Father and Son with a Coconut on a virgin beach

 

There are some moments which are pure magic, they are unexpected and when it happens it is just pure joy.

As a businessman you sometimes must travel to attend meetings that you know in the heart are insignificant but unavoidable. I had to drive a couple of hours to meet a prospective client and circumstances were such that my young son had to tag along. The young boy was livid at the idea of being in stuck in a car for a long time and missing play time with his friends. So, there were 2 guys on a journey, both did not want to be there, but one had the advantage of age to protest and be rebellious and the other had to just suck it up and get it over with.

We reached the destination through a long drive full of negotiations and debates between father and Son. I met the clients at a beautiful beach side café in South Goa. The setting was beautiful, the blue waters of the ocean and the golden sand of the beach and a small café overlooking this stunning view. The best part was there was hardly anyone on the beach, which meant that it was safe for my young boy to wild it out while I had unobstructed view of him all through. This was a great relief now I don’t have to be interrupted repeatedly during discussions. The meeting went on for approximately an hour, all through my son was thoroughly enjoying himself chasing crows and crabs, running, and rolling over. From his point of view it might be a great relief to be away from direct adult supervision, he could be himself.

After the meeting was over and the clients left and I joined my Son. To be on a beach just by yourself, no crowd, no one to sell you anything can make you very contemplative. The sound of the waves and the endless view to the horizon can trigger a chain of thoughts. I drifted back into reality when I saw my son walking towards the waves with a large, dried coconut in his hands. He started throwing the coconut into the oceans. Every time he threw it, it came faster back with the waves. Each time the coconut washed ashore the effort in throwing it back was higher. Soon there was a kind of competition between the young boy and the mighty oceans. This went on for a while and the boy actually got a little better at his throw, he also started timing the throw to the break of the waves, but his small hands could only get it so far. I found myself completely engrossed in this and hoped that we could see the coconut float away beyond the waves. I could not resist and joined his efforts.

Where did I get the confidence that I would be able to throw it far enough, I always thought that I had the range to get it across. It just took a few throws to get this reality check. With my inflated ego punctured we both were determined. My son helped me each time to get the coconut once it washed ashore, I stood there and kept trying different angles with more efforts.

Can the oceans read minds; it seems they can? It was like a mind game out there. First few attempts get your hope up and then suddenly a barrage of strong waves bring you down. Each time our hope and desire grew a notch higher. After a few more attempts it felt like we really found some success.

A throw landed deep beyond the break of the waves and we could see the coconut float away. It is difficult to express the happiness we felt when the coconut did not wash back even after a few minutes. In that moment we were both children again and we were simply happy.

With content hearts we started walking back, the coconut was still on our minds. We could not stop talking about it. For some reason I kept glancing back at the beach and every time I was relieved that the coconut was no where to be seen. When we reached the café back, I looked back one last time and there it was the coconut back on the beach. There was a rush of emotions and of course I did not have the courage to break my son’s heart just when he was continuously bragging about it. I looked again at the coconut, it felt like we were saying bye to each other. Though we did not achieve what we wanted it felt good as we went on.