Many years ago, I was travelling to the seaside resort of Ganpatipule on the Konkan coast from Mumbai. The journey was in breaks for first we took a night train to Ratnagiri and then a local rickety bus from Ratnagiri to Ganpatipule. It was a lovely ride, meandering through red cliffs and deep green forests. It was warm but I could smell the salty sea smell in the air and the excitement of seeing the sea kept me awake the whole trip. On the bus were school girls, youngy ou white and blue salwar kameezes and long hair in two plaits and doubled up. One girl who stood beside my seat had a red rose in her hair. She was sweet with a simple rustic beauty and a single line of a poem danced in my head:

Konkan Kanya,
A red rose in your hair....

Today, after fifteen years, I completed it; on a sudden whim...

Konkan Kanya,
Red rose in hair
Your shy half smile:
Sugar,
In this salt air!