The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
Mumbai’s beaches. The first word that comes to mind when we
think of them, sadly, is ‘filth’. Over the years, we have so got used to seeing
our beaches in a mess, that we rarely give a thought to the marine life teeming
there. Our eyes were opened to the incredible marine bio-diversity of Girgaum
Chowpatty, (more popularly called Chowpatty Beach), when we recently went on a walk with Marine Life of Mumbai
and INatureWatch Foundation.
Over the last few weeks, I have racked my mind about what to write about our
experience, but I have finally decided to cut out the words, and show you
instead, through my photographs, the incredible life that manages to survive
despite all odds….
Shells are everywhere, which is not surprising. But what is
surprising is the fact that each of them, small and big, have creatures within
them – the molluscs whose natural homes these are, as well as hermit
crabs, which occupy them once they are abandoned.
 |
| Hermit crab in spiral shell |
 |
| a different type of shell, with the mollusc inside |
 |
| Hermit crab which has grown too big for its adopted shell |
 |
| Hermit Crab |
 |
| Hermit Crab |
And here is a video... of a hermit crab moving with its shell...
Then, there are the crabs… of all sizes and colours… this one
is a Blood
Spotted Swimming Crab…
 |
| Blood Spotted Swimming Crab. Notice the three red spots? |
And Sea Snails…
 |
| Sea Snail |
But the most fascinating among all the creatures that we saw,
were the Sea Anemones….
 |
| Sea Anemone |
 |
| Sea Anemone This one seems to be partly closed, and you can see the bulk of it under water |
They seemed to be all over, hidden in the sand, yet in plain
view, uncovered by the low tide…
 |
| Sea Anemone |
 |
| Another sea anemone where you can see the base underwater |
It seemed such a wonder that we had never seen them before!
 |
| Yet another sea anemone |
On bits of rock, or pieces of wood, we saw these….
 |
| Egg capsules |
They are egg capsules of molluscs, from which they emerge with
their shells….
 |
| Egg capsules on a piece of wood |
We also saw Decorator Worms, which adhere to broken shells and
other debris from the sea, and use them as a natural covering or protection,
which also helps them camouflage with their surroundings.
 |
| Can you spot the Decorator Worms in this pic? |
It was most exciting to spot a sea-fan, a type of coral, which,
we were told, would most probably have been caught in a fishing net and discarded.
Never having imagined its existence, let alone in our very own city, you can
imagine how excited we were!
 |
| Sea Fan |
A flock of geese flew over, reminding us that there was avian
life around too. In the horizon were small rocky outcrops, isolated enough for
marine life to thrive. Standing there, our feet washed by the waters of the
Arabian Sea, we wondered how long this marine life would thrive, with all the
‘development’ planned in the coming years.
But most poignant was this sight… of an abandoned Ganesha idol
on the shore….
Sometime next month, when the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is
celebrated, many more such idols will find their way to the sea, to meet just
such a fate, endangering all the marine life here in the process. I wish we
could realise that this is no way to celebrate our gods, our city, or indeed
our culture. How much better it would be, if we could celebrate by recognising
the presence of the divine all around us, including in these creatures, which
we threaten by our actions, and our indifference, every single day.
Meanwhile, I can only ask you, the next time you visit one of
the beaches in this island city of ours, to keep your eyes open for all the
life that lives and breathes, just beneath our feet!
 |
| Bubbles... signs of life |
A very special thanks
to Marine Life of Mumbai
and INatureWatch Foundation,
for their impressive work, in making us aware of the marine life teeming in our
concrete city.
To see more images from the walk, click here.
Disclaimer: This is NOT a sponsored post. I participated in the walk as
a member of the general public, and paid the full fee for the same.
Interesting to spot so much marine life on Chowpatty as yes my first impression was also of filth and dirt. I try and do some of these walks whenever I come Mumbai and have noted down this one for my next trip! My fav walk so far is the one to Sewri to view the Flamingos - have you been there yet?
ReplyDeleteInformative post with some amazing photos. Thanks for sharing, will try to visit during my next tour to India.
ReplyDeleteIts such a worth treasure hunt. I am so excited to do it myself on my next visit.
ReplyDeleteAppreciating the time and energy you put into your
ReplyDeletesite and in depth information you provide. It’s awesome to come across a blog
every once in a while that isn’t the same old rehashed material.
Thanks for sharing so much deep and insight knowledge about the marine life of the city of dreams known for its filthy beaches. I tried visiting almost all the beaches but unfortunately I was only able to visit few of them which was quite amazing and interesting experience.
ReplyDeleteYou’re amazing and inspiring.. Glad to read his post. Thank you so much for sharing a great information.
ReplyDeleteIt was such a treat to watch and read all the information you have quoted in your post. Thanks for sharing such a treasure of knowledge about the dream place. I just love beaches and this just made my day.
ReplyDeleteInteresting bcoz i am beach person!
ReplyDeleteI have never seen a picture of sea anemone on an Indian beach. Its just so beautiful, just like the rest of your images. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a beautiful post you have written. This is the first time I am reading your blog and I must say I am highly motivated and inspired. Keep the good work. I am looking forward to read more stories from you.
ReplyDeleteYou had a great discovery on this. Thanks for sharing such an amazing post with us
ReplyDeleteThanks
ReplyDeleteLooking at how cute sea creatures are, I want to go to the beach again.
ReplyDeleteAmazing. After seeing your fascinating pics, I will also surely go to Girgaum Chowpatty and look around. Was this near the road going up to Malabar Hill end where there are some rocks or on the main beach?
ReplyDeleteNever knew that Mumbai beaches has so much treasures
ReplyDeleteSuperb! it is really important for those who don't know about it So Keep sharing Valuable content, admin. I will also suggest it to my friends also. So keep going
ReplyDeleteIt is really a nice article. It’s awesome to come across a blog
ReplyDeleteevery once in a while that isn’t the same old rehashed material.
thank you
ReplyDeleteNice post , Thanks fot the post.
ReplyDeletehttps://tumanishvili.com/
What an amazing blog you have shred with us. Liked and appreciated it well published. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for such an interesting blog and the given content is extremely good. Keep posting such an amazing blogs, Will definitely share with my friends.
ReplyDeletebubbles is a sign of life :) sure i will take care of that in future. Thanks for this awesome blog. Our also mission is clean earth, green earth. https://gardendeco.in/
ReplyDeleteWe have so many things to lean about marine life and all its creatures. I am really glad to go through your blog and update my knowledge on the same. Thanks for this blog.
ReplyDelete