Smell of the Sun
There were occasions to celebrate but to celebrate the freedom on a beach was to not just surf the froth but to feel the sun. In retro it was the touch of the unabashed sun that mattered and the music of the tides.
Vacationing on a beach was a faraway dream in the pandemic times. For me, a little break at a coffee joint was a milestone getaway in the recent past. Both my husband and I, we decided to drive out to our favorite joint at Church Street, Bangalore for a warm coffee and toast.
It was early evening. The sun still shy to settle down. The drive was mesmerizing on the less noisy roads that otherwise was a humdrum of honking. It was a great drive with the sun weaving shades on our faces with every passing terrains of either a building structure or a tall tree. My long untied hair was blowing up like smoke rings. I rarely leave my curls open, and I do that when I am desperate to feel everything in one go. All of the joys touching every ease on my body. The long drive was too shortened due to the petty traffic and we reached the famous Indian coffee house for a nostalgic break. The coffee-toast with maska -omelette combo is our dear prima. We savored every bit of it and prolonged the experience. The waiters were happy to have few tables active and was happy to see us there turning a family. It looked as though everyone there was simply enjoying every bite. We packed a set for the kids and enjoyed the ride back home. By this time the city was more jewelled with lights and the sun had played its part for the day. The onward journey that was more wonderful. There was life, I said quite without much thought. Yes it had felt life, I observed.
My husband and I loved dissecting our experiences. What worked, and what did not. That was a precious activity and had to happen through the day as we went on with our chores. It was not just the coffee, it was the experience of the sun that we liked. I could smell the sun, said my husband. Smell of the sun ! indeed, that it was ! I realise now that the Sun has a valuable contribution and its signature is a necessity to embrace a vacation break fully.
I do not know whether sun really smells. Clothes dried in the sun smell of it says my mum. Both my mum and I are old fashioned with drying clothes. We do not like the chemical softener smell of the washing machine dryer, instead we like the smell of sundried clothes. We like the smell of sundried meat and fish. We even enjoy the smell of our skin after it is oiled and baked in the sun before a royal bath.
As we rattle through our lives, our family and friends, our worlds, all that mattered was to know exactly what matters. And how it matters. It is easy to generalize the needs but very difficult to arrive at the specifics. It is easy to speak about a vacation after the pandemic settles but it is not in the planning to discuss the first destination, as you are still not sure if the pandemic would end soon. The wave stories of first — second — third remind us of the seasons on amazon with the high strung emotions playing its drama on our minds and brains. We look forward to the next seasons as the script writer and director has added a spice in the last episode that was left untasted. Needless to say we hope not to see another corona wave. Life has to settle down. If it is a new normal so be it. But we want to see the sun, feel the touch of the sun and also smell the sun.
