Why do we have to make choices? I mean if there was only one thing to do at a time, life would be so uncomplicated....but no we have been blessed with "free will", so, choose we will. I remember reading that if we look back on our life we will find certain 'ctitical crossroads'(cc) where what we have 'chosen' to do has determined the course of our lives till the next cc,and so on.In effect life thus is never a straight line......
Last week I encountered my nth cc. The Vagina Monologues or a night ride to the "muhana"(where the river meets the sea) of the Rushikulya River to watch the annual spectacle of thousands of Olive Ridley turtle hatchlings scrambling into the sea.I took a deep breath and chose.
It was 1930 hrs when our rumbling stomachs urged a halt at the Chilika Dhaba.If you are ever visiting the Chilika Lake(and here I will simply assume that no reader of my blog does not know where or what Chilika Lake is!)you simply must must eat a meal here.This eatery falls on the right side of the National Highway just after the point where you turn left for Barkul. The steward recognized us and ushered us into a special dining area. He then announced the catch of the day....a 2 kilo green Chilika crab. A 10 minute wait and the poor crustacean was on our table as a spicy crab masala along with jumbo prawns. This is a no-frills place so the only accompaniments to our dinner were some local baby onions, roasted papad and some very mean green chillies along with rice.
Journey resumed at 2030hrs(yes the service is phataphat as was our devourment of the meal!).Some 30 minutes after that we turned left for a village called Gokharkuda.About 10 kilometers seaward through narrow kutcha bumpy roads and we thought we had arrived. We had been told to go to the cyclone-rescue-shelter where our local escorts were waiting for us. What we thought was the CRS turned out to be a local distillery!They directed us to turn right so turn right we did. 3 kms later the CRS stood shillouted on stilts. We were met by our two local escorts, members of the Turtle protection volunteer team. Disembarking from the cool confines of the Chevrolet SUV we were led to marshy land. We waded through slush, walked on ridges,crossed backwaters over a rickety bamboo bridge, trudged through the river shallows and panted 2 kms(this is my estimate....cut down to 200 mteters by the more fit members of our team!) on the beach. The silence was palpable,broken only by the sound of the waves and the occasional swishing sound of the adult Olive Ridley Turtles in the shallows of the backwaters. The moon shone silver and serene on the water.Our escorts pointed at the indentations on the beach. And then,while we were generally taking in the ambience....the Miracle happened! From one indentation a dark mushroom emerged,slowly. The mushroom grew in size..and squiggled..and then started to disperse!The hatchlings! About 150 of them(our escort informed us that during the mass-nesting period,known as arribada, the female lays upto 180 eggs in the sand and buries them deep.45 days later, the hatchlings emerge) started their scramble toward the sea, some 60 meters away, guided by the moonlight reflecting off the waterfront. Almost simultaneously the other indentations also gave up their treasures. The whole stretch of beach was crawling.Perfect little miniatures. Our escort was carrying a CFL torch which glows white,like the moonlight,and he swung his light at one such mushroom,but in a direction away from the water...and guess what happened? The tiny little things scampered toward this light! Demonstration over,he quickly switched off his torch and the little ones reoriented.We stood rooted to our spot and took in this wonderful sight......we were there for more than an hour and every moment was special,magical,beautiful.
On the drive back all of us were either chattering excitedly about our experience or reflecting quietly on the very special experience of witnessing a rare spectacle.....It is believed that the Olive Ridley returns to nest on the same beach that it hatched. Although experts estimate that only about 20 percent survive my prayers are with each of those little darlings.
The day after our trip my sister-in-law told me about the rollicking, risque,scandalously irreverent Vagina Monologues and how much they all loved it. I had only a twinge of regret. I repeat, only a twinge. This is one CC I can never regret.