Freedom and captivity

Extracts from what I wrote in Pondicherry

As we sat by the rocky coast tonight after the fine dinner at Le Club, we watched how the moon and the sea played games with one another. Waves crashed recklessly upon the rocks below. We sat atop a dark pile like Priam behind the walls of Troy watching the valiant Greeks attacking the outer rims of the city. Interminably, each time with renewed force, each time with a little bit more threat, each time breaking new barriers. I would call the attack ferocious and even brutal, had it not been as beautiful as a symphony. We sat, spellbound.

There is so much beauty around us, and yet there are times when we become numb to it all, unmoved, untouched. It is a sad life that becomes paralyzed to beauty, not by it. After a slightly late start to the day and an enormous breakfast we headed off to the Chunnambar boat house from where we took a ferry ride along the green backwaters, lined on either side by palm and other mangrove like trees to reach the Paradise beach. It was an expanse of white sand stretching out against the deep blue ocean.

Yet, what added a slightly sour note to the few hours we spent there were the whistling coastguards. Though we were few of the rare ones hardly to be whistled at, their effect was undeniable and surely the cause for a lack of smiling faces among hundreds of tourists on the beach! The moment anyone stepped into water above their knee level, they were almost barked at by the whistling and asked to return. On the very large sandy expanse there were two flags distanced by hardly 200m. No tourist was allowed to go beyond the range. The locals/ villagers were excused of course.

To follow it up, the guards spoke solely in Tamil, understanding no other language either! There was no explanation for their rules, the most ridiculous of them being the one hour time limit to be spent in the sea! Whistling seemed like an addiction, frequent and regular, it came without reason. The interesting thing was that these fellows took their jobs very seriously, like they were the monarchs of the beach and the secret to everyone's safety lay solely in their whistling. Everyone here were foolish kids in dire need of policing! Well, touristy spots are supposed to be friendly and clearly these fellows and especially the ones who appointed them had missed the point.


Happy new year all!