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Life’s a Beach

The once-in-a-week trip to the beach turned out to be a respite. It was only the time when she could let her hair lose, feel the wind in her hair and the soothing sun rays of the setting sun on her skin. 

Endless shorelines were tempting to walk along on and very often she wandered off from one beach to another eventually tiring out and sitting against the shoreline admiring the sun against the horizon.

The waves sang a song of their own. The sounds of them crashing against the sand and receding slowly leaving behind a trail of froth with bubbles. She remembered how she would make an attempt to squish those bubbles with her feet as a child and spatter the salty water as she walked along.

The rule was simple. She had to follow her parents and not stop anywhere for long during their walk. She occasionally flouted this rule to bend and pick up shells, some starfishes or gaze at the clusters of coloured pebbles in awe. Her mom was well aware of this and she turned to look out at varied intervals in order to nudge her to catch up.

She looked at the shoreline with hope, only to find a heap of gravel, broken glass bottles and plastic waste strewn in front of her now. Finding some shells was out of question. The sand too felt hard and dirty which bore a colour that closely resembled mud. How she longed to feel the soft white sand which she would as a child when she would squander around or make a sand castle. So soft it was that when she grabbed a handful in her palms, it made way through the spaces around her fingers as she tried even harder to grasp it.

The blaring sound of a speaker behind her was distracting. Annoyed, she looked to trace its source. It was a shack which by now had switched on its disco lights & laser pointers in order to garner attention. Other shacks seemed to have followed the same protocol.

“Madam, aap kuch loge?” asked a waiter in Hindi. What ever happened to the Konkani-speaking population she wondered.

“Bogo on Kingfisher pint” read the signage at the entrance. Disappointed, she got up and walked towards the shack to treat herself to a drink - the humid weather does get one thirsty.

Rapid commercialisation has its price. We crave for it because that’s how tourism will grow and the state will garner its revenues. However, the flip side being destruction of the pristine beauty & natural ecosystem that a place has to offer. 

Just like us humans who wander through life garnering experiences and somewhere along the way lose our sense of pride, innocence and purity. Growth at the end of the day is inevitable.


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