Her laughter
ricocheted right off the boulders by the cove and seemed to impregnate each
grain of sand with its lilt. There was something about it…he heard people laugh
all the time on the beach; was`nt that what beaches were about- fun and frolic…
but this laugh was more infectious than the deadliest virus- not that this was
the first time that it was ringing in his ears. Infact he had been hearing it for
the last three years and unfailingly in the month of December. This then was
invariably the time he woke up to the
pristine beauty of the famous Miramar beach of Goa.
He raised his head
from work and sure enough there she was
the beautiful and elusive Kyra in her trademark denim shorts , a white cotton
top knotted at the waist , a headband structuring her beautiful face ; worn
with the intent of keeping those lustrous tresses off her face. A match of beach
volleyball was in progress and Kyra at
her 5`10 seemed to tower over the other girls and a fair number of boys as well.
The sudden splash of a ball besides him pulled him out of his reverie.” Hey
dude ! how about tossing back that ball?” called out the object of his reverie .Shellshocked
– he sure was until she walked upto him and shook him out of his stupor. “ Hi!
I am Kyra, I see you practically daily, everytime I come down for my holiday
around this time of the year, so decided to meet up. What is your name?” “I…I
am Gautam” he somehow managed to stutter. “Cool” she said “are`nt you the one
who does some amazing sand sculpting?” she queried further. So she had noticed
him and his work; he thought, as he nodded in assent while assidiously trying
to pry out a shell from the sand with his right foot as though his life
depended on it. “Hey, do you have to have either your hands or feet in the sand
all the time?” she asked noticing his gesture. Before he could reply, she
carried on in the same vein, “say ! we are one short in volleyball, why don’t
you join us?” and again before he could think of a suitable reply she was
dragging him through the wet then dry sand towards the volleyball net. His
arrival was greeted with a lot of `Yo man` and soon he was enjoying himself as
he never had. Kyra seemed to be just about all over her side of the net with
the swiftness of a panther dodging back and forth when the need arose. “Hey
guys! Are`nt you all steamed up? Let`s hit the waters for a bit” sang out Kyra`s
voice and soon the volleyball gang was in water.
To say that Kyra
lived life `Kingsize` would be to fall short by a long measure. Her cup just
never seemed to get full because she just went on increasing its size. One
minute she was by my side frolicking like the dolphins in the Irrawady and the next she was by Zack`s side pointing out
to a bunch of water scooterists.” Is`nt that Bosco and his pals ?” “Certainly
seems like them” replied Zack.
“Want to see someone
go through the wringer guys?” yelled out Kyra animatedly and was greeted with
hoots of laughter. In a flash she was out of the water, onto the beach and
yacking away on her cell for about half a minute. The waterplay was soon
interrupted by the roar of water scooters as about a score of them materialised
before us. “Bosco! You monster! How dare you take off without us?Want
nightmares tonight? You`d really thought you wouldn’t get caught? Well! Payback
time…tank up this baby and all others; me and my pals don’t wanna see the shoreline
before half an hour. Her Herculean speech drew hoots of laughter from her pals
and sheepish grins from Bosco`s. Before long all of us had made ourselves
comfortable behind one of Bosco`s each and were speeding away on the high
waters “All this surf is gonna wash off my sunscreen” lamented Kyra in Bosco`s
ears”. “Does`nt seem so” quipped back Bosco” you spend a good part of the day
in water and still my sister can`t stop raving about your skin, you must be
doing something right...so what`s your secret Cleopatra?” “Take a guess” piped
back Kyra “begins with an `L`”. “What you are in love..that`s the secret!”” No
silly , the only `L` in my life is`
Lakme` especially `Lakme sunexpert with
SPF 30`- with it around I have no worries . Oooh by the way, what`s next on the
funlist?” “God Kyra, don`t you ever let up on having fun? On a joyride and
already planning out the next one…” “Why else do you think I am called `the
sunshine girl`? The sun does not go down as long as Kyra is around…besides I
learnt way back that it was best to keep your face to the sunshine; that way
the shadows fell behind you. So now tell Bosco, what next?” “Take three
guesses for the three events i`ve lined
up and…” trailed off Bosco when he saw Kyra giving him her murderous look. “O.k
,o.k seeing that the sea air has given you such a huge appetite that you want
to gobble me ,i`ve got a barbecue set up to some blasting music with dancing of
course and we`ll call it a day with some
dumb charades. “Atta boy ! you do know what I like ; and again I owe you
big time , so tomorrow my treat”. “What can you possibly do tomorrow that has
not been done today? ” asked Bosco. “Really
Bosco, never knew that your canvas of life was pintsized “ replied Kyra
, “ wait and watch me tomorrow.” 
All of them alighted on the beach content and happy , scarcely
recognizing the place thanks to the dance floor Bosco had got laid out , lights
et al. Music pulsated from the D.J`s console and the air was redolent with food
smells wafting from the barbecue. Gautam broke away from the group and started
making his way out of the beach. “Hey Gautam ! where do you think you are
heading to…fun is not over yet ;come with me” and Kyra pulled Gautam towards the barbecue where the
ravenous gang was gorging on the delightful platter which was soon interrupted
as the tempo of the music grew louder and louder. Miramar beach rocked like it
never had. God ! did they never tire out ,mused Gautam munching on the eats as
Kyra`s voice rang out asking them all to congregate for the dumb charades but
only after they had cleaned out their party area and picked up all their
litter. Gautam did the needful and headed home thereafter but not before Kyra
had caught up with him and warned him to show up at 10 in the morning or else …
she`d said wagging her index finger at him .
Come 10 a.m. and Gautam found himself walking down the beachway. Sure
enough there was Kyra in her trademark
denim shorts and sleeveless ganji applying
Lakme s.p.f.30 all over.” You must be finishing a bottle a day considering
you are here till sundown” Gautam said.” Not so artist , it spreads extremely well and so does`nt take a lot to
armourise muself against the sun “ Kyra replied with laughter filled eyes,” and
now come on ,I want to show you something “ she said and grabbed his hand and
started runing towards an area which was
shaded by coconut trees, well away from the beach .The place was a riot
of colours with streamers fluttering in the breeze and helium inflated ballons
straining to make their way up. Huge banners proclaimed `Fun in the sun`. What
on earth had she thought of now, mused Gautam; and what he saw next stumped him
as he never had been. A bus full of children came to a halt on the road beyond
the shaded enclove and out trooped fifty to sixty kids who were soon queued up
and escorted to the festooned area. By that time Bosco and his gang and her own
mates from the vollleyball team had shown up as well. “ Don`t look so perplexed
Gautam , this is something right up your sleeve “ said the effervescent Kyra.
“What we are trying to do here is teach these children from the N.G.O. how good
can flower out of supposed waste. We have collected throwaways common to all
beaches – coconut shells , husk , driftwood , all disposables like plates ,
bottles , spoons , cups and hey! We are talking hygiene here , as all the stuff
has been hosed clean by Bosco and friends and is now ready for use. “ While she
had been talking to us the children had
been given coconut water and were now being shown around the various piles of
stuff they could pick from to innovate and invent – some additional
adhesives had been provided separately . “Come on children, playtime” rang out
Kyra`s voice. “Gautam, you being our inhouse artist ; why don`t you go around
and advise if and when required – the principle idea has to be their`s of
course . ..and not to forget kids , treats in the offing after you are done.”
The children produced some breathtaking stuff and the
Miramar beach had never looked prettier than when Kyra true to her word
descended on the beach with the kids , but not before she had coached them on
the need to protect themselves from the ill effects of the sun`s ultra violet
rays.” You have to catch them young – tell them first how to reduce their
carbon emissions , make them look out
for alternate energy sources and last but not the least , also teach them combative measures against things
which harm us which in this case happens to be the sun. “ But no worries kids
;make the sun your friend as I have with Lakme`s help. They have an impressive
repertoire with some amazing sunscreens for various needs – so go ahead and
have ‘FUN IN THE SUN’.
And what a fun day it
turned out to be – there were ice-lollies for all , paint artists going around
painting as funky a tatto as one fancied , trampolines which elicited incessant
squeals of laughter and the icing on the cake for the kids was when Kyra rode
up on a horse with three more in tow ; and soon the kids were trotting down the
beach turn by turn while the elders paraglided .
Gautam by now was truly befudled – as much by the spectrum
of activities as he was by Kyra ; from a
party girl to a sensitve , caring , conscientious and foresighted person ,she
truly defied description and was full of surprises ,much like the `L` in her
life and ours too.
So `Lakme` it`s your now…go ahead and surprise me some more !
! ! !
