the sound, Minu spots a huge turtle resting on the seabed - far bigger than any turtle in the river. Stepping down through the terraces of waves, she reaches him and asks, 'Turtle uncle, when did you come here?' The turtle laughs and says, 'I've always lived right here.' Minu mentions that her own river has a nice turtle uncle too, but he explains that he is a different turtle - he himself lives in the sea. He tells her that danger lurks at every step here, and all sorts of strange, colourful fish swim about.

कासवदादा तिला आठ हात असलेल्या उलटा चालणाऱ्या माशाबद्दल सांगतात, जो पाणी माणसांनाही घाबरवतो. मग शंख-शिंपल्यांतील किड्याला वाळूचा कण टोचल्यावर तो रस सोडून त्यावर गुंडाळतो आणि त्यातून सुंदर मोती तयार होतो, हे कासवदादा समजावून सांगतात.

The turtle tells Minu that the eight-armed octopus walks backwards, drawing in water and gently retreating, and catches fish and crabs to eat with its eight arms - even people who wade into the water are wary of it. When Minu remarks that the shells here look just like those in the river, the turtle explains that inside these shells sits a small creature; to move, it pushes its foot out through the gap and slowly creeps along. If a grain of sand accidentally gets into the shell, it begins to prick the creature's body; the creature then secretes a thin fluid and wraps it around the grain again and again, and from this, slowly, a beautiful pearl is formed. Sometimes people come all the way down to the seabed and gather up these shells, the turtle adds.

इतक्यात एक विचित्र प्राणी तिरका चालत तिच्याकडे बटबटीत डोळ्यांनी पाहू लागतो, त्यामुळे मिनू घाबरून कासवदादांजवळ धावत जाते. कासवदादा सांगतात की तो फक्त खेकडा आहे, ज्याच्या पाठीवर कठीण कवच व तोंडाजवळ नांग्या असतात.

Just then, a strange creature scuttles by sideways between them. It stares fixedly at Minu with its bulging eyes, giving her quite a fright, and she darts off to stand close beside the turtle. The turtle reassures her, 'Don't be scared, that's just a crab! It has a hard shell on its back, like mine, so enemies can't attack it. It has six, sometimes eight legs, yet it can never walk straight. It has two pincers near its mouth, which both protect it and help it catch prey.'

कासवदादा मिनूला खूप खोल व अंधाऱ्या समुद्रात, जिथे चमकणारे मोठे मासे असतात तिथे घेऊन जाण्याची तयारी दाखवतात. पण मिनू घाबरते आणि तिला आपल्या आईकडे, नदीत परत जायचे असते.

The turtle says to Minu, 'Come with me now, we'll go far away and very deep. It will be very dark there, because light doesn't reach that deep. Enormous fish swim there, and some fish give off a glow from their bodies. Come, want to see something amazing?' But hearing this frightens Minu, and she says, 'No, no, I want to go to my mother.' The turtle laughs and sets off with her anyway - back home. Along the way, fishing nets have been left here and there, and dodging around them, he slowly guides Minu toward the river.

अखेर मिनू पुन्हा नदीच्या गोड पाण्यात पोहोचते. तिला खूप आनंद होतो व ती कासवदादांना सोबत येण्याचा आग्रह करते, पण कासवदादा सांगतात की जशी तिला समुद्र आवडत नाही, तशी त्यांना नदी आवडत नाही. ते निरोप घेऊन परततात आणि मिनूला आईला सगळ्या गमती सांगण्याची ओढ लागते.

The moment the sweet river water touches her body, Minu sighs with relief. She takes two or three mouthfuls, rinsing the salt from her mouth. Delighted, she says to the turtle, 'Turtle uncle, come with me!' But the turtle laughs and says, 'No, Minu, just as you don't like the sea, I don't like the river. Well then, I'll be off - you go on home now!' With that, he glances back once and slowly turns away. As he leaves, Minu feels a little sad, for he had shown her so many wonderful things, but at the same time she is eager for the moment she can tell her mother all about her adventure.