I love to travel a lot. Beaches are my favorite destinations. This summer too we had planned to our good to go spot, Harne. I’ve been to harne so many times. It’s like a second home to me now but I still have the same excitement the day I first visited harne. We all were set to go with papa’s friend and his family which has now become ours too. I was 13 when first time I met them. Now I was 19 but nothing has changed. I can still see, four girls running, tripping with splashes of water all over.

 I use to never sleep early at night before any vacation. The excitement use to keep me awake. So me and my little sister use to have fun conversations at those nights. The same happened this night too. We had to keep our voices low so that mummy and papa won’t listen. After a long talk, we finally decided to sleep as the clock was ticking and its hour hand was pointing two while minute hand twelve. After some time I felt someone was vigorously shaking me. It was none other than mummy waking me up. We got dressed. We tied up our shoe laces and ran straight into the car.

The journey began. Singing, dancing, grooving to the songs and eating a lot was all we were doing. ‘Coastline’ a song by Hollow Coves has been my partner since years. The best thing while travelling is, when you open the windows and the breeze play with your hair and kisses your face. It makes me feel so lively and lighthearted. After a six hour journey, you hear the waves crashing and widely spread waters sparkling in the sunlight. We got off the car and shifted our bags to the rooms. We had our lunch. The lip-smacking prawn fry, pomphret fry, mackerel curry and bhakri. Solkadhi which is a sweet and sour drink made from coconut milk and kokum has a different fan base. 

It was 5:30 pm. We headed to the beach. Walking by the road, chitchatting and laughing. We dived in, as the sand grabbed our feet. We played, enjoyed until our hearts bursted. The sun was setting down. The sky looked perfect. I always had dream to walk by the seashore in the dark. That day I believed the fact, ‘Universe has your back.’ My dream came true. We were successful in convincing our parents to stay at the beach just one hour extra. It was only eight of us walking by the seashore. The sky filled with stars, moon staring itself in clear blue water and the gusting wind accompanied us. It was so peaceful to experience the wild ocean. The beauty a metropolitan can barely witness.      

 

- Avanti Sachin Mujumale