"Diary on a fishing farm" and "Balaton fish tales" in Vaskeresztes
The IX. Visitors to Pinka-völgyi Fish Day could notice an interesting beach right at the entrance, where there were rows of water in small bottles, swimmers in straw hats, and books on the table. In the tent, a smiling young man in a straw hat told everyone interested about his books, about Lake Balaton, played with the children, and of course no one could leave without a gift.
The author of the books is a fisheries engineer, Iván Bodó , who has been working at the Balatoni Halgazdokászi Nonprofit Zrt for 30 years, known to many as "Matula". And why Matula, and what books we see on the table, tells about it like this:
"I am very proud of this name, as it was given to me by children during a fishing school, and I have been wearing it proudly ever since. And the books... The lines came in the quiet company of the fish, actually knowledge is hidden in these books. The love of nature with which I pursue this profession, this profession. I spend a good part of my life in wetlands, which is why the wonders of the underwater world are hidden in the book "Balaton Fish Tales". Although the title is a fairy tale - because anything can be told well, even science -, in this book I wrote that the four-year-old boy, who was born in such a lucky place that he could learn to fish from his father, grandfathers and uncles, how did he become fisheries engineer. Actually, my life path can be read in steps, as the little boy learns about each species of fish and how to fish for them."
Iván Bodó answers the question of how to imagine this between the lines:
"We can say that we are sitting in the boat in a conscious split of consciousness: there is the four-year-old Bodó, his father or grandfather, but there is also the fishing engineer who, in response to the boy's questions that he asked his father and grandfather, supplemented with his professional knowledge, responds to the reader. The book is ageless - we know from the author - it will entertain from 6 years old to pensioners.
He explains: "When I was asked to do this by the Scolar publishing house - they wanted to expand their line of informative books with one related to Balaton - I thought that I should write this. I leaned on my father's desk and thought: all I have to do is rewind the film to the little boy, who is looking into the carp swimming in the large tank under the garden tap in the Zamárd garden, and he is completely enchanted by this sight. This micro-world opens up when he and his father start walking around Lake Balaton.
Our conversation is interrupted by three little girls, they are curious about everything, and "Matula" just tells stories, tells us why the water in the small bottles is transparent, how it can be made "opaque", and how it settles again. A bucket appears from under the table, containing several kinds of seaweed, and a stone covered with seaweed, on which we can also discover a fish cage. He tells stories with infinite patience, and the children listen, and I already understand why someone could get such a nickname from children...
" I still have the pharyngeal tooth of my first big mullet, I caught it in the old reeds between Balatonfüred and Tihany with my small stick of the same bamboo. From there I unfold this story to the present day. - we return to the books, but I suspect the conversation will only continue until another group of children appears.
The subtitle of the book is "I owe everything to the fish", and it really is. Even the birth of my little girl, which I owe to a species of fish, but I won't continue this thought now, those who are curious about this secret will find the answer in the book. The other book, "Diary on the fishing farm", actually records the most important events of the three years I spent on the waterfront. Every day I wrote 1 word in the calendar that I thought was worth telling the children. You can read about more and more acquaintances and encounters in the pages of the book, naturally at the water's edge, with living creatures. This book encourages everyone to write a diary and walk in nature. You can also write a diary about the fact that if you just put a bucket of water in the garden, bury it at ground level, and observe how it fills with life. The book encourages you to go on a trip and write a diary about your encounters.
I immediately think that children these days do not take a single step without a smartphone, and I wonder how it is possible to keep the attention of today's children in nature?
The most important thing is that we can draw the children's attention to what to pay attention to and what to wait for. We live in an impatient world, children are bombarded with a million impulses. On the other hand, we may have an easier time with this topic from the point of view that children are interested in the underwater world, since it is mysterious, we cannot see what is happening under the surface of the water, and this mystery and luck-dependent waiting, which fishing is also about, this moves many children: many try to learn to fish. From the Balaton fish tales, you can also learn the basic Balaton fishing methods, as I learned from my father. The making of the rig is also described in it, but it is also worth learning this wonderful activity as an adult.
I would listen until evening, but another questioner turns to the table, more stories come, more tales. I am leaving with two books as gifts, which I will start reading the very next day. At first, just me, then my six-year-old daughter comes, curious about what's in the book. I turn the page back to the beginning, and after a while he already knows who Lívia Leveli is...
Written and photographed by Georgina Nagy
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