Dream Floats

 Boats and ships are indeed dream floats. Remember the Titanic? Despite its tragedy, most of us would have loved to set sail on that wonder, right? It was literally a tryst with the high seas, though the dream unfortunately soured in to a nightmare. 

Indeed the seas and, more specifically sailing the seven seas, have long attracted mankind. Remember the childhood stories of Sindabad and Robinson Crusoe? Or that terror named Life of Pi? In fact, literature is full of great sea ventures, mythical and otherwise. We hence love the Odyssey more than the Iliad, right? Who can ever forget Captain Ahab and Billy Budd? Or Hemingway's old man and his destiny defined by the sea? Well,  the mythological  Noah's Ark could very well be the first ship, right? Apparently, the devout and the dedicated have located its sea-withered structure, though!

Sea-faring, as Coleridge's great Ancient Mariner proves beyond any doubts whatsoever, is often symbolic, and of multiple aspects and at very many levels. Yet sea-faring is not merely story; it is very much history, too,  as Vasco Da Gama, Marco Polo and Columbus and their sea routes, never silken though, proved beyond any doubts.

Well, even today, despite the pirate trouble , trade via the sea-routes is very much in vogue as it is less costly in comparison with the air freight. As it is, our earthly universe is more water than land. With better navigation modes and the revolution in communication systems, shipping is less dangerous now even when there are threatening storms in the deep seas away from the comfortable shores.

 I remember how i used to check the sea routes and the horror hurricane info along these, when my brother used to sail. It used to be nerve-wracking, waiting for his letters only when his ship would reach a port, as in the eighties, mobiles/the internet were almost non-existent. Yet these brave shippies would choose to bear the brunt of the dangers posed by the deep seas and high winds, and sail on as if the rocking and rolling ships were dream floats. Here is wishing these bravehearts a Happy World Maritime-n-Navigation day! 

Pratima@Where the wind-tossed seas meet the skies/At such distant horizons, dream floats surprise/To such wise surmises of directions and currents/forever bow our heads in endless salutes!