An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with
one or more rivers or streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the
open sea. The inflow of both seawater and freshwater in an estuary
provide high levels of nutrients in both the water column and sediment, making
estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world.
--Courtesy Wikipedia
We were travelling along the Marvanthe beach, which is considered
to be a geological wonder. This is where the river Sauparnika flows alongside
the Arabian sea for nearly 10 kms. The road on which we were travelling divided
the two of them…
All of it resembled those confusing and highly complicated
plots that are often enacted in a dreamland!
He was trying to reach her desperately… A wall, few feet
wide, separated them. The wall was not very tall. He tried to climb over it…but,
somehow, he couldn’t. At times when he managed to get over it, he would fall
back.
He vented his frustration and anger on the wall. He tried to
break it. It never broke. He never gave up.
He was always talking to her, to assure her that he is
there. The only sound he could make was a roar- sometimes gargantuan and
sometimes suppressed by the tiredness of his efforts.
She could hear his
heart wrenching sound… May be that’s why she was also moving along the wall…as
close to him as possible. She wimped. She spoke in her quiet yet strong voice.
She was making tireless efforts to find a way to reach him. She coerced the
wall to make way; she struck it with all her might… But the wall wouldn’t
budge.
They never lost hope…he continued to fight against the wall…
she moved on with it… making silent efforts whenever opportunity knocked… the
wall seemed to be never ending.
Sweet are the fruits of labour and patience. The wall ended
very soon…
It had crumbled into sand to make way for them to meet each
other… They have been together ever since!
…I was shaken out of my reverie as our vehicle flew over a
speed breaker…
We were on our way back to Mangalore aftera fun trek to
Kosalli falls and a rendezvous with the enchanting Ottinene beach… Also called
the Byndoor beach, this is where an estuary-like area is
formed where the river Sauparnika meets the Arabian sea.
Ottinene beach situated near Kundapur, is one of the best
beaches around Mangalore I have ever been to - serene, unspoilt and magical.
We reached the Ottinene sunset point (We were not lucky
enough to see the sunset due to the clouds) from where you can catch a
beautiful sight of the river making a U-turn to meet the Arabian Sea. Then we
climbed down to get to the beach.
Ottinene is one of those few places that will make you want
to come back to it again and again. I had never before seen a river meet a sea,
much less, get into that very water which neither belongs to the sea nor the
river. Rain fell in a perfect parallelogram at the horizon as the clouds ate
themselves up. The sight was awe-inspiring. Estuaries are known to be home to a
variety of aquatic flora and fauna. Here the fishermen were fishing using a
thin cord at whose end, bait, in form of a worm had been tied. and a cool
breeze, which belonged neither to the river, nor the sea blew along.
Towards Kosalli falls
Kosalli Falls(We could go only till the 3rd tier
due to the strong water currents)
From the 3rd tier pf the falls
Ottinene beach
To Ottinene beach
The rainfall on the horizon
(Photographs courtesy Charan S. Walke)
