(This photo was taken at Someshwar Beach )
It has been quite long since I have last blogged. I have always loved to write but somehow I got pre-occupied with my life - coding and debugging for hours enclosed in my cubicle ,watching my colleagues talk on the phone for hours with the Business trying to figure out solutions to design and I amidst it all – I was trying to figure out my life and career.
All my life I have lived in the coastal city – Mangalore and as luck (or God?) would have it,I landed in an IT job at a company in the same city I grew up in. That is the reason,I always feel connected to the sea. When I am happy , I go to the sea. When I am with my best friends, we go to the beach and we talk for hours about everything and anything under the Earth. We celebrate birthdays in the beach.We don't need any reason to go to the sea,we just go. We take life decisions here.When my mind is confused , the sea is where I go. The sea seems to have some mystic power to clear all the turbulence in my mind. And I will never stop visiting the sea. Every time I visit the sea, I learn something new and this day was no different.
It had been a hectic day at office. But since it was a weekend , we left early from office and visited the nearby beach.I was always mesmerized by the sea – the reflection of the sun’s rays making its way through the water, the waves and its vigor and the foam that it brings along with it and the hues in the sky. Each time a unique combination of hues and every time it is a beautiful picturesque view of the sunset. How can I forget the seashells that have been washed ashore, crabs digging their way deep into the sand to hide from humans and then,there are other sea relics washed to the shore – broken tree barks and starfish too.
As I sat down watching the waves rushing towards the shore , I remembered a song composed by G.S Shivarudrappa in Kannada - "Kaanada Kadalige Hambaliside Mana" beautifully sung by C. Ashwath, a versatile singer.
In the song ,the river has been personified and the composer has expressed the feelings of the river.
The river is yearning to merge with the ocean which it has never seen before. It pictures the images of the sea by putting together all the things that it has heard about the sea -
ಸಾವಿರ ಹೊಳೆಗಳು ತುಂಬಿ ಹರಿದರೂ
ಒಂದೇ ಸಮನಾಗಿಹುದಂತೆ
ಸುನೀಲ ವಿಸ್ತರ ತರಂಗ ಶೋಭಿತ
ಗಂಭೀರಾಂಬುಧಿ ತಾನಂತೆ
ಮುನ್ನೀರಂತೆ, ಅಪಾರವಂತೆ
It means that the river is wondering how the ocean remains so calm even when a thousand streams overflow and merge into the ocean.The river has heard that the ocean is blue and vast and looks brilliant with the waves but still it is always very composed and unfathomable.It is calm and composed like a sage and is abundant(unlimited).
The river is longing to hear the lullabye sung by the sea.It is wondering when it will get dissolved in the ocean and will it ever be able to join the ocean.The river is questioning whether it will reach the ocean or not . It symbolises the deepest urges that every one of us have just like how we all run behind achieving our dreams.
The last few lines of the poem kept resonating in my mind -
ಜಟಿಲ ಕಾನನದ ಕುಟಿಲ ಪಥಗಳಲಿ
ಹರಿವ ತೊರೆಯು ನಾನು
ಎಂದಿಗಾದರು ಕಾಣದ ಕಡಲನು ಸೇರಬಲ್ಲೆನೇನು
ಸೇರಬಹುದೇ ನಾನು, ಕಡಲ ನೀಲಿಯೊಳು ಕರಗಬಹುದೆ ನಾನು
ಕರಗಬಹುದೆ ನಾನು, ಕರಗಬಹುದೆ ನಾನು
It means - "I am a rivulet that flows through twisted paths in the dense forests and difficult terrains. Will I ever be able to join the ocean that I have never seen before. Will I be able to dissolve in the blue waters of the ocean?"
I like the positive note on which the song ends.
I feel like I am the river and I am chasing my dreams - the ocean .I wondered what will happen to the river? Did it make it's way to the ocean yet? Where did it go? Oh.. what happened to it once it joined the ocean? Does the river exist anymore? Did it lose its identity in the vastness of ocean ?Where am I? Have I lost myself and my identity in chasing my dreams? What am I going to become? How do I know if this is the ocean that I wanted to go ?
And then suddenly,it started to drizzle,I ran to take shelter under a tree. Far away in the horizon, I could see dark clouds pouring down the rain directly into the ocean. And I started wondering about the journey of those rain drops that ended just in a few minutes.But where did it originally come from ? The river ? Then what about the rain drops that fell far away from here, on the top of the highest of mountains ? Isn’t it the origin of the river? Ah! I felt so happy. I felt so light .This is cycle that the one above us has created. I learnt a life lesson here. All of us chase our dreams but it is the journey that we make that is important. It is important that we make this journey else we will become like stagnant water . Go chase your dreams ,lest your life will come to a standstill. Don't be lazy and useless !
Rivers can teach us a lot about life.Rivers change things. They change the landscapes and create new landscapes as they make their way through rocks and mountains.In our journey,we meet a lot of people.Our actions create a long-lasting impact on them.I hope I have managed to create a positive impact on atleast a handful of people that I have come across in my life.Rivers speed up through difficult terrains. That is where they create magnificent terrains. Ah yes...those waterfalls and streams that we admire ! This is how our reactions to difficult situations shape us and our futures.
At the end,the river flows calmly. All that fighting and rushing through the rough terrains are to achieve the serenity and peace at the end. This is a valuable life lesson which we can learn from the river.Rivers flow down hill and not uphill. When they reach the end, they just make another way.And that's the way we should chose our struggles.We are so caught up in our path and the obstacles we are facing that we often forget why we are on the path in the first place. When we reach a tough situation,we should take a step back and ask ourselves, “Is there an easier way to get to where I have to go?”
We all have goals-whether it is family or career or responsibilities. In our journey, we can learn from the river to always have those goals in mind and to recognize the things we can change and accept the things we cannot.That is the ultimate way to the sea. The way to your dreams.
I felt so happy. I have etched this song on the sand and on my mind forever.
My mind is still humming - ಕಾಣದ ಕಡಲಿಗೆ ಹಂಬಲಿಸಿದೆ ಮನ …
