The Opera of Life by the Sea

Most of the world is water and then there is some land.

Sitting by the sea for an hour has felt like a lifetime. Thoughts rumble through my mind as I sit watching the waves roll in, one after the other. The steady drone of crashing waves is an unusual piece of background music.

No D minor or no Darbaari, it is just the hum of life on the shores.

An hour of gazing to the endless ocean is shaking me up.

It is early morning, the angry rumble of the sea from the night is replaced by a more sober tone.  The sun will rise behind me as I sit watching the west.

To my left life is stirring up.

A man is walking along the coast reeling in a net. Out at sea, a few hundred meters away a boat is bobbing about on the waves.

A saffron flag flutters at its bow. Another boat, a twin is motoring towards it. They are identical twins. As it nears the stationary one moves and they file out in tandem. Hunting in pairs I suppose they are.

The torquoise water of the sea is shimmering as the first rays of the sun from the east bounce off the waves. It is a riot of colours, the horizon now.

The bright blue sky is endless and so is the ocean. The waves look deep green as they roll in, then as they rise and break, some bare their white teeth. The aggression is short lived , they trough and then sluggishly slide into the brown beach. The clouds are white to the left while the ones to the right are dark and brooding.

Rain is in the air as the dark clouds rush southward. It is monsoon time and the fluffy white clouds will soon be overwhelmed.

A murder of crows wait on the grassy edge of the beach. They know their meal is being done out there by the boats. They nibble at the small tidbits on the beach as they wait for the main course. A few dogs wait for their part to play out.

A lone eagle , one that is brown with a white neck tie, perches on a twisted casuarina tree, which is also lonely as it stands surrounded by elegant coconut trees. A few seagulls are gliding over the waves, they are proud ones who feed for themselves at the expense of fish that bob around near the coast.

The world around me is already stirring up and doing things that it does. All creatures are in search of food, the sea is a big hearted provider. But then it is not easy but this life. Each has to struggle, man, bird or animal.

Here I am sitting silently , watching the drama play out. Time ticks away slower than it does. There is a rhythm about it that one can feel but it does tick away as it always does.

An hour goes by.

The man on the coast is reeling in his net. He shakes the net out, slings it on to his shoulder and walks home. Not a glance into the net, he knows he has the catch. He trusts the sea.

The boats have been doing circles in the sea and now head home. The deck must be loaded by now.

The crows descend onto the beach and head towards the spot where the man shook out his net. Breakfast time.

The Eagle glides around. I can’t see him get food but then what do I know. Nature knows and must have laid out something for him.

The seagull is happy with his workout and now just glides around playfully. Nothing like a full stomach.

Water, that which is most of this earth is the stage that hosts this eternal cycle. Here and everywhere.

The sea is nature’s magnum opus. It is limitless and has the sky for company. It rises with the moon and settles down with the sun. It is joyous, menacing, calm and almost everything it can be.

It is a spectacle that transfers its  music to the one sitting on shore and watching the show.

It has been there, will be there.

Everything else, the seagull, the eagle , the fisherman and the onlooker will all be gone sometime , to be replaced by new actors.

This is the opera of life and the show must go on.