Monday, February 13, 2012

An Ode to the Sea

What could be more beautiful than waking up to the sights and sounds of the sea?I was a hard core Paharan(mountain woman) until few years back, considering I was born and brought up in Dehradun.My first introduction to the Sea was back in 2006 when we stayed in Kovalam for a couple of days for our honeymoon and it wasn't exactly love at first sight.

It was my South Goa experience followed by a recent trip to Kovalam that I realized that the Sea just grows on you.And its not just the Sun, Sand and Fun part.The Sea is an enchantress.

The beauty of mountains is enormous.But its like a beautiful woman you can always pin for but never own.It will make you a poet ,a philosopher but the Sea will connect you to more human aspects of your personality. The view of the snow capped peaks from Landour in Mussorie is awe inspiring and to die for but it is distant and unapproachable.

The Sea on the other hand is like a seductress.Playful ,inviting ,wild and full of life.

After my recent trip to Kovalam I googled for the poem Sea Fever by John Masefield.I read it way back in the 90s as the part of my academic curriculum in eighth grade.Its true meaning I now understood.

It goes like this

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

More on the nitty gritties of the trip later.

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