The waves here are constantly at work. They do not thrash or howl but crawl in silently, and then recede — covering and exposing three to five km of land, depending on the time of the day. Waves are relentlessly engaged in the process of regenerating the landscape here.
The sweet water meets the saline in Talasari, barely five km from Digha, in the southwest end of Bengal. Talasari is one of the more obscure beaches of the country. Here, the sea is alive, toying with the beach like a seasoned painter on a tested canvas. The slope of the sea-bed is so gentle that the waves get time to do much more.
A distributary of Subarnarekha surrendering to the Bay of Bengal adds the finishing touch to the drama that unfolds on the strip of land in between the river and the sea — subject to the saline and freshwater influences on either side. A path that imprints your footmarks in the afternoon gets submerged under navigated boat rides in the evening, as the once-distant waves invade the mouth of the river. Fishermen tirelessly mend the loose ends of their nets on the shores and prepare for the next catch as you look on at this everyday encounter.
Sreedeep is a Delhi-based fellow at C-PACT at Shiv Nadar University