Puri

and, with folded hands and a prayer on their lips, seek the blessings of the sun, water, and earth.

As the sun climbs higher into the sky and sea birds with their strange cries begin to wheel overhead, holidaymakers intent on fun and frolic also make a beeline for the seashore. With the sacred mission to Puri complete, pilgrims tend to hurry back after taking their sacred dips.

But tourists and travelers who have journeyed to Puri to taste the joys of its beach linger and loll on the vast expanse of the sands—at peace with themselves and the world, content to soak in the sun and the myriad sights which unfold with unfailing regularity. As the waves come in and touch the beach, several swimmers decide to dare the sea. However, though often classed as being the “most beautiful”, the sea at Puri can, for unwary swimmers, also be the “most treacherous”.

Eastwards along the beach, just before the fishing village, you can see dusky Oriyan fishermen pushing their boats into the sea. Soon they will be off, riding the waves and casting their nets for fish. For a fleeting moment, one wonders how such heavy, unwieldy boats will stay afloat, but then one remembers that the sea and the fishermen have been friends since ages past, and the sea has revealed all its many secrets and moods to these bold, hardy men who are never more happy than when riding down a trough and up the crest of sea wave after sea wave.

Friendly by nature, the fishermen are not averse to dabbling in commercial ventures other than the tradition one of fishing, and for a small consideration, will often agree to take you far out to sea. Both are epitomes of stunning beauty, but there still remains a world of difference, a difference of ambiance, of quality, of radiance, between a sunset watched from a boat in the vast expanse of the sea and a sunset watched from a beach.

The white sands warmed by the sun quickly become cold to the touch when dusk falls. If the moon is full or waxing, the sea and the beach present yet another series of alluring spectacles to visitors. Strolling hand in hand or alone on the silvery sands with the moonlight creating changing patterns on the water as the waves roll in is an extraordinary experience.