...

I wonder why I've never done this before. Possibly, I've never had the time, most certainly, I was caught up in trying to fathom the random emotions of an unfamiliar community.

But this time, when I was in Nagapattinam, I had time to stand and stare at the greying sea. The sky was overcast and the waves, a belligerent grey too. As I stood on the truncated shore, staring out into that vast greyness, I wondered how it might have been.

And then, I could see, in my mind, a kinetic wall of grey, muddied ocean hurling itself towards me. I turned back to see if I could escape - the shore seemed long, deserted and full of clumps of wet sand, discouraging speed. In that one moment, I seemed to know just how it might have been, not quite and yet, just there.

When I shuddered then, it was not because of the chill wind blowing in from a sea that was waiting for rain.