48 Hours of life between the Sky and the Sands

"It looks like a black stream in the middle of a valley at night, with diamonds floating on it. A Perfectly still stream, rests for the night, without a ripple. The banks gently sway, carefully containing the stream and preventing it from spilling over.My vision sharpens to reveal millions of diamonds in the stream. I can hear waves crashing on a beach. For the first time, the eyes can hear the silence of the still black stream and my ears can see huge waves, relentlessly reshaping the coast line. I continue to lay on my back, gazing at the stars and listening to the waves

After a while i push myself up and sit. I have been sleeping on a raised wooden platform, just off the beach, where the first line of trees hold their ground".

I had no clue how this trip would turn out to be a an unusual experience for me. After driving for over 8hrs and about 470 kms from Bangalore, we reached the coastal town of Kumta, Karnataka. The curvy roads after Sagar till coastal town of Honnavara and then to Kumta are a pleasure to drive. 

January is a very comfortable month to spend time on the west coast of Karnataka. Especially in places like Kumta which remains pristine, as most of the foot prints are laid on the adjoining beaches like Gokarna and Karwar towards the north of Kumta and Murudeshwar, Maravanthe, Udupi, Surathkal and Mangalore towards the South.

We met the "Gentleman" who had arranged our stay at a Tented accommodation, at a lesser know beach resort, with a fancy website.

Chasing our two wheeled guiding star, we drove down an ever narrowing street, passing through the deep interior life lines of Kumta, with glimpses into the coastal lifestyle of the humble seaside dwellers.

Passing through the rustic gates, the mud road curved gently to left and right. Several trees shaded the road and driving through it I felt at ease, cutting off from the sounds a busy urban life. Only the sound of the tyres rolling on the mud road was audible. Several birds like the Asian Paradise flycatcher, the White cheeked barbet, were frolicking in the canopy of the trees. This was a Gold mine for a bird watcher.

The road opened into a rectangular piece of cleared land, with coconut trees standing scattered across resort premises. We could see 3 tents located amongst the trees.

A quick wash and a cold beer catalysed the desperation to walk up to the beach. The beach...Oh and what a sight it was.  

  

 Empty coastline, undisturbed sands, colourful sea, blue sky, bright sunlight, far away tiny fishing boats, standing like sentinels guarding the sea, and little crab plovers busy hunting alongside the ebb and flow the waves.....

For long distances on either sides, there was no sight of humans on the beach. The cold beer was soothing.


The beer slowly broke into my stiffened muscles and loosened up all the rusted bolts in my body. We walked back to the resort and climbed onto a raised wooden "Platform" supported on concrete pillars, a square platform of about 25X25 feet,...15 feet high, partially shaded by trees that gave a panoramic view of the sea. It was an instant decision that life will be lived on this platform for the next 48 hours, leaving the tent to store our luggage and to cater for other routine human needs.Within no time, mats were laid on one corner of the platform and soft bedding with bed spreads, pillows and additional bed sheets, all in Pristine White. On the other corner of the platform, our new Bar was spread out, made out of plastic tabletop, whose legs had been cut off and set on the Platform, with cushion around it to sit.

Famished by the journey and the intoxication that the beer had pinched me with on an empty stomach, there was no chance of sparing the fish fry, rice, dal, and other accompaniments even for an ant.

Later on, we settled on the white bed, and dozed off for a while under the late afternoon sun who shined upon us through the branches. Calls of the Gulls and the Kites were like lullaby for my drowsy tired body and mind.

Around 5 PM we walked down the beach. Now we could see few people far away on the beach, playing in the sea.

As we walked some distance along the coast, behind the line of trees, I could make out the presence of log huts and other such features of a resort. Saw a few foreign nationals with little kids sitting there. Upon enquiring later, I got to know that a bunch of these people had leased the land there from a local land owner, set up huts and were living there. 

"WOW..."

...I thought to myself that these guys must have moved down the coast from Om Beach, Gokarna (which, a couple of years ago, was like what Goa was 20 yrs ago). Recently all the shacks and such establishments were moved out of Om beach by the local Govt authorities and the Police, as told to me by some locals. (Reasons debatable I guessed)

The retrieving waves were cooler than before, signaling the end of the day. There was a clear silence between the retrieving wave and the oncoming one.

The Clear Silence

The sun had vanished and we were back on our Platform.

The clean heavy sea breeze made the rum even more potent and within no time, I was riding on a good float. Absolutely nothing to disturb the sounds of the sea. The moon was up and was almost round. We requested the resort fellas to switch off all lights except the kitchen, as we were the only two guests.

We either spoke in short bursts or were silent, looking at the overwhelming scene in front of us. We had indeed lost track of time.

Dinner was done and we slept on the soft bed, listening to the sea and in no time I slipped into a silent, dreamless sleep.

When I woke up, my mind was fully alert. The sky was like a black stream in the middle of a valley at night, with diamonds floating on it. Like a perfectly still stream, resting for the night... without a ripple. The tree branches gently swayed, as if they were the banks that held the stream from spilling over. My vision sharpened to reveal millions of diamonds in the stream. I could hear waves crashing on a beach violently, relentlessly reshaping the coast line. I continued gazing at the stars, listening to the waves. The sense of gravity was lost as it felt like I was looking down at this beautiful night, instead of looking up at the starry sky.

After a while I pushed myself up and sat. My partner was fast asleep. Her face was gently visible in the filtered moon light.

I slipped my hand under the soft bedding and pulled out my pack of cigarettes.

The smoke just vanished into the night. 
A thought occurred to me as I sat watching and listening to the symphony of the sea waves, trying to weave a pattern out of the sounds.

"How many such days or nights of tranquility can I get to experience? How does the sky look from another place, say the top of a mountain? 
Utmost, another 30 to 35 winters left. and equivalent number of Summers and Monsoons. 

Travelling to such remote destinations just cannot stop for me then... right?."

With no idea what time it was and the moon almost near the horizon, over the sea, I laid back.

"The stars have moved along the black stream, without leaving a trace of their movement. The perpetual waves continue to carve the land and will never stop altering the coastline during my life span. But why should it stop?...".

The normal fall into the pit of sleep in an instant followed by heavy snoring was not for this night. For the first time I was able to observe myself fall asleep with the starry sky slowly blotting out of my vision, and mind gently shutting down the thought processes, leading me into a deep dreamless slumber. (A genuine experience that I have never felt before).

I was surprised to wake up to see dew settled all over the place. The sun was just about to hit the horizon on the east and the sky was just beginning to light up. The winter morning was very cool and blue. 
By 7 am we were on the beach, making some images of the coast.

A slow shutter shot of the moving Crab Plovers and Waves

Crab Plovers and their Beach

The Beach - A Perspective

Beyond that hill, is Gokarna

We could not stop talking about the night before. The day passed but the theme was sea, sands and stars throughout the day and the night... I just did not want the starry night on the beach to end.

It did end,... but after one more beauty of a night with such pristine tranquility. We had to return home and back to work. Only this time, with very strong visuals and sounds recorded in my memory. 

"Not making an image of the night sky from The Platform has worked for me. I have figured out a way of utilizing a tea break amidst the chaos of urban life, to take a Solitary Loiter for a few minutes to places like the Kumta beach and its starry night."

(Warning: The Platform is the only USP for that Resort, if you happen to visit it)