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PREFACE: THE SETTING:
I always felt there is a soulful connection between evening non-chalant Sea waves and A.R. Rehman’s Music! Both grow in your heart slowly, like love slowly grows inside us! His Music is eternally soulful and poignant, and especially when you are sitting near the sea side on a full moon night facing the sea waves, his Mohit Chauhan’s Tracks of a recent flick, really enhances the gravity of the moment! Music is such a relaxation!
Well, almost the end of 2011 and just relaxing near the beach side with some buddies in a much needed break, the sea around is too silent to bother us, the best part of the night is, it is chilly and dark as forever and that silence is in itself is the best music around, however my big moon was shinning as there is no one to stop it, I love the moon, its dark, violent and vibrant, but it shines us all, tells me how much we need darkness around to keep us going!
We, five were lying in a circular manner, each facing our moon, as sand were caressing us all around, Some Pink Floyd number playing in between, some smoke puffs and I saw the big moon growing really big in between clouds and stars! Quite a moment!
ONE VAGABOND TRIP:
The Day was equally eventful; the local train of Kolkata sucked, but was delightful for a change! I remember climbing ten passengers for going out! Pheww! Met this interesting friend at the mid stop, who runs an NGO helping the formation of self-help groups amidst villages of west Bengal, and who also is a wildlife photographer and painter, perceptive people are getting less day in and day out; One can see him and feel the same; One oxy-moronic bus journey which included one Ferry (Big Boats for Travelling) detour, pulling us down by around three hours behind schedule arrival, whatever might be, we finally reached Bakkali, one of the lonely sea beach island in extreme south 24 parganas of Westbengal! A world where the travelling fare from one end to another end of the Ferry is only fifty paisa!
The place as I found out, was delightful because of the serene beaches and also because of the isolated world feeling it brings, one of the best feels about any places is it belongingness and natural serene beauty the place entails in a travelers heart, and Bakkali is such a place! What made the place more applicable from creative point of view is the fact we carried two SLR’s, with three high tech lenses to capture the essence of Bakkali! And we captured it with panache, in one of the most riveting pictures, we can see the beauty of illumination, created inside a bulb, through sunlight, such a master piece, the shades used and the angles were master stroke!
The next morning’s visit to Sundarban delta, in between the dense mangroves, is equally riveting and spine-chilling! We almost sailed fifty minutes in the Sea to reach one Empty Island full of corals and red crabs! I felt ten years younger collecting corals in the sea-beach, one exercise I enjoyed doing in my kiddie days! With lots of Sea-gulls around and a dense forest full of mangroves, the island near the Sundarban delta is just perfect for travelers who wants to capture nature at its best!
ONE UNCANNY CONVERSATION UNDER MOON:
Back to the moment, Sid suddenly stopped the song and asked, “Don’t, you guys think that we are growing old and restless”!
I replied, “May be, what’s your point in anyways”!
He replied, “One break, and we chased 300 km’s in the scorching heat, loosed two kilos each, only lying here to calmness and association”!
Debby interrupted, “That’s sign of progression in the year end”!!!
Preeti affirmed, “The point is, at the end of day, we are here, the whole world might be busy and restless, we are at least discussing calmness under moon light and stars and the sea around, unlike most hypocrites who will talk about it sitting in their marble floor Apartments”!
“You know what preeti, I second you on this, relaxation can’t be achieved if we don’t break our comfort zones, it is that comfort of technology, of advancement, which is making us restless, not age”.
Sid replied, “Yup, may be true, but suppose someone asks you what will be the most memorable part of this trip, what will you say, sitting under stars?”!!!
No one answered for a minute, and then preeti said, “Sid, why do you bother anyone asks, do we need to justify us to everyone”?
Debby said, “Exactly, but since you asked, let us say for a change my picture of the bulb which is glowing through the reflection of sunlight”!
“What’s in there dude”? I asked, restlessly, already bored by the conversation!
Debby replied, “Its perceptive dude, there is a frame of mind and an atmosphere required for anything perceptive, the picture is a high reflection of the atmosphere and the mindset of the photographer and thus might be called, “ The Illumination of Reflection”!
Sid instantly replied, “It’s in the weed dude, not perception”, we looked at each other, and laughed in unison!
ALLS WELL THAT END’S WELL:
I don’t remember much after that incident as I was really high! One of the last memories about that night was me and preeti, both being high, screaming and singing, locked lips, and when in senses, she pushed me backed, and kept running till eternity and I was chasing her near the sea side! One food for thought though, was Debby right, eh?
….Neo Travelogues….
