At The Water’s Edge
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Oru Venal Puzhayil:
“Ripples flow out to the green banks.
For many births my heart has been searching for you.
In a heaven which is covered by sun beams,
In a cage which is wrapped with fragrant leaves,
I am being awakened from my meditation because of an enchanted butterfly:
Because of you…”
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Though music, language and customs may vary, romantic sentiments across the continents remain remarkably constant.
Picture taken in Fort Cochin
Music and verse of lyrics taken from a popular Malayalam song
Translation freely adapted without permission, from Lyrics Translate
A Stroll On The Beach: The Sun Also Sets
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“I grow old … I grow old …
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.
Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think that they will sing to me.”
From The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock
T S Eliot 1888 – 1965
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“Don’t let the sun go down on me
Although I search myself, it’s always someone else I see…
But losing everything is like the sun going down on me.”
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Picture taken at sunset on Payyambalam beach, Kannur.
A Stroll On The Beach
“My life is like a stroll on the beach…as near to the edge as I can go.”
Henry David Thoreau, 1817 – 1862
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Pictures taken at sunset on Payyambalam Beach, Kannur
Beach Parties
When in Kannur, the best remedy after over-indulging on breakfast, is to take a walk along its beach.
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Pictures taken on Payyambalam Beach, Kannur.
The Watchful Foot
Protected by her father’s watchful left foot
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Picture taken on Fort Cochin beach.
Of Calicut, Camels And Kites
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The first night’s stop was in Calicut, the birthplace of calico.
Calicut was founded almost 1,000 years ago. Strong links with Arab traders soon developed and the city has a sizeable Muslim community.
Vasco da Gama led a Portuguese fleet to the port at the end of the 15th century. This marked the beginning of European interest in the Malabar coast.
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Having taken chai masala, we strolled along sea-front at sunset.
Inspected the camels
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Then bought a kite
And flew it.
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Launch For Two
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Launch One
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Launch Two
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“Death is only a launching into the region of the strange Untried; it is but the first salutation to the possibilities of the immense Remote, the Wild, the Watery, the Unshored…”
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Sea Fever
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I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.
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I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
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I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way, where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.
“Sea Fever” by John Masefield.
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A Winter Sunset
The beach is just a five-minute walk from my home.
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Being able to stroll there, as the sun sets over the Arabian sea, is both pleasure and privilege.
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..Had we some mystic boat with pearly oar
And wizard pilot,
To guide us safely by the siren shore
And cloudy islet,
We might embark and reach that shining portal
Beyond which linger dreams and joys immortal..
From “Sea Sunset” by Lucy Maud Montgomery
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As Large As Alone
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With the monsoon finally spent, walks to the beach resume.
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maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach (to play one day)
and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn’t remember her troubles, and
milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;
and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles: and
may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.
For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it’s always ourselves we find in the sea
e e cummings
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Pictures all taken from the footpath beside Fort Cochin seafront.
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Neither Use Nor Ornament 