Coloured sands of Kanyakumari

 I made the last trip to Kanyakumari about five years ago - the beach area was full of buildings of different shapes and sizes. There were jetties for launches to take tourists to the Vivekananda Rock, there were churches, hotels residential buildings, shops selling everything from trinkets to items of daily use - the skyline was an eyesore, to say the least.

The beach practically does not exist anymore. Yet, it is the southern most tip of India and the  point where the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea meet.

Memories of my first visit to the place came flooding back... I had gone there with my parents and sister when I was this high. The last building on the mainland was the Gandhi Memorial, with the beach at a significant distance. The Vivekananda Memorial on the Vivekananda Rock was being built, and still in the early stages of construction.

I remember running around the beach with my sister, playing with sea-shells, and pebbles. I also remember collecting sands of different colours. That memory stayed with me as I completed this trip and told my family about the sands of Kanyakumari.

The other day, while cleaning out a cupboard, a flat, white plastic box popped out. I opened it - and there it was !!! The coloured sands of Kanyakumari in three little glass bottles staring back at me from the trip I made more than fifty years ago... 

The red sand was from the Bay of Bengal side, the white, from Indian Ocean, and the black sand from the beach of the Arabian Sea. Sharing the picture for you all :

It is a pity that today's travellers to the place will never get to see this.