The man who sold the world

I must have died alone,

A long long time ago…

Who knows, not me,
I never lost control,
You’re face to face,
With the man who sold the world…

These words were the first to overpower me when I reached Gokarna, my first ever trip to the divine beach, even before I could hear the waves or smell the bidis.

My first trip to Gokarna was stressful. Before we got to the golden sands by Namaste cafe, my friend and I had to endure a very painful bike ride lasting 10 hours in the merciless Konkan sun and humidity. The distance from Manipal is a blissful 200 kms. We had expected to make the sunset, having left at 1 pm. Of course, there was a puncture, and no garages were open on account of some local festival.

We had trekked 2 kms on the highway before we found a chap who’d agree to help us out…We were tired, dehydrated, sun-burnt and nowhere close to the beach. I started to reprimand myself for the big idea of biking to Gokarna instead of taking the train like good children.

Anyways, we reached 11 pm and Cobain’s drugged murmurs filled my head as I walked down the steps of the cafe, building anticipation, and tranqulizing the blessed day. It was the beginning of my first real escape to a pretty place without the Hutch network. I’d spent the next two days doing absolutely nothing, looking at the gazillion stars, sleeping at the beach, and trekking.

And I go back everytime I hear that song.