Waves of affirmation

Not having lived in a coastal town, I perhaps see much more into this huge sometimes raging, sometimes placid stretch of water. But when you are in those huge, sprawling cities with countless nameless, faceless people, suddenly you are almost forced to stop, take another look. Peeping through those skyscrapers, finding its way through little slits in those sprawling slums is the briny blue.

One look at the majestic seascape, the water gushing with a life all its own, is enough. The immense unrestrained power, that has it spanning continents from coast to coast, tells you the place that this water body enjoys in our world. Irreplaceable. And in that very universe, you find your own place, just as irreplaceable. In that moment you feel complete, whole. Yet, as you continue to watch, the grandeur of the sea threatens to overwhelm. You are just one small part of this system, not the whole. Just stand in the path of those overpowering, submerging waves as they try to pull you down. The strong current tries to keel you over, the sand beneath your feet disappears with squelchy sounds in artistic patterns and you are struggling to stand straight. King Canute you are not, the waves inform.

A couple of my friends find the seascape boring, the repetition of waves upon waves upon waves and the cycle of tides unendingly similar. But to me, it has always held a special charm. No wave is ever the same: the small ones content to just about reach the shore, the bigger ones surging ahead confidently and the biggest attempting to take all shells, stones, sand, even humans with them.

It happens everyday, yet the waves never give up. Shoring up is a must. Just as each wave varies in its character, each beach has its own nature. Overcrowded Chowpatty bursts with life, vitality, people. Simple pleasures. Goa has little stretches of sun, sand, sensuality. Daman has this singularly cold, rocky beach, where the water drips with its character. It is cold and hits hard. Dahanu, that idyllic little fishing hamlet, is where the sea is revered as God. It is food, it is water. It is life. Inexplicably, it has an amazing beach full of life, yet not bursting at the seams with it. How could a seascape ever look the same?

What about those changing tides. That moment when the water ebbs to its lowest, allowing you to trudge on the sandy path, searching out a nautilus here, a smoothened stone there. Exult in the childish pleasure of being able to 8220;go as far as I wish.8221; Walk at the very edge, knowing that for the time being, you are safe. And then standing there as the earth continues to rotate, the day comes to a turn, and the force gathers. All the restlessness building up in the water is unleashed as crests and troughs crash down on the beach, inundating all that they can reach, seeking to submerge all that they can8217;t. Darwin8217;s survival of the fittest theory is proved yet again as the stronger waves surge ahead of the weaker ones.

This is nature8217;s best production. A show that can be viewed free of charge. Each day, every day. That one moment when the waves charge up is life8217;s best training school. You are what you are, and after that you are.