BIRTHDAY BASH AT DOLPHIN'S BAY

HOLI - March 19, 2011
I woke up feeling very cold and with a thought at the back of my mind that the air conditioner must be set properly. Then I realized that it was the air which was naturally chill and we were not in Thane but snuggled up in the lap of the nature in Konkan.
There was a light mist outside and ribbons of blue smoke were rising from Mangalore tile rooftops of small houses, peeping out of the green vegetation. Only sounds audible were the strange multitudes of sweet tweets the birds were greeting each other. A large, shiny and beautiful spider, straight out of Harry Potter stories, tried to spook me in front of the basin mirror, but slunk away after smelling my polluted breath.
Hey! I am turning 60 years old today, as per Hindu calendar! As I was reflecting as to what possible useful meaning the number 60 has, except for the bar tender, Chitra surprised me with an amazing greeting card. I wonder how she manages to discover such meaningful cards for these occasions!



Breakfast was something like a dream come true. Crisp and aromatic Thalipeeth with freshly made soft mounds of butter! And a taste-bud-tantalizing pickle. made of seasoned Amla.

With a sumptuous breakfast down our throats and with ambiguous expectations in our hearts, we ventured out for our Beach & Botany tour in a Suzuki Omni. A few hundred meters down the road, we halted to collect fresh Bakul (Mimusops elengi) flowers. The large Bakul tree was full of bloom and its delicious heady aroma had percolated in the surroundings. Next to the Bakul was an interesting palm tree, called as भेरलो माड in Konkani and as सुरमाड in Marathi. Its decorative fronds are used for preparation of flower bouquets ands its bark is used to make eco-friendly big and wide water channels for gardens.
Passing by the side of Adinarayan temple, we crossed the sleepy Parule Market, a bunch of deserted shops just coming out of coma.The climb through the hills towards Bhogwe was littered with many interesting trees and shrubs and Our host and guide Bhayya Samant was a avid Botany enthusiast and an expert on local flora.



Before the road starts its downward winding journey towards Bhogwe beach, there is spot which may be easily overlooked in the anxiety to rush to the beach. But when we stopped here and looked through branches of trees, we were mesmerized by the spell binding view.

On the right is the aerial view of the confluence of Karli river, Arabian sea and the backwater, as if the Devbaug peninsula, the Kanyakumari of Malvan has been brought from heaven and placed there besides Tarkarli beach. On the left are the pearly sands of Bhogwe beach, disappearing into the jagged rocks of Nivti fort. I am sure, if the great saint poet Tukaram had a glimpse of this spot, he would have summarily dismissed the idea of going bodily to heaven and stayed here eternally.
After rolling down the road to Bhogwe jetty, we spotted the boatmen dutifully waiting for our arrival. Digambar and his friend greeted us with warm smiles. After a short walk on the sand climbed aboard a small boat beached in the surf.

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The outboard engine sputtered to life and we were a short distance in the sea soaking in the view of the sun, surf, sand and the swaying palms and Lo! We gaped at two tiny torpedo-like objects jumping out from our starboard side. The dolphins were heartily greeting us on this auspicious day of Holi. It was a pair, frolicking in the morning sun, eating the tiny fish for breakfast and disappearing again beneath the water. And as if by some magic, they started multiplying. Further down there were four of them, then six, and again eight to ten. Somewhere at this point of time we stopped keeping the count and in our hearts thanked the Almighty for sending down to us this day a whole school of the most wonderful creatures in the sea.
On one side the Bhogwe beach was rolling its royal carpet of lightening white, further down the Nivti fort, relic of sea battles and sentinel protector for Sindhudurg fort, was baring his sharp and jagged teeth.


Between the jagged rocks of Nivti fort, we noticed a secret tiny inaccessible beach with an alcove formed by jutting rocks to create a super cool mysterious retreat, fit enough for the secret affairs of some billionaire Casanova or another secret entrance to Phantom’s Skull Cave.

Our boatmen spotted a fishing boat out at sea, pulling its catch and they looked at us with those mischievous question marks on their faces (Are you folks game for a detour?). Our answer was an unequivocal YES!


Cruising near the fishing boat, we noticed the green, blue and red floaters delineating the area of the net and our boat crew skilfully manoeuvred our boat skirting the net and came alongside the fishing boat. I grabbed the side of the fishing boat and jumped on it like a seafaring pirate who has been forcibly kept away for decades. The fresh catch of Mackerel and other silvery fish was rolling its eyes through the dark red coloured net while gasping for its last breath. The fishermen greeted us warmly and offered some fresh fish for us to take home with us.
WE ARE NOT ECONOMICALLY WEAK! Came a sharp shout from an unassuming figure in the corner, when I offered a tip to buy them a cup of tea. This millionaire entrepreneur was squatting in a corner of the boat, stitching a broken net with his bare hands. Our boatmen informed us that he is a sea-lord, who owns many such boats, has landed property, a fish distribution business and also builds boats for other fisher folk. It was really heart warming to see this generation of sons of the soil venturing out on their own and not running after white collar jobs.
On our backward journey, we entered the Karli backwaters and cruised closer to the Devbaug peninsula, whose fabulous view we had earlier seen from hill top. This sandwiched long strip of land between on one side the deep blue Arabian sea and on the other side the greenish steady flow of Karli river, was looking like a handsome bare leg of an Angel, who was trapped in the act of taking his leap towards the heaven.



The narrow strip beach between river and sea on our left, nearly the size of a cricket pitch, slowly merged in to swaying palms of Devbaug. Sleepy fishing village with boats moored near the jetty slowly gave way to a tourist resort with houseboats and speedboats as we progressed in to the Karli River. Up ahead we could see a large natural island in the river, thick with vegetation. On our right the sloping green hills of Karli and Korjai villages were cuddling up with the placid flow of the river.
Just as we took the U-turn for our return journey, we saw the “Tsunami Island”. This sand mass the size of a tennis court suddenly appeared in the middle of the river mouth after 2004 tsunami, which hit the east coast of India. Now it is a tourist attraction with few shacks serving hot/cold beverages and snacks to the tourists who set foot on this island. To our misfortune, it was high tide now and the island was submerged by knee-deep water.


One young liveried attendant, looking after forlornly at his snack counters. He appeared like a young sea pirate, punished for some petty crime and abandoned at this place to rue his misdemeanours.