Strange Connections

I have always tried to figure out why I am always so keen on visiting sea shores whenever the topic of vacation comes up. It’s as if my mind has got the words,vacation and ocean,wedded to each other forever. Not to underestimate the beauty of green hills or snowy mountains , vast deserts or eager waterfalls, but to me there is nothing as profound and mysterious as the ocean. I set out on my journey and while cruising along that serpentine hill road, no matter how tiring the journey has been,the first glimpse of that distant sparkling water lifts my spirits in a jiffy. And as I move closer,the glimpses become more and more frequent until finally the ocean reveals itself to me in it’s full dominating,magnificent glory. And for a moment,I am lost.Instead of raising the pressure on the gas pedal to hurry up the meeting ,I purposefully slow down to relish this beautiful experience. I am in no rush to hug my old pal.In fact I take it slow. I need my time to trace and reconnect my old relations with him.

I remember the first time when I went with my parents to Goa and witnessed this miracle called ocean,I was neither scared nor brimming with enthusiasm.I was instead puzzled and lost ,for I had never seen anything so huge in my tiny life span.I kept looking at it with an awe-struck and surprised countenance. So many years have gone by since then and so many visits have been made, but not a  thing has changed about my first reaction at the sight of this beautiful monster.

But once that initial stage of mute reverence wears off and I finally hit the beach,I want no more of that silent expectant wait.I just want to rush and feel the cold water kiss my feet.But my legs fail me for they aren’t made for running on that thick bed of sand. And even if anybody tries to do that, he ends up looking like a waddling little duck ,the sight of which is oddly funny. So I,condemned to being too self conscious,am forced to take it slow. But the wait is worth it. As I come nearer the water ,the joy of throwing those slippers away and feeling the cold water on my feet can’t be compared with anything else. “This is precisely what I am here for,for this very moment”, I tell myself. As I push myself farther, the waves get stronger and try to drag me along on their return journey. I wonder if it’s really the force of water or that odd desire of my heart that wants me to be washed away with it, taken away from the wretched land of sins into the timelessness of this vast ocean in front of me (don't be scared,I am not suicidal). And once again ,I feel that strange connection I had with the oceans. Something pulls me towards it. Probably, the beautiful memories I take home from my previous visits get blurred with time.They get erased,one by one and what remains with me is only the 'pleasant feeling' I had experienced.Those fogged memories further add to the surreality of the whole experience and makes it so beautifully haunting that I feel the urge to go back to it again and again to relive that old connection. I don’t exactly set out for the oceans with an idea of jumping wildly into the water.I can very well sit on the shore for long and stare at that jostling water without a blink. What a beautiful thing this ocean is! It’s serene and threatening at the same time. At times, it lies still like a wise mountain sage but when it roars in its wicked powerful rage, even the biggest of the big ships hold on to their dear lives. It has the calm of deep spiritual knowledge but also has the fury of a scorned poor man. Often it comes across as a devoted, caring father who looks after the life that’s entirely depending on him. The life that thrives in it. With so many human emotions displayed, how can we call it non living ?

Sometimes while roaming on a beach at night, if I close my eyes, the crashing sound of the waves hitting the shore gives me goose bumps. What is it? Just a massive collection of water or the nature’s beautiful liquid poetry?

May be this queer feeling comes from realizing how minuscule we are in front of this nature. Our worries, our problems, they dissolve to nothingness in this enormous ocean. And I quietly surrender myself to it, not in defeat but in awe of its ungraspable glory. In its unquestionable superiority .A complete surrender.While floating in that water, it’s not just your body but also the mind  that feels light. Because the  weight of all needless concerns and unnecessary issues which it carries, also gets lifted off. Thus,whenever I get tired of the same old daily routine, my mind desires to seek its release into the arms of the ocean. Everybody should have a place where they can completely let go of themselves and feel one with the nature. Mine is oceans. And if anybody asks me where I would want to spend my next vacation, my answer is ready. “Salty waters.Here I come, baby.”

(the urge for writing this post was kindled by Herman Melville's novel 'Moby Dick' since his thoughts on the beauty of the ocean happened to resonate with mine.The word 'ungraspable glory' has been copied unchanged from the book since it pretty much sums up the entire range of emotions which the author of the book and the owner of this blog wanted to convey.)