Skip to main content

The overpowering might of the Puri sea




The sea at Puri, Orissa, India, has a mind of its own. Attempting to bathe in these waters, specially at high tide, requires a lot of intrepid energy.


For one, you go all spruced up to have a good bath in the sea, towel in hand, sunglasses and hat in place, and leggings all curled up. And then gingerly step into the water, testing it, so to speak.

And no sooner you are near the waves, a huge one comes all of a sudden and overpowers you with all its fury and might. You don't know where to look, what to hold on to. You are totally, completely overpowered, and thrown out of gear. Out goes your composure and balance!

Floundering in the rush of the waves, you clutch on to dear life by somehow grabbing some sand, or whatever solid is near you. The fury of waves is such that you are totally compelled to succumb to its might. Nothing, repeat nothing, prepared you for such an experience.

If there is an overwhelming experience then this is it. It is a worthwhile experience, one where you understand that nature is much much mightier and powerful than all of us, and we must bow to her always.















Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Enough! No more rape!

The recent horrifying, stomach-churning incident in Kolkata is not a one-time aberration. It keeps occuring in our country. And we women are also responsible for this stinking rot in society. Ask yourself these uncomfortable questions. How many of you protest when a girl wearing "revealing clothes" is cat-called?  Did you show your support for our wrestlers protesting against a habitual offender? Did your blood boil when you saw pictures of our sisters in Manipur paraded naked?  When rapists are released from prison or routinely escape punishment, do you raise your voice? How many of you have tolerated violence or even casual sexism in your own home? Do you turn the other way when transgenders are leered at? Do you grin and bear it when the men in your family crack obscene jokes? Do Kathua and Hathras ring a bell? And lastly, how many of you thronged cinema halls to make misogynistic horrors like Animal and Kabir Singh blockbusters? I have asked myself and am distinctly feeli...

All We Imagine as Light- Lyricism on Celluloid

When an Indian film makes it the prestigious Cannes film festival, the world sits up and takes notice! And the lovely ladies swinging on the stage is a recent memory that brings a sense of pride. I had the good fortune to catch this film on screen recently. A review of such work is unnecessary, but still am bursting to say a few words. Right from the scintillating background score, to the events that unfold like pages fluttering in an open book, to the effortless performances, it's a masterpiece all right! The first half romances Mumbai- in the rains, at night, in the bazaars, in dingy rooms, in the local trains. Image source: Wikipedia  The second half shows what light truly is, brilliant sunshine, crashing waves and salty air in a small coastal village in Maharashtra. You can feel the taste of salt, the breeze in your hair and the touch of sand under your feet, the cinematography is so real. Payal Kapadia masters the art of holding back, of showing beauty in the mundane. The hosp...

All Work and No Life - Off Runs the Wife!

The recent ramblings of some elderly gentlemen (one a company founder, another a CEO) on how much we many hours we should be working, are symptomatic of all that is kaput with corporate India. The reason we have so few cases of innovators and path-breakers. The reason why Nadella and Pichai shine overseas. The reason start-ups and entrepreneurial attempts fail faster than you can say 1,2,3. These guys have got all the mathematics wrong!  Machismo and Hot Air I find these announcements to be glaring examples of the inherent tendencies of machismo, bullying, slavery, high-handedness privileged males in our country are used to.  At home, when raja beta works, rest of the family keeps quiet. When he needs food, wifey supplies it. Shhh, raja beta is sleeping, don't make noise. Don't irritate him, get him a cup of hot tea/coffee, quick, he's tired from working all day. You get the drift? The whole ecosystem in the workplace is designed to reward the raja beta slaving away rather ...