An evening in Bay on Bengal and the coconut seller

It was just past sunset when I reached the beach.I walked past the foreign tourists and bunch of Bengali young folks strolling near the luxury resort.The beach here seemed broader,without the mushrooming giant sized hotels & local makeshift jewellery & food stalls.As I kept walking,the hubbub of the resort tourists gradually faded away.This side of the beach is calmer & of course,less coconut corpse found on the sea.I sat on the beach.Close enough to soak my feet in the waves but not to get drenched.It was all I needed - a moment of solace,the sea & just me nobody else.“How I wish it rains tonight”,I thought.The scattered clouds up above,the tropical breeze & the virgin beach spelled its magic on me.I was sinking in tranquillity...
“Oh didi(Sister),don’t stay here too long”.The voice came from a local boy,may be 10 or 11 years of age,wearing a crumpled yellow tee-shirt & a pant that went up to his scrawny knee.His coconut van was on standing,near his back.“This place isn't safe after dark,sister”,he said in local Bengali.“Why?” I asked,looking straight to the sea.He sat down with legs folded.Crossing his fingers aimlessly on the sand,he said,“Quite a few tourists got drowned here in last months.The city people used to stay on the beach long after sundown.They got drunk and went to the sea in high tide and never came back”. He stopped for a moment & continued,“Now usually in the evenings police officers patrol the beach to see if anybody is hanging around. And they fine big bucks if they find anyone!”

“Don’t worry, I’m not drunk”,I replied with a dim smile.“But still don’t stay for too long.People aren't very good here, you know”,he got up & reached towards his van.He was like any other local Midnapore boy you would see-the usual dark tanned complexion,lean arms & dusty knees.His motor cycle still had a dozen of coconuts left.The scorching tropical Bengal heat is,after all,frightening for any tourist,barring few eccentric like me,I thought.“How much for one”?I asked him pointing at the coconuts.“10 rupees only.Will you have one?”he asked meekly.He carefully cut a coconut with his large knife,put a straw inside and gave that to me.With the sweet coconut water,the evening breeze, the crawling red crabs on the beach & the frequent tap of waves on my feet freed me from the claustrophobia.

Looking at the sky above,the coconut boy said,as he rode on his bike,“I think it might rain tonight.”