Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean--roll!

 The sea shore. Nothing is as beautiful. In fact, so gorgeous is the feel that you forget the dirt and the squalor human beings have nearby produced by the tons! Spell bound you are by the vast infinity enveloping you. 

Till your eyes can see, there is the bluish water, its shades shifting from grey to green as the shafts of sunlight 'shade' it. As the fine sand under your feet slides while the waves recede, the horizon melts in to the endless waters. You feel a sense of calm, completeness, and yet an eternal sense of endless beginnings afresh as the vast skies merge in to the boundless waters. 

The waves caressing your feet bring unusual gifts, a beautiful shell, a lovely conch, an unusual stone. May be, the sea, too, forgives your kind dirtying it. Never ever has it given back the ugly stupidities most people fill it with. No wonder, I do not mind being a baby yet again, building sand castles. As the sun sets/rises, as the distant boat gets smaller by the second, you turn poet, philosopher and devotee that very second, and forever. 

Of course, that is the sea by the shore! Just a few nautical miles away thence, and it is all that you could ever dread. Parag, my brother, a merchant navy officer and now a lecturer, luckily for us, teaching novices how to navigate, would now and then mention a severe storm wherein the waters would so roll and twirl that if one were not to hold the plate at the dining table, next second it would be at the other end of the long table! 

The sea, in brief, is an absolute symbol of our lives, suddenly tossed any which way for no rhyme no reason. We have to learn the grace, the courage and the calm togetherness with which the sailing officers guide the boat through terrible storms. 

No wonder, I respect, adore and cherish Raju (as we fondly call Parag) to no end. I revere his spirit of Señor Columbus, though in the eighties and nineties, without the ubiquitous internet, it was terribly tough on us, especially my parents. I can just imagine what Aai must be going through each time he left, as he was her favourite most. Papa would not, and could not, even express his deep anguish. No wonder, the Narli Pournima ritual of offering a coconut puja to the sea became truly important for him. I manage with that nullah called Mula-Mutha! 

So roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean--roll! I would always hold you dear, and never you fear as would try to forever remember Sage Agasti and the seafaring Sindabads whose tattered sails narrate the sagas of optimism, progress and the eternal quest! 

Pratima@ Recently was celebrated the anniversary of coronation/accession to throne of Shivaji Maharaj. He understood the importance of the sea routes, and was a visionary ruler who supported the navy those days! So no Hormuz horrors could terrorise then!

Quote of the day:                                                            "The cure for anything is salt water: the sea, sweat or tears," muses Karen Blixen. 

Word of the day: Enigmatic                                       Enigmatic refers to something (or someone) that is mysterious, puzzling, and difficult to understand. Like the sea or life!