An April Afternoon by the Beach

“Aap ko toh tourist guide hona chaiye!” (You should rather be a tourist guide!), my sister joked with Praveen, the auto driver we met a few moments ago. Acting on Praveen’s advice was the best thing we did that afternoon.

It was the month of April, last year. We had arrived at Mangalore around noon after visiting Bekal Fort in Kerala. Our train to Bangalore wasn’t until 9 PM. We had the entire afternoon and evening in Mangalore without any specific plans. Mangalore being a coastal city we knew we would be spending the afternoon at a beach. We had some financial limitations and wanted to restrain our expenses for the day. The waiter at the insignificant roadside eatery, where we had a delicious lunch of Pomfret fish curry and rice, recommended we go to Panambur Beach. We were, however, interested in Surathkal Beach as it was recommended by a friend but on enquiry got to know it was a little away from the city. Tad hesitantly, we settled for Panambur as it was accessible by bus and hence would cost less.

We landed at Panambur only to realize this was not the place where we would like to spend the rest of the day. It was crazily crowded even with the blazing Sun in the hot coastal afternoon. The sand was burning, and the place looked like a fair – joyrides for children, camel and horse rides, hawkers selling ice-creams, and what not. We immediately decided to spend whatever money it takes and go to Surathkal Beach instead. Walking through the heated sand out of the beach was an ordeal in itself and then there were no autos waiting by the roadside.

After a while Praveen arrived and was ready to take us to Surathkal for an amount that seemed a little high but at that moment we were in no mood to haggle. Wasting no time, we hopped in. Praveen started his auto and just took a turn towards our destination when I poured out my frustration about Panambur beach. I also told him that we have a train from Mangalore at night and would need to go back. Praveen recommended we go to Tannirbhavi beach instead as it would be easier to go back to the city from there.

Tannirbhavi turned out to be just like our kind of a place. The beach wasn’t much crowded and lacked the hustle and bustle of Panambur. The eateries and a few joyrides were restricted to just one small section of the beach a little away from the sea. The sand was clean, pristine and much cooler. The best part was the tall pine trees all along the beach that not only made it scenic but also provided refuge from the hot afternoon sun.

Set on the shores of the mighty Arabian Sea, Tannirbhavi beach was just perfect for nature lovers like us – peaceful, serene, and tranquil. It may not appeal much to those who love beach activities as it had none. We spent the rest of the afternoon wading knee deep into the water, walking leisurely on the sparkling sand through the length of the beach, listening to the waves lazily crashing on the beach, observing the golden coloured crabs hurriedly make their way and disappear into the sand, watching the playful sea birds flying around in definite patterns, and when the Sun felt hot resting under the shades of Pine.

As the afternoon was slowly giving way to evening, a cluster of clouds came along floating into the sky and the setting Sun played hide and seek with us. The result was, we did not have the perfect sunset but that didn’t matter instead we watched a young man practicing his surfing skills in the tides.

Praveen had mentioned a certain tree park nearby which he said was a must visit. He also told us about a temple in Mangalore. We were so lost in quietude at the scenic beach that we totally forgot about the tree park and remembered only when we were leaving the beach. We decided to give it a miss. On the other side of the beach runs Phalguni River, where one can take a ferry ride and cross over to Mangalore City. It’s the cheapest way to go to the city from the beach – something we wouldn’t have known had it not been for Praveen.

On reaching the other side of the river we visited the temple that Praveen had mentioned before heading to the Railway Station. The temple was beautiful and it was a good way to end our day at Mangalore.

Isn’t it fascinating to meet random people like Praveen while travelling! To me, they are God-send. Praveen was an auto driver, who went out of his way to help and guide random strangers in his city. It wasn’t a part of his duty. Rather he could have misguided and taken advantage of us in the lure of making some quick buck from ill-informed tourists. Instead he gave us a glimpse of Mangalore in the 20 minutes that we spent with him and invited us personally to come again for a longer period. He even created an itinerary for us to spend the rest of the day in the best possible way. Such delightful rendezvous add so much colour to travel memories.

Ever since, our memories of Mangalore is associated with Praveen and we can never forget the beautiful afternoon at Tannirbhavi Beach. I will go back to Mangalore as I haven’t explored the city at all and whenever I do so, I will reach out for Praveen.

Author: neelstoria

Traveling, Gardening, Trekking, Hiking, Storytelling, Writing, Nature, Outdoors, Yoga, DIY View all posts by neelstoria