A Watermelon and a Kitchen Knife

Ignorance, thy name is stupidity.

If you are cool in scratching heat then you must be a watermelon-Proverb

With the onset of summer, watermelons appear in the market, juicy, cool, and colourful help to combat the scorching heat and hydrating the body.

Watermelon contains 91% water and is rich in nutrients and minerals. It contains an amino acid called Citrulline that helps lower your blood pressure and lycopene lower your risk of heart attacks.

Watermelon is big and needs a big knife to cut it.

For the last few years, knife attacks have alarmingly increased, creating panic in the minds of the people in general. Worryingly, a knife is a weapon of choice for many so-called “lone-wolf” attackers.

Criminals find buying a knife is easy, a 20 cm long blade-knife is available for 9.90 € in the supermarket. No training is required. One can hide it easily.

Elderly couples sitting in the park are attacked and robbed at knifepoint. Young girls and boys are sexually attacked at knifepoint and at times killed. Outbreaks of domestic violence have gone up. On a train, a ticket checker asks for the ticket to a passenger and the criminal passenger shows the knife instead of the journey ticket and the list goes on…..

A knife is evil if the mind of the wielder is evil

Sadly, we are slowly transiting from a peaceful to a panicked society.

I am referring to the situations in Europe frequently faced by the public. Fear of crime has permeated the peaceful fabric of society.

After a long restriction due to Covid, the international borders opened slowly for travelling within Europe. Coincidently, during that time we had a family guest. We decided to go on a day excursion to Hungary on a driving spree, driving for about 2 hours from my home to the Hungarian border.

I packed a small size watermelon and a kitchen knife to enjoy on the way.

After entering the Hungarian territory, passing through the roads of lined up traditional homes, the central part of the localities with few people (due to Covid restriction) chatting and drinking was a pleasant cultural reflection. In the countryside, driving through the spectacular sunflower fields and trees on both sides of the road was an added attraction.

Hungary is known as Magyar (Magyarország in the Hungarian language) and Hungarians as Magyars (Magyarok in Hungarian). Hungarians are generally considered as Ugric people originating from the Ural Mountains.

The Hungarian invasions of Europe took place in the 9th and 10th centuries, began by occupying the Carpathian basin (middle basin of the Danube River) in the 9th century. This invasion established the settlement of the Hungarians in Central Europe. Its earlier history shows the settlements by the Celtics and Romans.

From the 17th century, they were among the great landowner magnates of the Kingdom of Hungary, during the time it was part of the Habsburg Monarchy and later Austria-Hungary. During the Habsburg empire, the Esterházys were consistently loyal to the Habsburg rulers [Wikipedia].

Sopron is the first city to be reached after entering Hungary from Burgenland. We decided to have lunch in a medieval city established by Romans. It’s a good place to walk around in the centre of the city.

Hungarian food speciality is dairy, vegetables and meat. Hungarian Goulash is very authentic and special. With several vineyards and world-famous grapes, Hungary is one of the great destinations for wines. We enjoyed hearty local food and moved to Fertöd.

After parking the car in the parking lot close to the Esterházy palace by paying the entrance fee to the security lady we went to see the palace.

The Esterházy palace, Fertöd is called Hungarian Versailles was built by Prince Nikolaus Esterházy. Its Hungary’s grandest late Baroque, Rococo edifice, is an exceptionally ornamental style of architecture. The initial palace complex was built in 1720 and got its present form between 1762 and 1784.

Aerial view of the palace and its internal beauty has been very well captured by Daniel Somogyi-Tóth, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6715398

Almost 2 hours later we returned to the parking lot.

It is here an innocent and foolish story due to Watermelon and kitchen knife starts.

The parking lot also had some shops (but closed due to pandemic) had old traditional Hungarian style thatched roofed structures which are common in villages. One can see houses, bus stops in many places.

There were benches and tables underneath the trees for relaxing. We decided to enjoy the watermelon brought with us by cutting it into several pieces. We did share a piece of watermelon with the lady who helped us in getting drinking water. It was a nice relaxing time under a large shadowing tree and a cool breeze.

As a rule, every excursion has to end; it was time for us to move.

After eating the delicious watermelon, we all washed our hands and I was the last to reach the tap to clean the kitchen knife.

Meanwhile, the other two family members got into some conversation and finally lead to a heated argument. I didn’t want to side with either of them. I coolly walked holding the cleaned kitchen knife in hand towards our car keeping a distance of about 40–50 meters from them.

I was freely moving engrossed in my world, looking at the birds and scenic surroundings holding the knife in hand. Some cars entered and exited too and I was enjoying my time.

My family members realising my unattentive mind took a photo of me from the side, and sent me on Whatsapp with the caption; “A lady with a knife has been spotted in the parking lot. The public has been advised to be vigilant”.

OMG, My mistake flashed….

True, I could have encountered problems if somebody had complained to the police about me holding a knife in a public place. I do not know the rules in Hungary (shouldn’t be different) but I would have definitely faced police in Vienna.

We drove back safely to Vienna.

Hi folks, I am sharing this impeccable situation that can make others panic.

How important it is to be alert even in innocence!

Sometimes I feel; Ignorance, thy name is stupidity.

Enjoy the stupid humour. Tara Desai ©Tara Desai