Sunrise Boulevard

It was a bright and moonlight night. I was sitting by the sea, watching the moon’s rays create a silver luminescent patch on the dark water, when I realized with a guilty start that I had hardly ever seen sunrise, despite going to the beach ever so often. (Nowadays, leading the life of a typical software professional, by the time I wake up, the sun is well above the horizon) Determined to rectify this error, I decided that I would try to get up early next morning and go to the beach. My friend was openly critical of my rising early and said unless I used Krishna like tactics to hide the sun or perhaps delay its start by a good ‘n’ hours, there was no way I would make it to the beach by sunrise. Ah! For every noble thinker, there are always a million detractors out there waiting for you to fall.

Determined to prove him wrong, I was woken up promptly at six and the combination of the unearthly hour and deep sleep was enough to make me contemplate to silently ditching the expedition for another day. However, somehow or the other, my willpower triumphed over sloth after a few minutes battle, and I awoke, realizing I have to rush if I have to make it before sunrise. Which my father informed me should happen at 6:33. Actually let me reframe the previous lines since I seem to be portrayed in a negative light. Let us pause a moment and hither to a parallel dimension, an idyllic world where men are men; dreams come true; Dubya doesn’t win elections; and pizza tastes as good as it looks in the ads.

There

Woken up by the shrill cackle of the rooster, I burst out of bed bustling with energy. With a brisk good morning to my parents, and a quick glance at the headlines (for those nit pickers out there, the paper delivery boys give the papers just before the crack of dawn), I step into my neatly pressed and matching track suit, strap on my well worn Nikes, and rush out.

Back on Earth

Having just got up, and still feeling extremely groggy, somehow I strap on my running shoes (which haven’t been used at all), and rush out. After a few minutes breathless run, I convince myself to slow down to a trot before I realize that the sunrise was scheduled in another ten minutes and unless it followed Indian Standard time like trains did, I would miss it. Another minute of determined run before I find I’m panting far too much. A traffic signal gives me much time to get back into shape before a few more minutes of haphazard jogging, after which my pace slows down to a fast walk. Nearing the beach again, I hurry into a sprint that peters out into a slow walk after a hundred meters or so. The slow walk continues till I reach the beach

There
My legs moving in perfect unison, breath perfectly controlled, I chomp away at the distance covering my house to the beach. Making a quick calculation that at my current speed, I would reach the beach 12 minutes before sunrise, I slow down by the requisite amount so that I would reach the beach exactly 7 and a half minutes before sunrise. Hardly sweating at all, I take offence at the protracted traffic signal and glance with a supercilious smirk at the tired and sweat drenched runner beside me who seems to be glad of this break. Continuing again, I reach the beach much before time and do a quick few minutes of power yoga while I waited for the sun to rise.

And Back Again

Enough of parallel dimensions. As I reach the coast, I find to my immense relief that though the sky has attained a pinkish hue; the sun hasn’t crept over the horizon yet. After a few minutes of waiting, all my effort is finally rewarded as the sun first peeps timidly out and then bathing the sky and the sea in mild pink rises out, an orange ball suspended from the sky and drawn by an invisible string, perhaps by the Hand of God. The rays glance off the sea, causing the waves to shimmer, a dull blue with the region under the sun suffusing with orange, as the sun steadily makes its progress up. After some time, I decide its time I leave, and this time walk back, making no effort to run, or even break into the slightest jog, but resolute that I would attempt this epic journey some time in the near future.

For those who wanna know more about how to get there, here are the details

Location: Besant Nagar Beach

How to get there: Take the second right and keep jogging ( If one can reach NeverNever Land that way, no reason why one cant reach the beach too)

Means of transport: Since the idea is to go jogging, no reason for me to mention that the place is well connected by rail and air. Note : I haven’t mentioned it so the previous statement could be right.

Time to visit: Look up sunrise timings at the Hindu