Language of the Seas

Sunil Sharma

He always thought of the sea as 'la mar' which is what people call her in Spanish when they love her. Sometimes those who love her say bad things of her but they are always said as though she were a woman. Some of the younger fishermen, those who used buoys as floats for their lines and had motorboats, bought when the shark livers had brought much money, spoke of her as 'el mar' which is masculine. They spoke of her as a contestant or a place or even an enemy. But the old man always thought of her as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favours, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them. The moon affects her as it does a woman, he thought.

― Ernest Hemingway

  

What does the sea say to the viewer?
Well, plenty of things, provided you are listening to its music and moods.
For example, the sea speaks to John Masefield in a way almost unheard of:

I must down to the seas again to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

Or, the immortal lines from the Bard:

Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:
                                             Ding-dong.

Hark! now I hear them,—ding-dong, bell.

 

Well, the sea has got its own tongues and melodies.
It can speak to any watcher interested in its secrets.
To a girl-child, it has got some message that is best understood by a young heart only.
The infinity.
The blue expanse.
The tides.
The rolling waves.
The gulls circling above the waves.
The shore lines are dotted with the conches, shells, stones, driftwood...and other things deposited by the returning waves.
The resilience of the sands. The whispered ditties of the trees. The songs of the fishermen.
The graceful flights of the gulls over choppy waters.
Eternal beauty of the moon, sun, stars on the dappled bosom of the seas; poetic forms that float up there on the waves.
Of the dark mysteries by the night.

Of the terror and sublimity of storms.

And shipwrecks.

.

Artwork by Meenakshi Mohan

This month's picture prompt is this and that, and, more than that.

The depiction is the inspiration for many writers who find the visual by Meenakshi Mohan as stunning and unveiling many openings on the scene witnessed by the kid standing absorbed by the shore and its fascinating ecosystem.

A slender figure, with the back to the spectator/s, rooted in the instant and watching the motion and the terrific splendour of the ceaseless sea.

Bit personal, philosophical; bit poetic; bit realistic; the painting by the eminent Indian-American artist, poet, editor and academic is a triumph and the anchor of this month's special section.

Elsewhere, Dr. Meenakshi Mohan talks of the motivations behind this impressive composition.

She has been a regular contributor---and a close collaborator, the distinguished artist whose oeuvre delights and enlightens us.

Hope you enjoy her featured work and the responses to it by our select authors.

.

Rest of the edition is packed with nutrients for the brain.

Please enjoy!

 

Sunil Sharma,

Managing Editor, 

Setu (English)

---

Setu, November 2025