Bioluminescence in Goa’s rivers

This time, we had gone to Kerala. Since we had very little time to spend there, we decided to explore something unique. I searched for remote villages near Kochi and found a village named Kumbalangi, just a few kilometres away from Kochi. The name sounded familiar to me, as I knew it from the Malayalam movie ‘Kumbalangi Nights’.

The speciality of this village was bioluminescence, fondly known as kavaru in Malayalam. I had experienced the enchanting phenomenon of bioluminescence in the dense forests of the Western Ghats in Goa and the neighbouring regions of Maharashtra and Karnataka during the monsoon season. However, I was very curious to witness bioluminescence in water. Water bioluminescence is a natural phenomenon caused by microplankton that makes the backwaters glow neon blue when disturbed by the movement of water.

Initially, we found it a bit difficult to arrange transport to take us there. The people whom we asked about the village wondered why we wanted to go to such a remote place. It was evening, and darkness was slowly approaching, but there was still hope glowing in our hearts.

It seemed like a peaceful coastal village, mostly surrounded by churches resting quietly under the soothing shade of coconut trees. Initially, I did not see the village as it had appeared in the film, until a turn ahead revealed a completely different picture. There was water all around, and amidst it was a narrow road on which our rickshaw moved.

Lined with mangroves and coconut trees, the salty breeze reminded me of Goa for a moment. We got down at that scenic spot. The evening slowly descended, casting orange hues upon the water. Coconut silhouettes grew darker against the fading sky. We still had no idea where or how we would witness the bioluminescence there. While wandering around, we noticed a poster about bioluminescence and contacted the number mentioned on it. We were told to wait until complete darkness.

We went to a nearby beach and sat by the shore, waiting for the guide to arrive. It was a dark night, and we waited in this unknown village surrounded by an unfamiliar language, unsure whether we should continue waiting any longer. The place resembled a sluice gate in Goan villages. It was peaceful to walk there. The water lay still, reflecting the moon upon its tranquil surface. We sat in a canoe. As it glided across the silent water, we could see a faint bluish glow trailing behind it.

As we moved towards a shady patch of dense mangroves, the glow became brighter, more blue, and utterly magical. We could see swarms of bats flying across the sky, their wings fluttering through the darkness. Herons, cranes, and egrets perched like white bundles upon the mangrove bushes looming ahead of us. We felt sorry for disturbing them at that quiet hour.

We took some water in our hands. It felt like ordinary water to touch. But surprisingly, our hands began to glitter. Even our clothes shimmered faintly. It felt as though we had entered a Disney film. It was a surreal experience, something truly worth waiting for.

When I returned to Goa, I excitedly shared this dreamy experience with everyone, only to discover something even more beautiful from some of them. They told me that they too had witnessed bioluminescence in Goan rivers, even in the river Valvonti, the very river beside which I had grown up playing.

At first, I could not believe it. But when I asked some villagers about it, they casually replied, “Yes, the water appears blue in that river,” as though it was something they had known all their lives and found nothing unusual about. But for us, it was the ecstasy of a new discovery. Overwhelmed with excitement, we immediately went to the nearby sluice gate at night, where salt water mingles with fresh water, and witnessed the phenomenon with our own eyes.

Our hearts were full of wonder and happiness to find it in our own land. Perhaps the people of these villages, who had grown up witnessing it, considered it an ordinary part of life and never really paused to marvel at it. But for me, it became a reminder that sometimes we travel far away only to return and rediscover the magic that has quietly existed around us all along.

~ Samrudhdi Kerkar