Incy wincy spidery crabs

Crabs were strange to me till I came to Goa. Now I see them on the beach and in rocky pools of water and fish markets, and I am astonished by the many shapes and sizes in which these creatures appear.

These days one sees hundreds of tiny spidery crabs running around on the beach. They are light and feathery, light also on their “feet”. And unlike most crabs, they don’t seem to have a shell at all. I’m not even sure they are crabs, they look more like spiders. But they run in that hilarious sideways fashion that is so peculiar to crabs.

Despite being so tiny and also the colour of sand, it’s easy to spot them. Maybe it’s because they’re so full of energy, racing around like those zippy little toy cars, stopping only to pick up something, which they then eat at top speed.

Dogs love chasing them. And so do those delicate little birds that walk around on stilted legs (the sand plover, I think it’s called). So do I, actually. But they’re nervous little things and in a flash they scuttle into one of the many tiny holes made by them in the sand. Where the wet sand is flat and hard, you sometimes see only hundreds of these tiny holes surrounded by bird dropping-like bits of sand arranged with the symmetry and beauty of a rangoli design.

The other evening the beach was littered with tiny dead silver fish, the kind nobody eats. In the fish market the floor is always littered with them. The incy wincy crabs were busy picking them up and rushing off – but where to? I tried to follow one, but found it just rushed around like some busy little crazed creature, desperately holding the fish that was bigger than itself. For no apparent reason it suddenly dropped the fish and rushed off again. There was another tinier crab struggling with one such fish, rather like an ant holding aloft a large insect. Clearly there was going to be a feast that night.

But I can’t imagine anyone feasting on these skinny little crabs which have neither flesh nor bones.

Because crab meat is absolutely delicious. I have even overcome my horror at seeing a full crab, claws and all, sitting on a plate. Who cares how it looks when it tastes so good?