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.