Praveen, Renu, Amity and Abrie are a family that we have not known for long, but somehow there seems to be a very deep connect. The amount of sharing and talking we did, i havent done in a long while with anybody. It was such refreshing conversation, that i came back with spirits right up !

Praveen’s flat overlooks the Bay of Bengal. The sea and its boundaryless expanse has held my imagination for long. The sea knows all my ups and downs for my talking in silence has always got a response of a crashing wave ! Every time. All through the years. I slept listening to the waves crashing o the shore, and woke up to face the blue sky merging with blue of the sea.

The Ashtalakshmi temple was close by. I have never been to a temple with dieties on the first floor / second floor over and above the main deity. That was different. The pragmatist in me thought about the reason. Probably, whoever built it wanted to give a ringside view of the sea to the devotees like me. Another side of me prodded to enjoy the experience without trying to seek out rationale !

We got to drive upto to St. Thomas Mount. It is one of the most serene places and one of my all time favourite spots of Chennai. The peace and serenity of the place held me together during a trying time. 8 years ago. That magic was rediscovered on the night before Easter !

I enjoyed the trip for another reason. Sitting in Praveen’s balcony, facing and staring into the Bay of Bengal for endless hours was an experience. As usual, the waves competed with each other to rush to shore. And once the mission was accomplished, they dissipated into nothingness. Leaving, at best, a mark on the sand. The shifting beach sand. Which lasted for a few seconds / minutes / hours ! And the mark which nobody seemed to care about after some time. The connect to the rat race of the world was obviously apparent !

From afar, we could see the beach remained dotted with young couples throughout the day. With a saree or a duppatta as the only ‘protection’ against a seemingly intense sun and equally intense prying onlookers eyes, they seemed to be encosned in their own worlds. At 2.00 PM in the afternoon, sitting in a hot beach for hours on end, is no joke.

My wife asked me to take a guess on what they perhaps were discussing.
“The International Monetary Fund ??? ” ?!?!?!?!?! Any thoughts folks ?