Where the river meets the sea

About 15 km north of Udupi town, we are driving along this narrow strip of land. There is a thick canopy of coconut trees on both sides. The land gets narrower as water makes an appearance on either sides. Through the row of houses on the left, you can spot frothy waves. But on the right, water flows gently. You are finally on an isthmus, a narrow strip of land that separates two water bodies.

We come to a point where the width of the land is barely 75 metres: we are at a point where the sea is on our left, a row of houses line the beach, a road bang in the middle abutted by another row of houses and then the river. It does sound quite unbelievable, doesn’t it?

Pretty as a picture

As we move further ahead, a picture postcard view materialises on the right. Coconut trees line the River Suvarna on both sides. One of the tree trunks grows horizontally just like a coconut tree that is featured on every travel brochure of a beach. And between these trees hanging over the river, a boat floats into view. I believe these are the kind of moments that god sends your way as a reward for all your hard work.

The place is absolutely idyllic. The intermittent rains make everything green and dewy. In the early afternoon, it seems the houses sit empty. A calf, tied to a tree, grazes. All you can hear are the waves crashing and birds twittering. This is an incredible place to hear the roar of the sea and the languid flow of the river simultaneously. 

A little further ahead, at the tip of the land, the sea and the river meet. The road runs into a tall wall of stones that block our view of the waters. The authorities apparently have erected this rock barrier to protect the community from the rampaging waves of the Arabian Sea. It’s surprising to note how people live on this narrow tongue of land with abundant water on both sides, totally unperturbed.

Climbing over the rock barrier, you can witness the full wrath of the sea. Every few minutes you have to scamper back to the safety of the rocks as huge waves crash against the man-made wave breakers and work up a furious surf. The battered beach is littered with vegetation remains. Dark menacing clouds return to the sky. It seems it is only a matter of time before the sea reclaims this land.

Just beyond all this fury, River

Suvarna flows gently into the sea forming the Suvarna Estuary. An estuary forms a transition zone between river and marine environments. This meeting point is marked by a beach called Kodi Bengre.

The colours of the river and sea look certainly different. So, while the sea is all grey and frothy trying to dislodge the rocks, the bluish Suvarna tiptoes silently into the sea. The angry waves lull the residents into the most peaceful sleep that no city can offer. Kodi Bengre beach is relatively quiet and clean that has escaped the treatment meted out by the raging waves. Here is where you will find some tourists.
Within minutes, the skies have opened up and you can see some blue up there. In the Konkan regions, skies change form pretty quickly during the monsoons. It could be pouring for few minutes and then immediately, the skies clear up making the wet green leaves glow in the warm sunlight.

One of the most fascinating things of this place is that even in this strip of land constantly threatened by the sea, life goes on in its own languid way. The presence of water on both sides is just incidental. There are temples and there are houses; upturned boats wait for calmer waters, cattle graze and dogs play with the waves on the beach; everything seems normal.

Kodi Bengre is yet another example about human beings being totally comfortable in the lap of nature. Whether it is trudging up kilometres to the Garhwal Hills or taking a boat to get to Majuli, world’s biggest river island in Assam or here in Kodi Bengare, we feel at home with nature.

In your travels, you must have come across several places where you felt you could just settle down without a second thought. Kodi Bengre, in the lap of waves and flowing waters of River Suvarna, has an irresistible pull for a traveller to drop anchor.
Kodi Bengre Beach is just 15 km from Udupi and 417 km away from Bengaluru. It is easily accessible via road and is perfect for those weekend trips.