Jarada : ‘A place where birds sit uncooked’.

‘Nature: A place where birds fly uncooked’ – Oscar Wilde. Did Oscar Wilde have Jarada in mind when he said these words?  There can be an ounce of truth if someone tells this disappearing island that appeared in front of the Irish playwright, cloaked in her turquoise flowy gown with the black cormorants decked on its hemline, made him gasp out the above words.

Jarada is slowly gaining a lot of attention among the tourists in Bahrain. It takes around 45 minutes on a boat, speeding  through the crystal clear blue water, cutting  the waves and beating up with the winds, to reach this unspoilt stretch of island. She appears in the morning to attract her admirers before she goes submerged in the evening. 

From the boat, we had to wade through the glimmering waters to reach the pristine sands of the island. Our boat driver was worried about anchoring close to the shore thinking of the difficulty in taking his boat off the shore due to low tide, later in the afternoon.

We were welcomed by the nonchalant morning inhabitants of the island – the cormorants who were enjoying the breeze, paying no heed to the mortal feet encroaching their island.

The island looks exactly like a winding marble road with its two ends being devoured by the blue waters. If you reach early in the morning, the whole island is going to be yours!

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It is a long walk from one end to the other, with the cold, shimmering water tingling your feet.. But later during daytime, the water may be littered by boats of different sizes and shapes and this island can be taken by tourists. So make sure you start your day early to experience the peace and beauty.

By afternoon you can see the bluish green water blithely coming towards the shore, slowly taking it to an embrace. It is a marvel to watch how the shore enjoys being hugged by the waters! We could see the long stretch becoming two small patches with an aquamarine shroud coming in between as a partition!

No wonder why Jarada decides to hide beneath the waters! “Hear, ye mortals, you cannot ravish my beauty; I can give you a glimpse of my exquisite charm, but never try to stamp your seal on me.” Each sand grain and water droplet scream this to us! Is it a pact between Neptune and Terra to keep humans at a distance? 

Let the pact be never broken! Let Jarada be never vanquished by Muggles!