11th March 2023
~ 4:00 AM
We were staying at the Chaplin Hotel, a simple 2-star hotel, with a rooftop bar and an “under-renovation” family restaurant in the basement. Mung, Cing and I just rushed to grab our things as soon as we woke up. I didn’t bother cleaning up or anything for two reasons: we were already kind of late according to our own plans, and I was feeling cold as it is. We didn’t have water heaters in the bathrooms. We exited the hotel, I had taken my Sony M50 Mark II camera in a small Samsonite travellers bag. From the hotel, we just had to take a left and walk straight for a few hundred meters, and we would reach the New Sand Beach. The streets were pretty quiet, some rickshaws here and there, we went about talking about the photos we could click here and there. It was pretty dark as it is, a few lights on the streets, giving that aesthetic look that many millennials crave for. I suggested Cing that we can click a few pictures under one of the lamps in front of Palais de Mahé.
After the photo session, we continued towards the beach. The cool winds hitting our excited faces. As we approached the beach, we could not only hear the wild waves of the sea, but also see the crowd that was waiting for the sunrise. We calculated that it’s routine for the locals to be up around this hour, because most of them were exercising, chit chatting with each other, enjoying the early hours of the morning in the cool breezes from the sea.
We took a look around, observed the sea, the people, enjoyed the moment for a while. We saw the Old Port Pier far out on the right side and we weren’t sure if we could go to the pier directly from the beach. We thought, we are here early, might as well find out. Walking towards the pier, one could see all kinds of people waiting, wide awake or deep asleep. There were a few pretty women too, only I couldn’t see their faces in the dark. Out in the sea, one could see a few ships sailing past in the distance. I realised the beauty of perception at the moment when I thought about how differently we perceived each other. For the beach, the ship is just another piece of metal floating towards it, but for the ship, the beach could be the first glimpse of land after spending days in the dark blue sea. As we approached the pier, we came to realise that there was no entrance from the beach, so I ended up trying to take pictures of the lighthouse there. It was the first time I saw a lighthouse in action.
After wandering around, we started heading back the same way we came from. The sun had started to come up a little now, the skies were now lighting up by the minute. We reached the original spot from where we had decided to make the trip to the end of the beach and waited for a while. I kept clicking some pictures, trying to understand the dynamics of the camera. Pictures got a little better as there was some light in the sky now, and so did the waves. Somehow, they didn’t seem as sinister as they did a while ago. They looked more inviting, more playful, as though they were teasing everyone to join them for the ultimate show of sunburst colours.
The people had started to gather around now, coming closer to the shore. There was much more excitement in the air now, as if time had digested all the anticipation. We folded our lower garments so that we could dip our feet into the sea again, this time we were a little more careful with the placement as last time not only did we wet our sandals, but also nearly watched em float away with the waves. By now the waves were straight out playing with everyone there, splashing and thrusting, bringing pieces of shell and hordes of sand with it. As each of the waves retracted it seemed it was preparing itself to launch with much greater force. The beach was now coming back to life.
Standing barefoot as the water swept the ground below, made me feel alive. One could sense the essence of life, the force of nature, and the futility of being a man. Not with all the biggest machines, with all the knowledge, with all the power in the world, no one can really conquer the world. Though, why bother at the first place, when you can enjoy it as it is.
The sun was up by now though, just hidden behind the clouds. Taking its time, putting on its make up for the day, it has to shine like a star after all. One could come up with a number of analogies for the people waiting for the sun at this point. A courtroom full of people waiting for the king, the British waiting to get the glimpse of the Queen, but who cares. The waves muting everyone with its roar, pushing everyone back with its might, attracting with its beauty, posing like a mistress. I thought to myself, “What a poser”.
As the sun came up, the waves got bigger, as to match with the excitement in the air. If God wanted you to witness a package full of emotions, this was it. Everyone looking at the view with joy and wonder, clicking pictures, sharing a laugh, collecting shells, living in the moment. It’s an understatement but, it was a sight to see.
