So after a sumptuous breakfast we made our way to the beach, dumped ourselves on the deck chairs, read our books for a bit (Naresh is reading a Corbett Omnibus while I am reading The Comfort Crisis). Inspired by the call to get out of my comfort zone I dipped in the sea for a bit and then headed along the beach barefoot to locate the end of the beach ala Columbus.
Music has been one key theme for us. Back in our Intermediate days in the 1982-84 period, Naresh and I would speed down to my place from our college at Greenlands when we had a break in classes on his TVS50, racing away on that 50 cc moped as if it were some high powered bike on the empty TB Hospital road. We discovered 'Thriller' which he would play on his sophisticated system at home. And it was he who introduced me to 'I just died in your arms', 'Eye of the Tiger' and a few more songs. We enjoyed listening to Def Leppard, Chicago (and would sing 'Glory of Love ' loudly much to Anu's amusement). And a lot more. I cemented our common love for music by gifting him my father's Anand Shankar album (something I suspected my father would not miss) but it remained a purely symbolic gesture because I don't think Naresh enjoyed his fusion music much. Anyways, music is still playing in our lives and I requested the young kid to play 'Words' and he looked blank and asked me to write it down and looked blank again and then decided to write it down in his own handwriting and then went and played some other song!
This beach has the softest sand I have ever walked on - it's like a carpet most times. One of the local boat men came and told me that he could offer us a boat ride, and that the sea is rough and there is a dangerous dip behind where Naresh was swimming because this is where the river meets the sea but he would keep an eye on Naresh anyway. I told him we'll think about the boat ride later and walked on.
Further down, maybe 500 metres or so, shacks started to show up, small ones unlike the Goan ones, stores that sell beach wear, one offering a massage. And all along there were resorts each opening into the oceanside.
At one point the beach narrowed into a small concrete path and I followed that. There was a man fishing and he told me it was high tide at this time and if I wanted to swim (I did not) I could get into the little lagoon ahead. I had enough of being in the water and decided to explore the beach further.
There was a smaller beach with an artificial lagoon created by some kind of a wave breaking concrete structure. The sand here was very rough compared to our beach an I was wondering why. One guy was fishing from atop the breakers. I saw one surfing school with two lean, hippie type forty year olds manning it.
Beyond that beach was another concrete path that went around a bend. The sand grew rough with coral here. A small island with a cute lighthouse showed up. I walked on till then path merged with private properties and headed back.
Naresh was out of the water and was reading his book and I joined him. He wanted me to read a story about Jim Corbett and one man eating tiger while he read my book. Corbett gave some fascinating insights into the process and strategy behind killing man eating tigers (which I hopefully need not empty in my life). After about an hour it started drizzling and we headed to the pool bar. The rain increased, pelting down, the sea churned, the beer was cold, Backstreet Boys were singing their 1990s hits, an old friend to share the moment - could not have been better. We spent a magical 2 hours, talking about all sorts of things and then headed in for lunch.
Post lunch the rain abated a bit and we worked off the days exertions with a nap. Since the sky cleared in the evening we headed out for a walk.
The sunset was stunning.
On the way back we stopped at a bar right on the beachside and had a drink and chatted some more, walked back and continued that conversation into our sports bar Champs in Eden, had a solid dinner and then retired.
A perfect day.
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