Seagull
…………
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| The verdant sea beach of Pacific Ocean at Gold Coast |
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| Seagulls on the beach at Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast,Australia |
The sea was
looking blue, the sun was about to set. The seagulls were circling over the sea
at a distance from the beach. The surfers were returning, the air was salty; a
fishy smell was hanging in the atmosphere. The entire ambiance and the smell of
the sea beach at Gold Coast transported me back to Gangavaram sea beach in
Vizag
.It was rightly said by Dian Ackerman that nothing is more memorable than
a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a
childhood summer besides a lake in the mountain: another moonlit beach. Smell
detonates softly in our memory like poignant land mine hidden under weedy mass
of years. Hit a tripwire of smell and memories explode all at once. A complex
vision leaps out of undergrowth.
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| Me with Raja and Bonny at Gangavaram sea beach, the captive sea beach of Vizag steel plant |
Yes that
particular moment reminded me of a similar sunset time by the side of Bay of
Bengal on Gangavaram beach, which is kind of captive sea beach of Vizag Steel
plant. I was relaxing on the beach, looking at the endless waves hitting the
shore line, my son with his friend Raja swimming in the sea, the ladies were
busy at a distance. From the corner of my eyes I could see the temple perched
on a hillock, the last scene of the film Ek Duje Ke Liye was shot there.
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| Bonny with Madhuri in Gangavarm Sea beach temple |
The
whole atmosphere was serene and tranquil. From a distance it would appear as
though I was talking with the sea. Yes, I was communicating with the sea, I
wanted the time to freeze so that I could go on reminiscing about the past. The
sea was communicating back to me that it was not possible as the time could not
wait and reminded me that I had much work to do before I could think of
freezing myself to no work mode. It said, " look at those seagulls, they
are relentlessly hunting for fish, look at me I have no time for rest, I have
to go on creating waves." Those words of sea jerked me back to the
present, I quickly got up and gathered my clothes and shouted to others that it
was time to go back home, the sun was about to set.
I started
thinking about the project for which I was posted at Vizag.The nightmare of
grappling with the pressing problem at the project started staring hard at me.
I was posted
there in steel plant from BHEL to construct their power plant. The plant was
ready but was not stable. Those recurring problem used to haunt me, those trips
to Gangavaram or Ramakrishna beach was to escape from the reality and look at
the sea for a mental peace. I still remember my first rendezvous with the sea.
It happened in 1963 when I with few of my friends from IIT, Kharagpur
straightaway paddled our cycles to the sea before checking in any hotel. We
were staggered; the endless water produced a numbing effect. It was beyond our
imagination, in our own way we always imagine things in a limited way. Before
that day the only unlimited thing with which we were familiar was the sky,
since the sky we are seeing from our very birth so it does not create that kind
of effect of the unseen. We felt very small and vulnerable on that day.
Whenever I
was having any mental trouble I would go to the beach, look at the sea. The
vastness of the sea would make my problem look insignificant, my disturbed mind
would calm down and I would start thinking rationally. My batteries would get
recharged; I would be looking at the problem with a fresh mind.
The next day
I would sit with my good friends like P Chakraborty, Jagannathan, Rana,
Malhotra, TS etc and would run through the problems and work out a solution.
The Vizag
posting of mine was a landmark posting as BHEL gave me bigger responsibility
and I could see the South Indian culture from a close quarter. It was learning
for my wife as well. She learnt the intricacies of South Indian cooking like
Dosa, Idli, Sambar, Lemon rice etc.My son learnt scooter driving, car driving,
swimming, playing tennis etc, the list is endless. That posting of mine
transformed all of us to a different person and the sea played its role of
mentor. We were like sea gulls circling round and round picking up bits and
pieces here and there. It was Jagannathan who first introduced me to management
books.Mr.Rath forced me to hone my badminton game.
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