VIZAG matters - Sohan Hatangadi's Blog

THE TOURISTS ARE COMING! THE TOURISTS ARE COMING! MAKE SOME ROOM DOWN THERE... There is a lot of hullabaloo about tourists coming to Vizag. The newspapers are talking about it. You even hear it at parties, chest swelling with pride, you hear someone say  "we have great tourist potential in Vizag, our beach is fantastic, we must get more tourists here". I shudder when I hear that. We don't even have space for Vizag residents and we want to inflict the crowds on the hapless tourist? Take a look at our beach road, you cant walk 10 steps before bumping into someone. Perhaps we can fit in some genuine domestic back-packers ...

My Vizag’s Beach View from our beach home balcony in 1960.  Then an outer harbor Iron Ore jetty came up on the beach. A large wall blocked off the beach for the residents. Half a century ago, as a child I lived in an old stone building by the sea. So close in fact that, in stormy weather, the crashing waves sent a salty spray into our home. Ah the smell of the sea! The constant crashing of the waves! So subliminally deep was it driven into my psyche that, even when I went inland on vacation, I could still smell and hear it. On these sparkling waves and golden beaches we first learn to swim. All through summer vacation the neighbourhood boys frolicked among the waves. At dusk, we came home reluctantly, only when we were exhausted or when mom came looking for us, threatening dire consequences if we did not drag our salty black bodies back home. Here, I cast my catgut line with a bottle cork for a float and steel nut for weight, and caught my first sna...