The next time you travel to a coastal destination in India, set aside a few hours to get acquainted with the stunning marine civilisations that hide in plain sight.
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Text by SEJAL MEHTA & ABHISHEK JAMALABAD
A visual journey across the stunning tide pools along India’s coastline.
An octopus goes about its evening on a rocky shore adjoining Juhu Beach, Mumbai; (right) porpita porpita, commonly known as blue button, is a close relative of the jellyfish. It is a common sight on Mumbai’s seashores when monsoons approach.
Clockwise from left: A gem doris sea slug in a tide pool at Rushikonda, Visakhapatnam; tiny meadows of seaweed revealed during low tide on a seashore in Goa; the burgundy sea anemone is one of the most common creatures along the state’s shoreline; zoanthids, a kind of soft coral found on many rocky seashores in India, are a gorgeous sight to behold; hydroids (as seen in Goa here) are often mistaken for plants, as they form miniature groves and forests in tide pools.
Clockwise from top left: Just as rewarding as the Andamans’ dive sites are the islands’ seashore ecosystems; a clump of champia seaweed shows off its iridescence in a tide pool in Karwar, Karnataka; a cratena sea slug, one of Mumbai’s most sought-after seashore sights; a giant clam bores into a rock on the shores of the Andamans.