Tuesday, May 29, 2007

The Old Woman and the Sea

The waves crashed and lashed on jagged black rocks, the white of the surf making stark contrast with the deep blue-brown of the sea. It was the time of day when the sky was swathed in gold and pink blending seemlessly into grey above.
I sat on the edge of Worli Seaface, admiring the power of the cruel sea and the beauty of the sky, trying to ignore the sounds and scents of Mumbai's teeming millions on the pavement. A warm wind blew about me, gently ruffling my hair. I watched as a man and his child made their way across the rocks to the very edge, where water met land. It put me in mind of the time we went to Goa.

We had gone to one of the dirtier beaches for a swim. A few other families were there as well. The water was very sandy and no one couldn't venture near the swirling water without sand collecting in pockets beneath their clothes. Everyone was eyeing the dirty waters apprehensively, unwilling to risk getting gritty. My brother ran full speed and jumped right in. He didn't even wait for his clothes to get dirty. He took handfuls of dirt and rubbed it into his hair.

A small smile played across my lips. What a day it had been.

Suddenly, a small, white object went sailing over the ledge into the sea. It was a plastic bag filled with all sorts of garbage. The old woman who had thrown it, turned and walked away without a word. I gazed at her receding figure in disbelief. I could have gone a little further to a spot where I wouldn't have had to watch that ugly white bag of death floating away in the beautiful water, but I knew it wouldn't have been the same. My evening was ruined. Quietly, with bitter thoughts, I rose.

3 comments:

Dev Mishra said...

should've pushed the woman over the ledge . m sure the sea cud take a lil more garbage

BSN said...

The thing is that the water there is far from beatiful. Every time the water recedes at low tide, it leaves many, many such bags if death in its wake.

Bharath Ranganathan said...

hahahahaha