EVENINGS AT MARINE DRIVE

PART THREE: LAND OF THE LOST SOULS

LOCATION: MARINE DRIVE, BOMBAY

This is the third and concluding part of the series ‘Evenings’.

Read part one: Evenings at Vizag and part two: Evenings at Marina.

Tired and weary, I arrive at the city of Bombay to seek answers to the Ultimate Truth; having proved my worth after my quiet contemplation in Vizag and my battle with my prevailing demons at the golden beach of Madras. Having covered the distances by foot on my earlier travails, better sense prevailed and I took the train here to be awestruck by the grand splendour of the Victoria Terminus Station. I followed the smell of the sea and walked all the way to the Queen’s Necklace - as it’s been called - to be welcomed by open hands by the Majestic Arabian Sea.

I have been waiting for a long long time.

The sea has always spewed up splendiferous gifts for me and I know I should expect the unexpected here. I feel gratitude and feel blest having shared a single soul with the ever-encompassing ever-forgiving sea. And before I seek the blessings of my fortitude, I ask for forgiveness. For all the bad I have done. I have killed massacred slaughtered (... and have loved it!). This journey of life has been undertaken not without a purpose of sanctimony.

I climb up the tallest palm tree; the few lining up amidst the towering structures around the bend and wait. Patience I have enough, having carried myself through till now. I am wrapped in a silk lungi and the salty breeze gently tickles my hairy ballocks. I pick out baby coconuts and try to snack on them. However my teeth are not too strong mainly due to a lack of proper dental hygiene since a long time. I drop the coconuts on below unsuspecting passer-bys’ but it does little to awake them from the dreggy monotony they surround themselves in. Tired, hungry and begrimed, I await a little more.

Far far away where the earth blends with the sky, the sun reaches out to kiss the sea and creates a sempiternal moment of surrealistic beauty. Meanwhile, the white-collars carry on without a conscious glance and filled with ignorance at the glorious sight that waits for all to see. If we could only open our mind and not only our eyes then we will have a better idea of where we actually are going. But they scatter away like ripples in pond and none have a notion of their true destination nor care about the journey.  There are a few others though, lost in the mirth of their own worlds. The couples line up under black umbrellas even though there is no rain and whisper sweet nothings. The street urchins interrupt them from time to time with the allure of the purchase of a fresh cut red rose. “For your lady – love” they say. Elsewhere, someone has a handful of fireflies placed in a box lantern while it rises high amongst the night clouds beaconing the anchored vessels in the horizon. The usual suspects selling chana jor garam and bhel add to the cacophony of the atmosphere.

I can wait no more.

I quickly slide down and run across the road without worrying about the speeding motorists who zip zap zoom around me. I climb the ledge and get down on the infamous tetrapods. I take out the silken purple pouch that I have been secretly and safely carrying with me all this while. It is a product of years of perseverance and I hope to offer the same to the Goddess of the seven oceans across the world. It contains my navel lint that I have so carefully plucked out each morning without fail. I hope with this offering my mission would be over and done with. I stretch out my arms reaching to touch the horizon and pour the contents into the sea. A light breeze wafts through and sings the songs of the evening to me. The vespertine flowers acknowledge my sacrifice. The sun plays hide and seek with the clouds as it plans to settle down for the night. The waves dance in the colours of the twilight zone. Blue Yellow Orange Green.

I wait some more.

And then she appears. The waves carry her out to me. She carries the radiance of a thousand suns and the calmness of a million moons. I would have never imagined life to be so beautiful if I had not gathered myself to embark on this adventurous journey. She holds out her hand to me with a sly smile on her face. My heart melts inside. She sits next to me while we hold hands still. She does not say a word. She does not need to. We converse the length of this universe as our souls are aligned in perfect symmetry. This moment is perfect, more than it. As the metempsychosis occurs I understand the journey of life which is a never ending stream of the awesomeness of being. I gain enlightenment. There is peace in the air I breathe.

I know I have to bid farewell at some time. The moment will last not forever even though that is what I wish for. Everything will end and it brings a slight tremor to my melting heart. She knows and all she does is smile assuringly letting me know that the end is not the cause of worry. It is only a beginning of another journey.  

Time flies, seasons change, years pass by and then she suddenly stands up to leave. Her hand slips away from mine. There are no good byes, no last words. The moment has encompassed itself.

I watch her leave.

I am no longer waiting.