Experiencing the rains at the beach is perhaps not something everyone enjoys. Mucky sand, no shelters in the vast open expanse, and isolated. Yeah does it make sense?
Well Henry Beston wrote when he was spending time at a beach cottage,
“The three great elemental sounds in nature are the sound of rain, the sound of wind in a primeval wood, and the sound of outer ocean on a beach”.
Although not in primeval wood, the wind still sings (or yells) here, and the 3 experiences all put together can be fun. I think the best moments I have spent at the beach were during the monsoon season. It lies barren, all commercial shops closed, no street vendors, you can see the vast expanse of the beach with hardly anyone around. I remember spending a long time once at Anuja, under the shelter of a broken down bar counter with a small roof, the site was spectacular. The dark clouds, the gentle whistling of the wind, the blowing of your hair (an experience I miss after shaving my head), the soothing sound of the rain drops, a mist flowing across everywhere, rambling of the sea with the more than usual rough waves washing up ashore. And at times this would change from a gentle to ferocious roar, with the downpour magnifying itself many a times in a matter of secs. The palm trees helplessly swaying to unimaginable extends, making you wonder when it might snap, and the rough sea churning white froth which reminded me of the “Samudra manthan” (“Churning of the Ocean of Milk” which appears in Hindu mythology many a times, including in Mahabharata). This constant fluctuation within a short period is perhaps an analogy to life.
The experience is refreshing, revitalising for me at least, and have for years been the perfect book reading zone. However some friends who have experienced this say they get depressed with the gloomy weather, isolated feel it offers. I have always enjoyed a peaceful atmosphere, company or no company so perhaps I cannot relate to it.
This was clicked when we visited Betalbatim beach few weeks back. The children playing and running amids the waves seem to defy the gigantic dark cloud above. I also noticed I just crossed 50 facebook likes on my website. Thanks everyone for your support.