I was on a short holiday to Goa, yet the timing was not that perfect I should confess. It was a quick plan just before the monsoons in Southern India, but it had kissed the shores of Goa already. It was not alarming so I took the chance to go anyways.
The homestay was close to Baga beach and I could easily breeze my way to the shacks in 15 minutes. Carrying an umbrella seemed like an extra luggage. Since it wasn't very sunny so I did not get to flaunt my classy hat, meant for the beach. Never mind.
I was seated on one of the shacks that gave a good view of the mountains capped with cottony clouds. Even when the rain brought a drop in the temperature outside, I was still sweltering because of the humidity. It was an obvious feel for people residing in a concrete jungle.
I noticed an old lady, seemed like in her mid 40s, standing very close to the sea, with her eyes fixed on the waves. She was clad in a konkani attire and had a cloth scarf covering her head. She had put on the normal walking slippers. It seemed as if she is waiting for someone to ferry through. I ignored watching her and went to get a tender coconut for myself. When I returned, she was still there.
The curious writer's instinct wanted to walk upto her and start a chat but then I wasn't sure. There was a peddler selling peanuts and salted mango. He seemed approachable and I asked him in Hindi if he had any clue about that lady.
Achcha, bhaiyya, woh jo wahan samandar kinare khadi hain, kya aap jaante ho unhe, pata nai kuch alag si hain. ( Brother do you know the woman standing near to the shore, don't know why she seems a bit unique)
To my advantage, he was more than happy to converse. He said that she was a very bold lady and lived near to the beach. She had lost her husband and her son to the sea during the cyclone that had hit the place the previous year. The strangest part is she had tried stopping them from venturing into the sea. There was no prior warning as such until it just engulfed the shore, while the fishermen were out in the deep sea. Her words, ever since are taken with utmost importance. She is able to predict the weather well before the designated so- called educated authorities ring the safety alarm.
She is our Asha Maii,as she saved so many lives, she knows the wind and the sea like nobody else does, and during the monsoons, she studies the shore frequently. She lost everything precious in her life out there yet never gave up the hope and verve of saving others lives.
By the time he finished the story, she was not to be seen. It was nearly going to be dusk and then time for me to go back too. I didn't see her the next day. I thought I should have clicked a photograph of hers, then my soul said, not every aura can be captured in the lens. She was an angelic one. The one through whom the earth graced the sky with divinity.
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