The first time I saw my maternal place in kokan, in
a small village, I knew that I was going to be darn in love with kokan. I might
be 7 years old for the first time when I went to my mother’s home at chiplun.
I still remember the smell of soil, ripe mangoes,
and fish which came through the door, and when I passed it I saw my grandmother
welcoming me at the door. Our house is still there, built in soil, mud, and big
red bricks as they are in kokan. The floor is covered in gober and mud as it is
in most of the houses at kokan. We have a little well behind our house which is
mostly filled with water in all season, where the little turtles and frogs
float, along with our own reflection.
I remember some days I spent there for some reason,
The day when I saw the real snake in my life ever. I
was 8 or 10 years maybe. I was collecting flowers in the bushes for the reason
I don’t remember, and suddenly I heard a unusual hissing sound coming from the
dried leaves and I saw a gray colored snake going into the bushes, I felt so
afraid as if I’d done something wrong and I ran from there paralyzed with fear.
While panting I told mother that I saw a snake there, and she said it’s
nothing, there are some snakes in the bushes. I felt why she is being so casual
about it? I saw a real SNAKE…
I remember my father going into the jungle through
the little stream of water on the back of our house, which is mostly filled
till the knee length only in the season of monsoon. He would stroll in the
water as if its road and would go to further in the jungle.
I remember one day in rain. In kokan rain doesn’t
feel like it’s mostly raining, it feels as if someone if pouring water through
sky, I rain so heavily that all the mud and soil would flood away with it.
Through the window we could see red water flooding as if its waterfall. We felt
as if our house if floating in that waterfall. There were no light, and we
stayed in the kerosene lamps, eating rice and fish.
I remember once when I was returning to my place
with bus, and it was really a pleasant evening when the sun rays were so orange
and golden enough to make the red mountains look like they were dipping in sun
light. It was the most beautiful evening I ever spent just looking at their
beaming with sun light as if they were mirrors reflecting sun.
My grandmother passed when I was little, so automatically
we couldn’t really visit our home back there as before.
Then we would make trips at kokan, at beaches, at
temples. And all I remember is the long stretched roads, with the trees of
mangoes, cashews along side of the road. The roads taking curves as the snakes,
and you feel as if you are sitting in the large cups at the fun fair which
revolving around.
Recently when we visited kokan we spent on entire
evening at beach just strolling on the sand and small waves. It was a time for
low tides and all the water has gone behind leaving beautiful trails of waves
on sand, and sand wet enough to draw anything on it. The sky was painted in
orange, blue, and purple and pink the color you name it was there as if it was
made up of rainbow. And its beautiful reflection was on the wet sand making the
whole beach as a big canvas painting where the sky was drawn in watercolor. Along
with waves so clear enough to see the trails it was making.
Yet I don’t know what is more beautiful the sea made
up of so many miracles, or the moon which creates the waves or the sky which
makes it look so beautiful or the horizon which makes sea infinite to look. It always
has been an amazing experience whenever I went to a beach and saw waves
breaking on the shore or the sun dipping into the sea leaving its orange color
upon the sky.
I think its one of the places which inspires me, yet
make aware for future and even calms my mind like meditation.
Its just miracle.
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