I sat alone on the beach, by the Bay of Bengal, after walking on the sand for quite some time. The sea waves danced to a soothing tune as millions of baby turtles crawled into the sea. The strangers passed by me and I stared silently in awe, and held my breath as that was all I could do. The tiny turtles followed the light of the moon that seemed their only guide at midnight. The tiny lungs gasped for breath. Their little yet strong legs moved forward consistently only to be gulped down by the waves. These were the babies of Olive Ridley Turtles, which had hatched out of their eggs some ten or fifteen minutes earlier.
The urge to pick up one of the turtles on to my palm was too strong to resist, and I picked up one. It jumped back onto the sand and walked on without stopping. The entire lot seemed mesmerised by the soft light. They followed the torchlights when the torches were switched on, and they had to be switched off, so as to not disturb them in their natural surroundings.We had to tread carefully on the sand as the turtle eggs had been laid widespread on the whole
beach. They were like land mines waiting to explode.
The banks of the river Rushikulya, in Orissa, witnesses a unique experience each year. The place where the river meets the sea is conducive for the turles to lay their eggs. The mother turtle travels across the Atlantic ocean and reach the Indian Coasts by November. The nesting of these turtles takes place in the month of February and each turtle lays nearly 120 to 150 eggs. Each mother turtle weighs around 50 to 55 kgs. The eggs are hatched after a labour of 45 days.The eggs are small and seem like golf balls. “We wait for the whole year for these turtles”, said Ramu, a villager. “But they do affect our fishing and we suffer for around five months of the year,” he added.
The thought that these little turtles will get united with their mother was enough to bring me back to reality. They would swim towards the Atlantic ocean along with their mothers who were waiting in the waters, for their young ones to arrive. These turtles would grow into adults and return to lay eggs someday. However, there are a few threats that endanger the lives of these turtles. There are ports - ships, fishermen - boats and nets, poachers, other animals in the sea etC.
The horde of people who had gathered to watch the magic unfurl had strolled back towards the parked vehicles. I realised I was all alone and I strode back towards the vehicle and drove back to civilisation. I was enriched with an experience that I would cherish all my life.
