Communication gap can be lethal. I first learned this 14 years ago when my Uncle and Aunt took us (My mother and sisters) to the Ganges in Varanasi. 

The river in Varanasi flows in a northward direction such that the Ghats and temples (all of which are located on the western bank) are lit up with sunlight, the moment the first rays of sun fall on the river, turning the river it into flowing gold. Of the Ghats, it is said, that a keen observer can notice 72 various occupations of people (:o) on the Ghat itself. I have never tried such a count but can easily recall more than a dozen different pursuits that people had themselves indulged in, apart from praying and bathing there. Some of them like the garland sellers with their flowery fragrances, toy sellers with their attractive wares, noisy tourist guides, hotel agents, boatmen, pundits prospecting their clients, Japs taking pictures, Germans playing guitars, a jholawala writing something on his pad and a a chotiwala capturing the all this on his canvas must’ve been easy to identify, while others like the famous Banarasi thieves and tricksters must have been the last ones to be identified on every person’s list. Whatever be the add up of them all, the fact of the matter remains that the Ghats are always teeming with crowds, so that day, we chose to take a boatride and head off to the opposite (eastern) bank.

Here sanity prevailed; and the bank was sandy, the water cleaner (no soap lather or debris of offerings) and the crowd sparser. I got off the boat in no time and got my clothes off me in still lesser time. While other might have been busy dismounting our belongings from the boat and keeping it at some safe place where a designated family member can stand guard while other take the bath in the Ganges, I just went crazy the moment I got into the river. Jumping in and out of the boats in the shallow waters I was having much fun, when my aunt came up from behind and grabbed me and asked me something I could not comprehend. I nodded in confusion and soon she took me by my shoulders and plunged me into the water. More terrified than surprised, I had no time to recover as the process was repeated six more times. The water got into my nose, ears and eyes. Fortunately, I could gulp out most of the water that got into my mouth, but it still took me some time to get out of the shock and be able to enjoy the embracing waters of the Ganges again. Later when I told my elder sister about the incident, I came to know that it all was nothing more than the ritualistic seven holy dips in the Ganges. I realized that this was a lesson for a kid into fully understanding whatever is being said before responding but even this realization couldn’t do much to prevent my conscious efforts of ‘maintaining a safe distance’ from the Aunt for rest of my stay at her home. :)