Sea+ Me= We (in Visakhapatnam)

I took a nostalgic trip on the beach road ......thanx to the cyclonic weather, my friend, Samudra, was rough and very nice to look at. Somewhere en route, the auto passed by what we always refer to as our 'old house'- a staff quarter of an autonomous body. I stared at the window sill I used to climb up and sit on, just to stare at the sea. That also took me back to all the love Samudra showered on me from when I was a kid and some random memories....

This was the Bay of Bengal in Dec. 2010

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I was around 3 years of age. The oldest of our cousins, aged 20  was learning photography then and wanted to click a picture of sea n me. He didn't tell me where we were going - simply took me out, clicked a few pics on the beach and headed straight to the water( he carried me in his arms). When he tried to make me wade in the water, I began to weep but somehow, he managed to convince me to stand erect and click a snap or two.

Near Vuda Park

A few days later, parents took me to the water and even as I panicked, told me that Samudra was only "a friend" and would never hurt as long as we respected Him. They also told me that waves were His style of welcoming His friends. That gave me enough of courage to become His friend. I wouldn't wander too deep into the sea, and would inscribe His favourite name, 'Sri Rama' on the sand to prove time and again that Samudra mustered up all resources to touch Lord Rama's name.

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We had new neighbours in the ground floor of our quarter. They had two children- Amara, older than I, and Amar, younger than I. Together, we were allowed to go to the sea shore and collect shells of different sorts ( my personal favourite was a 'chandamama' &  I once collected 1000 of them in a competition amongst us). we would write 'Sri Rama' at a dry place outside the reach of the waves and convince ourselves that Samudra washed it away.

Near Kirlampudi Layout

In due course, we could anticipate a storm, interpreted from the elephant grey colour of Samudra. On such days, we were allowed to sit on the recently- constructed cement concrete dyke and stare at the sea. After further research(!)  and some occurrences,  we figured out that there were two dangerous types of waves- tidal wave( the most dangerous one, and one which we feared, would gobble up our home in the event of its breaking) and the cross-cut( the tsunami was unknown then).

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Summer holidays were the time we could wade in the water for a long time and so, eagerly awaited. We would wake up early in the morning and walk along the shore, wading in the water and collecting shells for two to three hours. During one such summer, we had two additions to the kids party- Sridevi and Aruna - cousins of Amara and Amar. On one day, we went upto the Ramakrishna Mission Beach which had some boulders near the shore. Amara and Sridevi climbed up on them. Even as Aruna & I were trying to make our way up I saw a ferocious cross cut about to break. Before I could realise, the  wave shook me off my feet , but felt a hand (Aruna's) clutching on to my frock. In the meanwhile, mom dragged me aside. Amara & Sridevi were thrown off the rock. Suddenly I realised that Aruna wasn't holding on to me..i screamed and asked my mom to wait .Our hearts  missed several beats till the wave receded completely. Thank God for the boulders, Aruna clutched on to one of them. But this adventure caused us enough scare to keep out of water till Sridevi and Aruna left for their home.

A huge one reminding me of the childhood adventure

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I accompanied Amara's parents to Lawson's Bay, a place where the water was placid and the waves kept low. I was conversing with someone  with my back towards the sea. Suddenly, Samudra came from behind and splashed water all over me. Before  I realised what was happening, Uncle carried me towards the shore.

The waters which played hide- n -seek with me!

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Back to the present. The cement concrete dyke is now replaced by one made of soft granite. I was keen to touch the sea water but wasn't sure whether it would happen. So I prayed, "Samudra, if You are my true friend, let me touch You." Within 5 minutes, I was able to identify a location where I didn't have to walk too far to reach my chum. Big waves did break, but their ferocity was limited by the receding waves. I was at the shore but knew Samudra was not too happy with me. I wrote Lord Rama's name in the wet area itself  but to no avail. This time, I apologised for not keeping in touch with Him and lo, He welcomed His good ol' friend in no time.