SEASIDE TREASURES – EAST COAST

The Marina beach and Elliots beach in Madras were my initial introduction to Sea .

Apart from that as a girl studying in 6th std, I was fascinated by the life near Sea .We had a poem titled ” The Coromandel fishers” by Sarojini Naidu. My english teacher Ms. Mukherjee explained the poem in such a beautiful manner that we could actually visualize the life and feelings of people who stay in the coastal plains. Since then ” The Bay of Bengal” has always attracted me more than the ” Arabian Sea”. In my later years I also learnt it to be much more naughtier than the Arabian Sea. I was delighted when I visited “The Northern Circars” . In a way I felt that the mighty “Bay of Bengal” has beckoned me . I don’t know why I never felt the same for the ” Arabian Sea ” during my visits to the coastal plains in Bombay, Goa or Kerala !!

The view of the sunrise was simply breathtaking and I long to go back to this place again. Building sand castles with my son was so much fun. Be it building sand castles, collecting sea shells, splashing water on each other, writing in the sand with the waves rushing forward to erase it, feet sinking in the sand when the tide was a little high as the waves rushed towards us , every moment becomes a beautiful memory to cherish. The roar of the waves is also so musical to the ears. Even in the stillness of the night I enjoyed the roar of the waves and it seemed so relaxing.

Nature has such a calming effect on our nerves that we forget all the other things when we are in her lap. Isn’t it so wonderful.? The pleasure that mother nature gives is just incomparable against all the modern gadgets of today. As  I watched the sun rise and the fishermen begin their day, it made me think about the bond that they shared with the sea . Its after all their livelihood, their mother, their goddess, their wealth

I actually could recollect the lines from the ” Coromandel Fishers”. Its few lines are:

“Rise, brothers, rise; the wakening skies pray to the morning light,

The wind lies asleep in the arms of the dawn like a child that has cried all night.

Come, let us gather our nets from the shore and set our catamarans free,

To capture the leaping wealth of the tide, for we are the kings of the sea!

the kiss of the spray and the dance of the wild foam’s glee;

Row, brothers, row to the edge of the verge, where the low sky mates with the sea.

The sea is our mother, the cloud is our brother, the waves are our comrades all”.

As I bid goodbye to the sea to visit some other places nearby , I carried back lots of pictures in my mind’s eye which is “seaside treasure ” for me till I visit the mighty “Bay of Bengal ” again.

The submarine museum in Vishakapatnam-INS KURUSURA- is a decommisioned submarine of the Indian Navy for public viewing.The Submarine Museum is Asia’s first submarine museum. Very informative museum as it throws light about the life of all the sailors and officers who live in a submarine for months together.It is a marvel to observe the type of engineering machinery inside the congested place. I could also admire and appreciate the effort that has been put into installing the submarine weighing a few tonnes in sandy soil near the beach and how it also managed to withstand the cyclone “Hudhud”

Thotlakonda Buddhist Complex in Vizag ( Vishakapatnam) has some monastries which are in ruins now. The complex has a number of Stupas, chaityas and viharas. This place was inside the Kalinga region which was instrumental in promoting Buddhism.

I have a fascination for monuments that were built ages ago before the construction machinery of current times evolved and it  has always amazed me. Beauty of nature is also something that captivates me and interests me to no end.

courtesy: some lines from “Coromandel Fishers”

Rise, brothers, rise; the wakening skies pray to the morning light,
The wind lies asleep in the arms of the dawn like a child that has cried all night.
Come, let us gather our nets from the shore and set our catamarans free,
To capture the leaping wealth of the tide, for we are the kings of the sea!the kiss of the spray and the dance of the wild foam’s glee;

Row, brothers, row to the edge of the verge, where the low sky mates with the sea.

” The sea is our mother, the cloud is our brother, the waves are our comrades all”.
the kiss of the spray and the dance of the wild foam’s glee;