" Trees are Earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven." ~ Rabindranath Tagore

Environment
The Ocean

Puneet Sachdeva writes of the ocean as a beloved who beckoned him closer to speak in a language he had not heard before, but which he understood.

As part of my growing up, I had always believed in the "Bubble of the Ocean" theory. There are millions of bubbles which constitute each wave in the ocean. A mere fraction of them become droplets of water and reach the shore, only to mingle with the sand in a continuous cycle, which I equated with life.

I had always sought my beloved in the sky, the air, the fire and the earth. I had not had the opportunity to know the waters of the ocean. But the mere thought of the ocean always took me back to infinitive times and my mind was overcome by a moving spirit. I wanted to stand on the shores of the ocean and feel wave upon wave wash over me, until I became one with the ocean.

Environment
Beautiful Beasts
Paradise in the Wild
Childhood Dream
Hunt for Indian Tiger

Adventure activities
Mountaineering
Rafting
Paragliding
Rock Climbing
Scuba Diving


Leisure Holidays
Wild Life
Heritage
Pilgrimage

Finally, I took a two-week vacation to experience the ocean that had so drawn me to her. The waters there affirmed my faith that she waits in patience and solitude. I had seen her in dreams, envisioned her in every aspect of living and sought her in reality, but she had long eluded me, my goddess of the Oceans.

One day, at dusk, I hired a small motorboat and ventured out into the midst of the ocean to drop anchor and spend the night with the stars, the moon and the ocean. I had already told the boatman I wanted no human intrusion, that I wanted to be alone with the night.

Where had I come from? Where did I belong? When had I fallen in love with an invisible, intangible presence whom I had seemingly longed for since time began?
The cool wind in my hair was the embrace of heaven. The music of the waves caressed me. The ocean rocked me in her lap and each moment was an eternity of being. The soft mesmerising whisper of the night cradled me to sleep. The ocean spoke a language I had never heard before, and yet I understood the meaning of what she said. She beckoned me closer.

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The morning rays of the sun awoke me from a night of slumber like I had never known before. The sparkling blue waters of the ocean made me realise I wanted this eternity forever. I stripped into my shorts and splashed into the waters of the ocean. I entered a world of being, at once both strange and familiar. It was a world I had always belonged to, yet never been in before.

Where had I come from? Where did I belong? When had I fallen in love with an invisible, intangible presence whom I had seemingly longed for since time began? Who was it I sought in the beauty of nature, in the perfection of creation, with every breath of my being? Totally absorbed and engulfed by the ocean, I was freer than I had ever been.

I came out of the water only to see a gleaming bracelet of light. The moment was endless. I had merged with the ocean. She was no longer the thought, the fairy, the mermaid. It was all very real at last. To be with her then, was a feeling of totality, of fulfilment and of cherished dreams come true.

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Tears of joy rolled down my cheeks as the shoreline approached. The gentle touch of the ocean would surely move the boat of my life forever more. I would never be adrift again. She told me she always was and would always be.

I went back to the city, to the ifs and buts of life. The affirmation of being beyond existence that I had known that night told me I would never again be alone in my aloneness. I could let go and yet I would not lose.

The sight of the shimmering silver bracelet of her waters has encompassed me ever since. I know that I will return to her time and again, to dive deep into her depths, to know other truths, to learn more secrets of eternity, till I merge within her.


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Editor: Romola Butalia       (c) India Travelogue. All rights reserved.