A town with an ocean view. An unforgettable representation of the beautiful soul of cities that exist by the sea in Kiki’s Delivery Service by Studio Ghibli. It was not conceivable to me back in my younger days that I would one day live by the sea. But as I journeyed my across life, here I am again, living by a sea city for the second time in my life.
The first time I did not realize or was grateful enough. The closeness to the sea was such that from certain places, on a clear day, one could see the glistening waves crashing on pale white shores. The beach was just an hour’s bus ride away, but that was mostly obscured by the slow flow of life back then. We would gather our study bags and walk directly from class to the bus stop. One bus ride to the adjoining city and then another to the beach. There we would sit, play, laugh, and let the sea take away all our worries along with its waves. Its sound would wash over us and we would be made fresh to absorb new things again.
Eleven years hence, here I am back again. I spent these years nestled within a valley city beside the Western ghats. Cold breeze, months of rainfall that seemed to have a mind of its own. Summers would last only a couple of months and the rest of the year would be spent in comfort in an otherwise tropical country. But when I got a chance at a new job, a new life, a new city which was born by the sea out of ancient trading routes and places of worship, Madras, I did not look back. Life is about moving, experiencing new things, and leaving things behind after due course of time. All places leave an imprint on us, and I believe, we leave on them.
When I used to live away from the sea, the sound of waves and the sight of the horizon was reserved for holidays only and happened so scarcely. So, when I drove all the way from the city by the valley to the city by the sea, my heart ached to reach the beach. As I did, I could feel the waves acquiescing with my belief; they took away my past and gave me new robes. My wife said, “I had always dreamed as a kid of living by the sea.”
I asked her why. She explained the feeling of living by the sea is not limited to the sight of the sea every now and then. To her it represented her natural element. We are after all, made of nature and we have our natural affinities. We cannot control where we are born and in today’s world of hyper-urbanization the connect with nature is significantly broken. We were not programmed to be born within cement walls and grow up in apartment buildings; we merely adapted. But the Earth still calls to us. I had figured myself as being more affiliated to mountains and hills. I find my peace when I am in the Himalayas; the sight of snow-capped peaks, the struggle with the cold, the joy of pursuing happiness in scarcity – these keep my excited when I travel to mountains. But after marriage, I try to look at life through my wife. I too imagined this new life and the desire to be close to the sea. It is only then that I realized that I had spent four years during my university education breathing and feeling the sea breeze but never acknowledged its sights and smells to the full.
I must spend a few words on my university town. It was the beautiful small town called Manipal and it lay next to Udupi, which is on the coast. Even though I might have felt nestled far way from the sea despite being close, it is the rains in my new city that I realized I was experiencing something familiar. It used to rain a lot over there. In fact, we we used to say there were only two seasons: rains and humidity. What also brought the two cities closer to me were the language barriers. But that is a challenge, I have always embraced. From years of managing with broken Kannada, I have now adapted to speaking basic Tamil. It is enriching to absorb new cultures and challenge oneself to enjoying new places.
The feeling of the sea breeze in my hair: it takes away everything that tethers me to the worries of this world. Our conflicts are so insignificant in the grand design of our existence. If only we viewed the world as one to admire and learn to live in its gentle and angry ways. Life and death are part of this circle and we have built around us more than we ever needed. At any point that we want to stop and reflect upon what we have made of this world, we ought to look at the sea. When I am by the sea, I glance at my wife. She beams at me with joy. She rolls up her jeans to her knees and prances over to the shore where the waves just begin to caress her toes and as soon as her feet get submerged in the quickly ceding cool water, she glances back at me and does a happy skip. She laughs and she skips. She will then watch the sea distantly and excitedly, her face settling down as the waves recede and light up again as they break and rush toward her feet. Sometimes I will join her, sometimes I will just sit on the sand and watch her excitement. Life in a sea city carries these moments as gifts for the moments where we work hard at our jobs and smile through all the confusions of adapting to a new culture.
One is bound to feel vindicated when nature reveals its beautiful self after periods of strife and uncertainty. Life surely does not get better in a jiffy, nor do our troubles suddenly vanish. Our journey in life is to embrace these challenges and fight as we must, we should also respect the life that we have been given and do what is demanded from us. It makes me think of the Old Man and the Sea, the story by Hemingway. The old man does not run away from his duty; he does what is needed even when at the points of his highest strife and pains. Yet he does not rue life. He does not down his tools, he shows no dismay at his fate. He simply accepts his destiny and keeps rowing and tugging. Standing at the edge of the vast sea just makes one feel the magnitude of the forces of nature and the laughing stock we make of ourselves when we remember the petty office politics or the remarks of jealous relatives.
We live very briefly. In this short time, we find love. The kind of love that overpowers us and leads us into the deep blue ocean. With eyes, with smiles, and with words, we are led faithfully to explore the uncharted waters of this world. I find that discovering this fascinating world and its beautiful multi-faceted inhabitants is infinitely better when you do it with a loved one, the one and only partner. And what better ways to enjoy the city of Chennai than drives to the beach, train rides to the city, and walks by the Marina beach plaza. There is a suburban railway line that is elevated from where one can get a sight of the sea through the gaps between the buildings. In the chaos of India’s urbanization, Chennai offers moments of Japanese escapades with its beautiful combination of trains, trees, hills, and the sea.
Out on a little green boat, we both sat hand in hand. Rowed by a kind-hearted fisherman who explained in Tamil and broken English words the beauty and travails of life by the backwaters, we enjoyed the little sways of the boat in joy. As the cool breeze wafted in from the sea into the backwaters and blew across our faces, we grinned in glee. We beamed and sighed, an expression that was matched by the fisherman. He said life here needs no air conditioning. It reminded me of an advice I have received several times in my life: “Do you bidding, do your task to the best of your ability; the result is not in your hand.” I have only one thing to add to it: if you can, live by the sea and feel the sights, smells, and touch of the horizon.
Nature has its ways of rewarding us. We need to absorb and enjoy these moments without the burdens of our daily lives. The reason is simple: we are born out of it.
Ink Idle 
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