The Sun casts its rays diagonally
at me but the cool breeze wards off the heat. Soon, I reach where the surface is
hollow and my feet sink right in the sand, delaying my pace. A thought creeps
into my head: Did Gandhiji face the same
issue while breaking the salt law?
Unlike him, I hadn’t walked all the way from Sabarmati. Two weeks into my internship, I found myself in Navsari, a small town in Gujarat, plying back and forth to Surat on a daily basis and thereafter, making the most of the company arranged accommodation at the guest house. I had already gotten familiar with the caretakers there and during one of our interactions I was surprised to learn that Dandi beach was only 20 kilometres away.
Consequently, here I am.
Every step I take plucks out a tuft of sand along with it. The sand here has a tint of white, must be the salt. As I progress further, I leave behind a trail of footsteps, small cavities in the ground, their depths increasing continually but the difference between two successive ones is hardly noticeable. I look back to find my footsteps mingled with a thousand others. I feel overwhelmed thinking about walking in the footsteps of those freedom fighters, led by that one man, decades ago.
As I reach the wet sand, a wave arrives, washes my feet and withdraws. I feel the sand shifting under my feet as the water retreats. I follow in pursuit, going deeper into the sea. The water reaches my knees, almost touching my rolled-up jeans.
This is as far as you go. You had decided not to get wet.
But I want to go further.
But you'll get wet.
Okay, a little more then I'll be back. I won't get wet.
I roll my jeans up, the farthest it could go and then venture further. People around me, children and adult alike, are busy jumping and rolling in the sea. A group of boys has brought a ball with them. One of them throws it deeper into the sea. As if hit by an invisible shield the ball changes direction mid-air. The whole group rushes to gain possession of the ball, their motion slowed by the water. Indifferent, the ball floats on the waves, a second Sun.
I feel a sudden urge to join them. I contain that urge. Once again, the water almost touches my trousers, a few splashes here and there. The moment of indecision stares at me again. My trousers can’t be rolled up any further, I know that. In a moment of calculated disappointment, I decide not to go any further. And in that very moment of calculated disappointment, a huge wave comes and hits me. Taken off-guard, I somehow maintain my feet on the ground. But I am more or less drenched. There’s no point in debating anymore. The wave, receding now, has made my decision.
With quick long steps - whatever I could manage in waist-deep water - I plunge headlong into the roaring waves and get swallowed. I stand back up only to meet an oncoming wave with all its ferocity. It hits me right on the chest. I am determined not to move an inch. And I do not. I make a game out of it: wade deeper into the sea, make a stance, and let the wave hit me while I stand firm to the ground. More often than not, I can’t take it and get thrashed by the waves. Still, I end up laughing out loud. It's not every day I get hit and feel happy about it.
After having my fill of the sea, I go sit on the shore. Where, once upon a time, had gathered, freedom fighters from all over the country, I now spot a few professional photographers with their long lenses and tripods. My eyes dart to the Sun, hovering over the horizon. Of course, they are here for the sunset shot, the same Sun those revolutionaries had envisioned to rise and set over a free country. It gets bigger the more I stare at it, as if coming closer, a shadow trailing the glowing halo about to crash into the ocean floor like a meteor; except, it doesn't. Instead, it gets enveloped in shadowy darkness. Before it can meet the horizon, it disappears in wisps of nothingness. After a while, I can't even make out where it was. The horizon lays flat. The churning of the waves is all that's left.
The sound of the sea is all I hear. The cool breeze on my face is all I feel.
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| Captured by me on Dandi Beach |
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