The Beach Tour (Part 1)

 

In Riders to the Sea, the widely acclaimed masterpiece of Irish playwright John Millington Synge, Maurya was living in Aran Island off the west coast of Ireland. The ultimate fate of the islanders is to brave and stare into the eyes of the Death every single day to snatch their livelihood out of the claws of the Wild Nature. This brutal reality has been portrayed in the play as a very usual and common event of their lives, just like the way “evening must usher night, night urges the morrow”. And with the waves of pain in the ocean of her life, Maurya gets torn apart with the death of her last two living sons after the death of three more sons and her husband: all five being drowned to death in the Sea. With no more male left to dread, Maurya spills out a challenge to the Sea for taking another life.

However, this very aspect of the oceans is limited to the particular clans like the Islanders of Aran.

In general, the sea shores are the most sought-after tourist destinations for most of the people planning a trip to Nature. But, there still remain a huge percentage of people, who don’t live anywhere near a sea; can’t afford to make a trip to the sea; and in many cases can’t even dare to dream of crossing hundreds of miles for making such a Summer Plan.  

It’s the story of a girl belonging to the later kind of people with the undiscovered images of the seas in their dreams. The story takes place in the first half on the last century in the setting of Calcutta, the capital of the Indian State, West Bengal. I am rather retelling (in a thematic translation) Manik Bandopadhyay’s Bengali short story, entitling Somudro Dekhar Shwad (The Desire to Visit a Sea).

 

The Beach Tour (Part 1)

 

Watching the vastness of a sea in her own eyes was a childhood dream of Neela. She went to school for a few years and in her geography book there was the description of the land and water bodies of the earth. But long before studying the geography lessons, she knew that water occupies the three fourth of the entire world. She was utterly surprised to learn that from her father at the age of seven! How it’s even possible! She crosses miles after miles for a whole day in her train journeys to her maternal uncle’s home. But never did she come across anything like the all-encompassing water-bodies other than rivers, canals, lakes or marshes she see in their way through. There were just grasslands in miles after miles with some forests in between. There were just trees and soils till the far end of the horizon. 

And since then the image of the majestic vastness of the sea keeps coming back to her mind in the form of dreams; in the printed words of books; or in the stories of the seas told by the neighbors. She keeps listening to the stories of the seas. Every members of the Balai family made a trip to the Puri Beach just a few days back. Not only did they enjoy the view, they bathed themselves in the waves of the sea. She also heard about the son of her father’s boss, who had gone to Britain in ship. He had to stay so many days over the sea in his way to England. The vaporized water from the sea forms the clouds over the sky and comes down on earth again as rain drops! The salt her mother uses in cooking curries or gives them in their plates of rice is from the dried-out sea water! The chilling breeze they enjoy on the rooftop at the evening after the hot summer days is directly flying in from the sea!

-Daddy, the sea is in the south, right?

-No. The seas are all over the earth. The Bay of Bengal is in the south; very close to us.     

Yes, it’s right. This is exactly how the map shows. But, seas are everywhere! The Himalayas is in the north. And then the Tibet, followed by China! I’ve got to study the map a little more attentively.

-Daddy, will you take me to the sea, please?

Father had made the same promise to Neela so many times. He did the same again.

-Yes, of course. There won’t be that much trouble in making a visit to the sea. You can walk along the sea shore, once we make a pilgrimage to the holy Puri. I have to make a plan sooner than later. It’s a long-cherished dream of your mother.

But it was really a hard job for a poorly-paid clerk to fulfill the dreams of his wife! A person from a poor income range can hardly afford, even for once in a life time, a fancy trip like that. Even, if he ever happens to make one on a very special occasion and with a lot of hardships, he has to compromise a lot other necessary things including, obviously, the dreams of the children.

During the Rath (chariot) festival, Puri becomes unbelievably crowded with millions of people from all over India. It’s not a wise thing to take children along to such a big gathering. Besides, you have to consider the extra costs involved. And if you take Neela, what are the faults of the other siblings? And who will look after the young kids, if Neela too comes along with her parents?

Neela’s mother has got other excuses too to tear through Neela’s desire to walk along a sea beach.

-No, no. I won’t feel secured to take a marriageable girl out there in the massive crowd.   

But the marriageable girl cried her eyes out like a stupid and innocent kid. Her tongue remains forgetful of other tastes other than the salty taste of tears rolling down from her eyes for the next few days. When she was supposed to receive them in tears of joy, when she was expected to wait in intense curiosity to listen to the stories of their excursion on her parents’ return from the pilgrimage, she sniffled out a single question with tears streaming out of her face.

-Did you bathe in the sea, daddy?

Neela’s father was terribly tired with all the hassles of the tour and the traveling. After entering the home, he just threw himself onto a chair.

-Yes, yes. I did take the sea bathing. Let me take some rest for a while. I am going to tell you all those stories.

-What else will you tell me? Is there really any need to tell me anything about the sea? Neela has already learned everything about the sea bathing things in Puri.

From the rooftop of the neighboring three-storied building, Neela can see the sea of houses all around her: lifeless and immobile structures reaching up to the sky at the far end of the horizon. Neela can imagine the vastness of the sea with the stagnated homes piled one after another. She can feel how the waves of the oceans, as high as the buildings around her, crash down on the beaches as white foams. The only regret is that she couldn’t see it in her own eyes. She was very dear to her father; at least the people around her think so. And instead of fulfilling the dream of her adorable daughter, he himself made the tour, visited the beach and bathed in the foamy waves. With these thoughts streaming into her mind, Neela, the marriageable girl in her early teens, fails to check her emotions and bursts into tears.   

Without wasting any time, Neela’s father made an instant promise for one more time.

-Please, don’t cry Neela. I will take you to the sea at any cost in the coming Puja festival. Even if it requires me to take a loan, I will not think otherwise. But now, for God’s sake, don’t cry anymore, please. I couldn’t sleep all night in the tiresome train journey.

 Her father fails to keep his promise again. During the Puja festival, he passed away.

To be finished in part 2...