Do you feel at times that you are emotionally full to the brim? Do you crave for soul searching, in solitude amidst nature?
We all are stuck in a rut of wake up, eat, work, sleep, repeat! Adulting, parenting, north bound expectations, broken relationships - if these were not enough, a terrible monster turned our world upside down in the last eighteen months and showed us what dance of death looks like.
With the monster far from gone, the worry for your family members getting infected chasing you, while having the itch to break free all the way - things get further complicated. So you resort to the highest possible standards of safety and hygiene because at times it becomes too much too tolerate the mundane lives.
Story of your life? Story of my life too?
And that's when I decided to get away for a quick escape to the nearest beach, breath in some fresh air and cherish how life used to be mask-free.
On a bring sunny morning, a friend and I just pulled Rosa (apologies, I was too lazy to write up or post about her in this forum earlier after I got her in March) out of the garage and started our journey to Mandarmani, the famed beach of West Bengal. Why you ask? Because it's the most sasta-sundar-tikau option for the entire Bengali fraternity. An hour after spending in the morning city congestion, we soon hit the NH16.
NH16 is by far one of the best highways to drive in Bengal in my experience. To add, Rosa never had a highway run after she was brought into the family. Naturally, she was quite delighted to take on the tarmac. At times though, all I did was to put her in Cruise Control and relax, let my hair down, catch up with my friend on life.
A trip to coastal Bengal is always incomplete without a stop at Sher-e-Punjab or Azad Hind Dhaba, though we decided to give it a miss this time fearing the crowd these places experience round the year. We stopped at a nondescript place for some tea and continued our drive. Earlier, we were told about police checking at places where they are returning tourists if they are not complying with COVID norms (negative RTPCR or double dose of vaccine being a mandate), however we were not stopped anywhere whatsoever, it being a weekday probably so naturally flocking of tourists were less. After crossing Contai, the nimbus clouds conquered the sun, and soon it came pouring down heavily. I absolutely dig monsoon drives, because I am one of those excited kids who love to watch the raindrops glide by the windshields and windows!
An hour later, we left the highway and started navigating the coastal roads to reach out hotel, Sonar Bangla. After freshening up and feasting on some delicious dishes, we ventured out on the beach. Turns out, heading out on a weekday paid off heavily and the beach was literally free of homo sapiens! Finally, it was the moment when we could take down our masks and breathe in the fresh sea air, take a long stroll and just gaze at the waves kissing the shore. In a moment, all worldly worries seemed to be in the past, non-existent. Trust me when I say this, I have never seen Mandarmani this serene ever in my life. A sense of joy and content clouded my mind, as if I could touch the infinite. A quick drizzle and fifteen minutes later, the sky and the sea engaged in a conspiracy of a riot, a riot of colours. The blues, the greys, the greens, the orange, the white - the confluence was ethereal and a sight to behold! The clouds were now free of the burden of the rain and were floating happily to the unknown while the gentle waves were playfully teasing the fishermen's boats. I guess, monsoon spells its magic on the sea like no one else.
With the dusk setting in, we soon returned to the hotel to grab some snacks and chai. The night was of the Waxing Gibbous and now it was time to see the magic of the moon. The sea, crazily in love and lust of the moon, tries to rise - up, up and more! The beach which we strolled an hour back was now under 10 feet water, and the humongous waves started crashing on the hotel fencing. Such was the force of nature, the huge boulders lined by the beach were being thrown around like toys!
The next morning was worse as it was the full moon day. The water reached its highest point at about 9 am, and coupled with the strong winds, the roar became deafening. It was terrifically beautiful. I was just conversing casually with the caretaker of the hotel and he mentioned this was nothing compared to the cyclone Yaas which hit the sea in the last week of May and the water rose till the first floor of the hotel and it was a sight of tremendous destruction. I guess living with the forces of nature constantly makes you humbler. Doesn't it? I have found people living in the mountains and by the sea to be humble mostly.
We had planned to visit few nearby beaches on this day, but just decided to stay in and just admire the beauty of the sea. In the evening, like the day before, we went on a stroll again and filled our memories and memory cards with some good photographs. Always good to look back at old photographs and have that smile on your face, no?
The next day was the day to say goodbye. The sea for the past couple of days gave us the opportunity to admire the unadulterated beauty, respect the forces of nature, while also giving us that much needed time just to be with our own selves, making us stronger for the next set of challenges life throws at us. In turn, we promised the sea to come back soon!