Sunrise on the beach

To be happy is to let loose. What better way to do it than on a beach on an early morning? We went to the Kalpakkam beach near Great Lakes to catch the sunrise. The sea, especially when it is unpolluted by the attendant noise of human crowding, is regal and majestic. The surf, the sound of waves crashing on the shore, the unceasing ebb and tide - it is nothing but precision and perseverance at play, as they say, 'Time and tide wait for no man'.

Here we were, on a sunday morning, without any worries of the assignments the day after, letting our feet and body be washed over by the soothing waves. As we rocked back and forth, pushed and pulled by the momentum of the sea, all our preoccupations, thoughts, worries and emotions ceased as if, for the time being, we had won over the monotonous rumble of the everyday world. True bliss lies in the absence of thought. It is an experience that is rarely countenanced.

We clicked lots of pictures and behaved like school kids on a surprise expedition. Only the sweet sounds of happiness pervaded. It bathed us in an innocent glow, cutting through several layers of age and exposing our pure selves. The shadows stretched long and were gone in no time, the footprints we made were washed away by the gleaming white surf, grains of sand clung on to our feet only to fritter away the next second. Isn't there a bigger lesson behind all this? That, whatever we try to hold on to, whatever that gets attached to us, ultimately disengages from us leaving us barren and empty, save a core that lies untouched.Yet we hanker after things not worth a pursuit, run after riches that are forever elusive, work hard and sweat it out, only to lie down tired and defeated.

When it brightened enough to click a beautiful group picture, it was time to bid the beach good bye and head back to the daily grind waiting to entangle us. Happiness indeed, as my friend said yesterday evening, comes in tiny packages. Better to unwrap the package quickly and indulge in the treasure before it is snatched away.