Life At Sea
Subbu was gazing the sea, his thoughts were muddled with the ongoing tensions , the alert sent by the weather department cautioning the fishermen not to venture into the sea. The vast immeasurable mass of water body was not only his life ,it was the lifeline of his whole community. Today again this urgent alert had shaken up and torn his core remembering the fatal day of 26 December 2005.
The Tsunami that had hit hard his village near the coastal area has revived some of his unpleasant memories. Today Subbu doesn't want to see the same ,his eyes are again fixed at the rolling waves as if asking ," what is your moody for today"?
Subbu was the youngest son of Ramcharan , a fisherman by profession. Being the youngest son he had very little work to do . Subbu used to go to a school in the near by vicinity , a local government school, where the air seem pleasant to him. It had been his great past time from the very first day he entered the school to observe the waves , understand the weather pattern and also sink deep into the mystery of the ocean. Since childhood his Baba had told him stories about the sea ,how revered it is to them and also the lessons that it gave them when they see the vast mass before their eyes. Slowly his thoughts took him into his childhood days when Subbu holding hands of his Baba went near the sea. Baba," I am going to play in the sand for a while , by the time your boat arrives , may I go.? As you will call me up I will be back for sure, said Subbu. "Yes you may go and play but remember do not go too far, you know the sea sometimes turns treacherous , said Baba. I will definitely heed to your words, need not worry, I will play with the sand and shells and won't go too far, smiled Subbu.
Those days had been the best days for him. After coming home from school, Subbu would request his Baba to take him near the coast so that he could play there. Now it had turned as a routine. Subbu had also befriended with some boys of his age. They played all kinds of games. sometimes making castles with sand or letting the water pass through a passage to create a small pond,later watch the waves come and take it all away with a gliding force.
Sometimes the group of boys would show their excitement when big boats carrying fishes ,crabs and lobsters would anchor near by. They would shout and climb the boats to see them. Aah! " this is the biggest catch my father has ever made", shouted Subbu. His excitement was all through in the air. Today he was boasting about his catch to his friends. All was quiet happy and easy going by then.
Suddenly Subbu shudders and feels the force of the winds as if blowing him away, his thoughts took him back to the day when Tsunami had hit his village ,all of a sudden the joy, happiness family and friends got drowned into the deep sea some how few people got saved, the wrath and fury of the nature had an impression on him that was not going to get vanished. Later , the whole world was talking about the devastation which had again taught humans a big lesson.
Years rolled by, the pain slowly started diminishing, now again the area was bustling with activities. All had forgotten the pain and were making merry again. But today Subbu feels his nerves racing. He was not happy , his instincts were giving him a caution. He had learnt this art of knowing the waves and their patterns since childhood. Now he had mastered it all. A close link with the sea had taught him not only to respect the nature but also to understand it.
Today , the beaches were full of people, everyone was busy enjoying every small bit that they could see around. But Subbu was worried. He knew the sea within is not at peace, there was a great force that was about to break the coast.He somehow wants to talk to those uninteresting people who weren't paying heed to the warning . He shouted with his full force to call those tourists playing near the waters. Suddenly the wind became wild and his efforts to caution people went unheard. The sea thundered ,big wavy clouds started forming, now there was panic all around. People shouted and ran for their lives but every one couldn't withstand against the power of the massive waves.
Subbu As quick as light , got up to save lives as many as he could.Suddenly Subbu a simple silent man had turned a monster fighting against the powerful force. It was said ,he saved many but was later found dead and silent near the sea.
