The Second Honeymoon

Who said a honeymoon happen only once and just after your wedding ceremony? It happens an umpteen number of times and it can be unforgettable like it happened to us…a honeymoon that made us realize that we cannot live without each other…that life is precious…that there are people out there who have died without fulfilling their dreams.
By the way I am Pooja, and I have a happy family life with Mahesh my husband and our two children, Adarsh and Ananya. My story goes back a few years. I hope you won’t mind my telling this in first person, because it is true story. And this is story that is told of an incident that patched up our differences in a way no marriage counselor ever could.
Life was getting a little tough for us way back in 2004. I was working as an Administrative officer with an insurance company and Mahesh was then holding a marketing job with an MNC in the Techno Park in the city. I was wholly busy with my work in office and home and Mahesh was travelling a lot. Even with well behaved kids and no financial problems, our tempers were on short fuse and there were days when I wished Mahesh would stay home and when he did, wish again fervently I could ask him to get lost.
We were not getting enough time with each other, our careers were choking us and the pride we had in our 16 year old marriage was getting stale. That something which made life worthwhile was missing and one day Mahesh’s sister Malathi came in for a visit. She was one person who had been with us throughout our troublesome courtship and who stood behind us like a rock when both families made lots of noises disapproving of our fondness for each other.
Malathi guessed the tension in minutes and told me it’s high time we sorted the situation out. She offered to stay with us for the weekend and take charge of the kids if we wanted to take away for the day. Mahesh and I decided to go away for a day’s drive sans kids, to the tip of the Indian sub continent and see if some of what remained of a good thing could be saved and the spark revived… I admit I had no hope but Malathi was one person whom I could deny nothing, and she genuinely cared for our happiness.
It was just after Christmas, 26th December 2004 to be exact that we went to Kanyakumari for a few moments of revitalization. Kanyakumari is at the tip of the triangle of the Indian Subcontinent that juts into the Indian Ocean and a two hour drive for us. I admit I began to unwind and by the time we passed the Nagercoil town into the windy highroad flanked by green fields, Mahesh was humming an old favorite, a sure sign that he had started to feel romantic.
We had started off quite early and it was just about 8 in the morning when we reached KK. The day’s crowd was waiting on mainland in serpentine queues for the ferry to the Vivekananda rock. We got on one of the first boats that started ferry service that day and once on the rock we found a secluded place facing the mainland. We sat in total silence. The atmosphere was serene in spite of the milling crowds and it was heavenly being surrounded by the blue sea and white frothing waves with the mainland close in sight. It was now a little past 9 in the morning and across the water just a few feet away another rock bore the 95 ft statue of Tiruvalluvar in regal posture. I leaned back on the shoulder of my hubby and closed my eyes; my heart bubbled over with happiness. The magic was returning to my life, I felt. Both of us didn’t want to talk, but we did feel that the silence between us was communicating more than any words could do.
Some time later I opened my eyes to a buzz around us and found a whole crowd just past our seat pointing their fingers to the sea. I nudged hubby and both of us sat up straight in shock at the sight in front of us. Have you ever seen the bottom of the sea? We just did! The sea floor was uneven and rocky, and looked like wet sand heaps but it did not hold our attention for more than a moment, when a fear gripped me and my heart began to beat in wild rhythm; this was not normal; and not right at all…Sea moving backward? I could see the far off images of the crowds on the beach on mainland running forward in curiosity and I feared the statue of Tiruvalluvar would tumble down without its sea bed.
In a moment I saw a huge wave race up the bare sea floor right on to the beach…did I say huge? It was nothing short of gigantic… and looked like a green blue wall closing in and I felt blank...yes really blank…the screams round me were at the highest pitch I ever heard and the pilgrims were frantically chanting at the top of their voices. The roar of the sea was even louder and I gripped hubby’s arm tight, how tight I didn’t realize till almost hours later. The giant wall passed us…yes really rode past us and ran onto the mainland beach; it missed us by a few meters. On the mainland, I could see ant like figures trying to scramble up the beach…the water went on and back right into the ocean and it was quite obvious to us that it didn’t go back empty handed. The roar of the ocean was something I had never heard; it came back and forth a few times but my ears were frozen.
The big statue out there was taking the brunt of the wave and standing like…well a rock…it broke the wave a little but ran with reduced but no small force on to the mainland again. I felt numb and sick and hid my face on to his shoulder. The screaming frenzy rose to unbelievable pitches and my mouth was dry. I wanted to see whether there was another wave coming in our direction but could not look up for fear…Was there another wave? I don’t know really! The rising column of water spilled its spray on the places on Vivekananda rock considered safe so far. People were running helter skelter and it was almost a stampede like situation. There was no escape from the rocky island. I heard wild commentaries on how the sea was going back and forth but did not open my eyes for what seemed like hours, holding on to what I now realized to be my most beloved possession, my husband. When the roar of the sea had subsided to normal pitches and I opened my eyes to a world changed.
Everything looked normal, so normal! The sea was its usual green blue and at its usual rhythm; like a naughty child who was pretending that it had done no mischief. The wails that rose from the mainland was unmistakable, though faint and below the roar of the sea. The voices round me were frantic, and although some persons did try to make an attempt through their cell phones, but no one was getting connected. Someone said that there were about 400 persons on the rock at the moment but help was slow in arriving. It was just about 11 in the morning; just an unforgettable two hours since we arrived on the rock.
In those hours I waited, I realized how much I loved Mahesh and how I much I wanted him to be there in my life. Mahesh looked dazed and was very quiet. He did not let his hand leave my shoulders for a minute, just as he used to in his heydays when we aere hopelessly infatuated with each other.
I didn’t have a doubt about my life any more, nor about how solid was my partnership. Help came late evening and once ashore we got to hear the details of tragedies that happened on the beach right in front of our eyes. A newly married couple who were holding hands one moment and the bride alone in the world the next moment! A mother frantically looking for her ten year old son whom the waves tore from her hands! A whole family washed away in front of the grandmother who stayed back on the beach! There were tales aplenty and as many bodies to identify and dispose of!
We finally managed to get a call through to our home where a frantic group of relatives were waiting to hear from us. It was a tough drive back; our clothes were wet and we were shivering. The hot black coffee supplied by some volunteers was not doing its job, but at a lonely spot, hubby stopped the car and held out his hand. My tears which were dammed within a confused mind flowed freely. I found his cheeks wet too and we sat in each others arms till a cold wind broke our reverie.
We realize that it was a real honey moon not in the sense of romance or good time, but of rediscovering ourselves. We have no photos and a not even memory…the time spent there on the rock is locked away in a part of our mind where even memory cannot access. I know most of you will say this was not a honeymoon; but if a honeymoon is about finding each other, I would say this journey was one!