MAGNIFICENT MARINA MESMERIZES!

 

From Sampath’s Desk:

                                                     

One who loves nature is never alone!

The sprawling and statutes-peppered Marina in Chennai with a length of 13 KM including a 6 KM promenade, considered the second longest natural urban beach in the world, is a breezy paradise.

 

Watching the Sun in its pristine splendour rising on the east emerging after a bath in the sea in the morning and crawling upwards in the sky, and then disappearing on the west as the dusk approached would be awesome, exciting, captivating, picturesque and scenic beauty par excellence!

 

A bird’s eye-view would reveal the juxtaposition of the sea with its boisterous waves one after another kissing the sandy edge and retreating, and greeting the abutting giant beach-coloured carpet spread across by the Mother Nature! Giant ships sailing and/or anchored on the sea and pleasant ambiance are visual feast. The ‘to and fro’ swinging of the waves is a visual treat.

 

Marina is the most-sought-after hangout for Chennai residents, a crowd-puller, especially in evenings with footfalls in thousands. Common sights there would be children and adults playing in groups, and families and other groups sitting and chatting including recluse types, love birds and others. Besides snack-stalls, moving vendors would yell and sell roasted/boiled peanuts, mango pieces lightly mixed with chili-powder, ice-cream, and protein-rich ‘Sundal’ (cooked spicy pulses and grains) and roasted corns, among others. Towards evening/nightfall, the beach offers a visual extravaganza with the crowd swelling and surging to have the delightful, refulgent and grandeur glimpses.  

 

Come early morning, one could see people regardless of age and status strolling along here. Since my family lived in the nearby Triplicane for decades, I could see the ‘fait accompli’ and ‘modus operandi.’ On reaching one end of main road running alongside the sandy spread by a four-wheeler, one would get down and start salubrious walking for 4-5 KM for pick-up by the driver at the farther end back home. I was also a regular morning walker there for years.

 

People enjoyed the fresh air fraught with robust ozone effect wafting through, as they strolled. Most would walk on the two pedestrian platforms flanking the main road, some on the inner/loop road, some on the dry sandy stretch, and others on the drenched sandy stretch to be greeted by the roaring and bubbly waves with sea water and frothy spray cleansing the shore and their feet with the soft rich lather as the majestic sea stood nearby.

 

When for the first time my father took me, a 5-6 old boy in the 1960s, from our home in the nearby Triplicane to the Marina Beach, the beach environs were stunningly beguiling and enthralling. The expanse sea meeting the sky at the farthest point was a mind-blowing, awesome, picturesque and scenic beauty to me. I asked my father in astonishment, “If we travel either on the boat or ship across and through the vast expanse of sea-water to the farthest point where the water touches the horizon, shall we not fall down and disappear beyond recovery?” Explained he, “No, that won’t happen. You will not fall. For, the Earth is like a big ball that not only rotates itself on a particular axis but also revolves around the Sun. There is no question of your falling at all as you will never reach any end-point. It is only illusory imagination that will never happen at all.” It was hard for me to believe it then.

 

In my schooldays, my friends and I residing then in Triplicane used to play ‘run-and-catch’ on the sands and in the process one or more of us would invariably end up disturbing and embarrassing the romance of couples hiding behind stranded fish-boats. We played Cricket in afternoon sessions in the improvised pitches right in middle of sandy zone and/or on the loop road, besides kite-flying and ball throw sessions including calm study at times. The inner road was our haven for practicing cycling; many practiced two-wheeler driving too.

 

The expansive Marina with its long coastline proves to be a vast lung-field for the city. In summer, people visit the beach in large numbers to beat the blistering heat.

 

Yes, the magnificent Marina mesmerizes all! The elegant, exquisite and entrancing Marina enraptures people taking them to heights of exhilaration and exuberance!

  

R.SAMPATH