I looked on
into the vastness as the gentle waves beat against my knees. Water and sand had
mixed itself into an indistinguishable froth and swirled all around me. It was
around 06:30 in the evening and the waves which had playfully battered me for
the past couple of hours had grown increasingly less violent. Maybe this was
the way it is. A moment of calm before the surge of high tide sets in. All
around me people were fixated by the red sun slowly calling it a day and sinking
into the water in the horizon.
The beach front was lined with red flags to deter any new-comers from entering
the water now. Life guards were slowly urging the water-dwellers to get back to
the safety of the beach almost as if to remind them that the land was where they
really belong. The sky was a crimson so majestic that it bathed any other
color scheme around in a red hue. My ears had shut off every noise except for
the calming swish of the ocean. The sounds of the occasional barking dog or the
fellow human beings failed to register in my mind. I knew I was living a
perfect moment which comes but rarely in life. I was under a spell, I was
feeling at peace, I felt one with the vast grey ocean ahead of me and the endless
crimson skies on top.
I was in Goa for a couple of days to celebrate my father's birthday in all its
grandeur. My sis and me had gone the extra mile this time to ensure that the
day would be something both our parents would remember for a long time. We had
gone ahead and booked a killer resort on one of the best private beaches of the
west coast. The fact that our close knit family was rarely together, all in
one place, owing to the inconvenient truth of 'growing-up' had made this trip
very special to all of us. Everything worked out perfectly and after 3 magical
days I had came to say goodbye to the sea before calling it a day.
It is hard
to explain the connection I feel with the oceans and the seas. It is a well
known fact that almost all forms of life originated in the ocean. Life swam for
centuries before it decided to gamble its prospects on land and learned to
walk. When I hear the rumble of the sea and feel her salty breath on my face it
is like something primal in me clicks. I forget the land dwelling tactics which
generations of creatures before me perfected through endless cycles of evolution. When I
run into the warm embrace of water, I feel like... I am home.
I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way. Love for the seas is an
emotion which has found expression in all cultures and societies of the world.
Our body is 70% water. Essentially, we are muscle bags filled with a lot of
saline solution. Our brain is 85% water. It is amazing that when you think
about it, even now, life essentially begins in water. Whether it is in a womb
or an egg. Maybe the love for water and the oceans is an emotion which is
genetically encoded in us. Maybe it is a part of our psyche to remind us, who we are and where we came from. Maybe this is why a visit to the beach offers a natural
recharge to our souls. After the stressful city life, the seas somehow re-align us to the rhythm of nature and fills us with the
sense of being a part of something bigger.
Now that I think about it, I have lived all my life in close proximity to the
ocean. I've spent all of my early childhood in Cochin, The queen of the Arabian sea (It wasn't called Kochi then). I left for Doha when I started with middle
school. Interestingly the only familiar sign in Doha from my past life was the Corniche
(Marine drive). I came to Trivandrum for my Entrance coaching, a city well
known for the amazing beaches around it. I did my graduation in Kozhikode, the
seat of power of the Zamorins, the Sagar Samrats. And after graduation I went
to Jamnagar which was again a port city. I guess this one year in Hyderabad was
the only long-stay where I was so far in-land since the day I was born. Maybe
this was why I needed the Goa sojourn so badly.
All these thoughts were playing in my mind when a loud alarm shriek put a
sudden end to my perfect moment. The life-guards who had failed to cajole us
'tourists' out of their waters had turned to more aggressive tactics to get the
job done. I recalled my sister (who is lucky enough to live in Goa) telling me
that the next step would be for the life guards to surf into the water and
physically remove us. I wasn't really looking forward to that prospect.
I bowed down, dipped below the surface for one last time. I knew I had to get
back to regular life soon and I was
trying to impress the calm, deep into my being. I rose up, looked at the sun
and bringing my hands together in salutation, I recited the prayer my mom had taught
me as a kid. This symbolic gesture marked the end of the day in a typical Hindu
household. I was surprised that an agnostic like me had inadvertently gone
back, if only for a moment , to being a believer.
Then I
turned and walked back to land, lost in reverie of my perfect moment.
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