Kerala;God's own country & Kanyakumari; the sangam
of three oceans.
(28th
Aug to 30th Aug.)
“My marriage
date has been fixed for 28th August,” Lovely, one of our
roommates said excitedly one fine day. Our eyes, especially mine flashed, even
before she invited any of us; not because she is getting married, but because
we found an excuse in her marriage to visit Kerala, God's own country. And the
additional goody was that she hails from one of the southern districts i.e
Kollam of Kerala, from where Kanyakumari is just 200 kms drive. So, all these
made dozens of butterflies run into my belly; the prospect of seeing parts of
both Kerala and Tamil Nadu at one go. I along with Deepali and Rishika got
ready for the exciting itinerary, and pre-booked flight tickets without
bothering how costly it was (for govt. Servants like us flying is not our first
option with our not so handsome salary) Lol But never mind!
Soon the day
came, but things were not going quite all right. The day before our scheduled
departure, I had an argument with Deepali for some trivial matter, and for that
we were not talking to each other. But still, hoping for the best, we all kept
our bags packed and ready on the night of 27th August 14.
Day-1
(28th August 14)
(Meynad,
Kollam, Munroe Island & Ashtmudi Lake)
Rishika acting
as a mediator between me and Deepali, we all set out of home at 4:55 am, as we
had our Air India flight to catch at 6:30. Speaking of Air India! As usual,
some unwanted thing happened that day again. After flying in air for a good 20
minutes, they announced that there's some technical problem in the aircraft due
to which one left door wasn't opening. So, it landed back to Mumbai. And after
their attempt to fix it failed, they announced for a last minute change of
aircraft, which all took more than 2 hours. Finally it took off at 9:15 am. We
landed at Trivandrum airport at 11:15 am, where the Cab pre-booked by Lovely
for us, picked us up.
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| "The spectacular view we got while landing." |
We were supposed
to go straight to the Church at Lovely's village Meynad in Kollam, which was
another two hour’s drive from there. By the time we reached, the actual
marriage ceremony that we wished to see was already over, and people were
having lunch. What timing! We felt as if we came not for the marriage, but for
the lunch. Such an embarrassing situation! Hmm.
 |
| "Our best wishes to the beautiful Bride." |
We had a glimpse
of Lovely in her angelic white color gown, posing for pictures with the man of
her life, on the stage. She looked so happy and pretty. (Touchwood!) After
having done with the lunch and wishing Lovely and her hubby a very happy life
ahead, as they left the marriage venue to pay a quick visit to girl's house,
before leaving for Trivandrum to her permanent home, we also followed in our
cab. The best thing about a Christian marriage of Kerala, is its pure simplicity
and lesser show-off, unlike the weddings in most of the Indian communities,
including my own. We were in her house for a quick 15 minutes, and then left
for Munroe Island and Ashtmudi Lake, which were 52 kms from there and took us
an hour to reach. As Haseem, the driver, drove us to Munroe Island, the three
of us started dozing off now and then, trying hard to keep our eyes open, but
to no use as we didn't have a proper sleep and also because we were so tired by
then.
After taking us
for a round, Haseem, stopped near a boat, so that we could enjoy the scenic
view of Munroe Island. The boat ride was quite relaxing. The peaceful
environment of the Island, with the soulful music of splashing of water, fully
surrounded by coconut trees and the simple, innocent gestures of the Island
people, were all quite therapeutic. It looked quite hard for the people living
in the Island, as they have to transport everything to the other side of the
narrow lake. Our eyes broadened and heart thumped as canoeing through the
narrow water body, the boat entered into a vast open lake. Oh yes! It was
Ashtmudi lake; a very beautiful lake for the viewers, and very deep ocean for
the thinkers. As we were short of time, we couldn't stay there for long. So
with beautiful memories and refreshed souls, we started our return journey to
Kollam.
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| "Refreshing boat ride at Munroe Island." |
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| "Ashtmudi; Beautifully deep." |
Lovely had
already made our staying arrangement for the night at one of her friends,
Ieena's house in Meynad. So after having our dinner, Haseem drove us to Ieena's
house. One more tragi-comedy happened again after the Air India one. At noon
while at Lovely's house, she very casually said that Ieena's house is just at 5
minutes walking distance from her house, pointing towards right. As the roads
were very narrow, we told Haseem to stop at the outer road, from where we
walked earlier to Lovely's house. It was dark and peaceful. Not even a single
human species were seen outside. Rishika called Ieena to come near Lovely's
house to pick us up. But, hell no! Her house was not at all at a walking
distance. Ieena's father sent an auto, which took another 10 minutes to reach.
As we were waiting for the auto, I gazed at the sky, which was dark blue and
full of stars, and also the fire flies, so many of them kept our attention
hooked. We were having fun in the middle of nowhere, whereas Ieena and her
parents were quite worried about us, thinking we were new to the village and
the dark, narrow roads were not that safe.
Finally the auto reached and we all jumped into it.
“Let's try to
remember the way, so that we can direct our driver properly in the morning.”
Both Rishika and Deepali echoed.
But, Oh fish!
Then the winding path, from one turn to another to yet another at next gully,
it was so confusing and never ending. Finally we all gave up the mind thing and
just enjoyed the thrilling ride through dark and artery like narrow village
road. When we reached the house, they all, including Ieena, her parents and
Ramsheena, one of her friends were outside, waiting eagerly for us. We got warm
welcome and very caring and concerned gestures. They were all so full of love,
which we could make from their gestures; the way everybody went into kitchen to
fetch us eating and drinking items & the way they enquired if we were all
right. Every bit of experience I had there was so touching; the simplicity with
which they lived and the warmth their love had, showed the richness of their
hearts. I truly believe by this experience that Kerala is not only God's own
country, but the people living in it are also God's own people. In such a Godly
environment when we started talking to each other, neither I nor Deepali
realised.
So, here I
recommend to everyone, having some issues with family and friends,” Don't
say a word, rather go and travel, for the magic weaver weaves the magic in such
a way that you forget everything that is bitter, to give space to everything
that's the best.” :)
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| "God's own people; Simply beautiful." |
Day -2
(29th August 14)
(Padmanabhapuram,
Suchidanam & Kanyakumari)
After saying
goodbye to the heart warming people, thanking and taking blessings of Uncle and
Aunty, we left Meynad at 7:00 am for Kanyakumari, the southern tip of our
country. We all were so excited to be on the roads leading to the southernmost
part of our country, where we would witness the three seas i.e. the Arabian Sea,
the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. The drive was quite long, given to the
traffic and cautious and careful driving of Haseem. But the panoramic view
along the roads, were quite eye-catching and spectacular. The moment we crossed
the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, we could notice the differences emerging between
the two, as more of coconut trees were replaced by rubber and banana farms, the
letters in Malyali on boards and hoards being replaced by the same written in
Tamil, the plains leading to the hills on one side and large farms on the
other, the soft Keralites being replaced by a little fast or clever Tamilians.
Though there was just thin line of difference between the two states, but quite
visible and interesting to us.
Our first
destination after entering Tamil Nadu was the Padmanabhapuram palace, dating
back to 16th century AD, constructed by the kings of Perumal dynasty. Located
at the foothills of lush green and rain bathed Veli hills, it’s a huge palace
that again made us salute to the kind of art we had in the past. The wooden
carvings, the kings bed, which they say has been made up of woods which have
medicinal properties, the flooring made up of broken eggshells and coconuts,
still shining freshly even after ages, were honestly quite admirable. It took
us more than an hour to explore every nook and corner of the palace. Coming out
of the palace, Rishika and Deepali did some shopping from the nearby stalls,
while I wandered around, wondering at the things and different kinds of bananas
hanging at the fruit shops in different colours and sizes. One intriguing thing
there, about the temples, was that they put garlands of bananas and different
leaves on the entrance of the temple as a decoration I guess. Hmm
 |
| "Inside the Majestic Palace." |
While driving down
south, on midway we stopped at Suchidanam temple, another architectutural
marvel of Deccan Architecture. But as we reached at an odd hour of the day, we
couldn't have a darshan as the temple was closed at that time. So, sitting at
the nearby lake for a while and admiring the beauty of the temple, we left to
continue our journey.
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| "Suchidanam Temple" |
We reached
Kanyakumari at around 3:15 pm, and went straight to a restaurant to have our
lunch. After relishing the delicious lunch, we went to the ferry counter to get
tickets for ferry ride to Vivekanand memorial, which is the main attraction of
Kanyakumari. But, the counter was closed as it was already 4:00 pm. So, we went
around to other direction and took a long walk of the coastal surrounding. It
was obviously such a nice feeling to be at the tip of our country where three
sea meet. The huge waves of the see looked quite mischievous; layers afters
layers of waves chasing each other, not ready to get caught by another layer as
they just disappear at the shore, spreading frothing milk like texture while
giving an instant kiss to the bare sea coast.
Not only the
sea, but the weather's playfulness also left us wondering, wandering and
laughing. It would be sunny one moment, cloudy next moment and splashes of
rainfall the very next moment, making people run wildly targeting the nearest
shade. And co-operating and co-ordinating with the rain, the high tides of the
sea also showed its seductive moves by rising higher and higher, jumping &
splashing forcefully, wooing every heart present there. And then suddenly an
awe-inspiring view of Rainbow at the left side of the sea, made everyone crane
their heads through the large gathered crowd, mumbling, “Wow, wow, wow, &
trying to click the best possible shots through their camera's lens. We
intended to have another awe-inspiring view of sun-set, but the huge bunch of
Nimbus blocked our vision for the day. So, we went searching for a good hotel
and checked in at one of the best located Hotel Sea view, from where the sea
looked even prettier. The bonus point for us that we came to know was that we
can have a good view of sunrise from the Hotel Terrace only. Everything was
going good, and we all were so happy and chirpy. (Thank you God :-)
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| "O yeah! We are at the southern tip of Mother India!" :-) |
Day-3
(30th August 14)
(Kanyakumari,
Thiruprappu, Kavalam & Trivandrum)
Deepali and I
got up early in the morning. We tried to wake up Rishika, but she seemed to be
in a sound sleep. So, without disturbing her further, we went to the terrace to
view sunrise. There were other people already on the terrace, who had fixed
their gaze towards the east, determined not to miss even a single streak of
sun. The sun rose at 6:12 am, majestically coming out of the sea. Though there
were tinges of clouds, due to which we couldn't have a proper view, but whatever
we could see with our mortal eyes was all amazing. The orange hue of the sky,
spread by the sun rays, piercing through the tinges of clouds in different
shapes, set a view, which kept us just sighing; our eyes fixed at the
beautifully glowing sun, not blinking even once lest we shall miss the magic.
And I must admit that the beginning of the day was so heavenly indeed. Hmm. J
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| "The Heavenly Rays." |
We checked out
of the hotel at 8:00 am and went straight to the Vivekanand Memorial ferry
ride. As the queue for normal ticket worth Rs. 34/- was quite long, we got
special tickets for Rs. 169/-each. The ferry ride was for 5 minutes, but that 5
minutes were quite rip-roaring as under the pressure of the forceful waves, the
ferry wobbled here and there, and we felt that at any point we may fall out of
the ferry. It was so exciting and thrilling amidst of rainfall in between. And
reaching at the Memorial, we all went speechless! It's from here that you can
have the real Kanyakumari feeling; a feeling which you cannot express, a
special feeling to be at the southernmost tip, and a different feeling to be at
the triveni sangam, the meeting point of three oceans. And the best part is
that you can differentiate between the grey, light green, blue and dark blue of
the different layers of the sea water. There are people in your life, whom when
you meet after a long time, tears of joy flow from your eyes, because you
aren't able to control your emotions and feelings for that particular person.
Then there are places, which drive from you the same emotion, and you feel like
crying out of joy, and that particular point was such a place for me. As I
looked deeply into the sea, different kinds of mixed emotions started arising
in me; I just wondered, if the water from the glaciers, on which during my mountaineering
days, I hit hard with ice axe, would have reached the sea; or the snow on which
we walked had melted and reached the sea too; the rivers from where we quenched
our thirsts and washed our hands and posed for photos, would all have reached
somewhere in the sea, singing songs of togetherness. It's in the sea that we
cannot differentiate as which river's water we are looking at, at that
particular point of time. Waters, waters! They know no boundaries. No matter
how hard we, the humans try to control them, they find a passage to flow and go
into the sea to mingle with and be one with the waters from other rivers. Then
why we humans have all the boundaries and limits, surrounding us? Why our life
is restricted to a piece of paper only? Why can't we also flow at our own pace
and be equal with each other? What I thought and felt at that particular point
of time, I don't know, but I wanted to cry and shed tears of joy. (Sigh) Oh
sorry! That's going too long, for feelings are more and words less. So, let's
go outa here. ;-)
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| "Three joyful souls at the confluence of three free oceans." :-) |
We had a heavy
breakfast cum brunch, and left Kanyakumari at 11:00 am, with loads and loads of
memories in our memory buckets, and Deepali and Rishika carrying huge
kanyakumari special gift items along. Our destination now was 'Thiruprappu
waterfalls, a huge horizontal and voluminous waterfall on river Kothai in Tamil
Nadu itself. As it was quite long and flowed forcefully through a
Sparse rocky
bed, the view was quite thrilling, when the water splashed quite far and we had
to struggle a lot to keep our camera and handbags safe. Along with the falls,
the rain also made our trip quite memorable as it would stop the moment we get
into our car, and start pouring, when we reach our destination and step out of
it. Lol. The rain God welcomed us everywhere. Obviously, we felt so special. :D
Not bothering about the rain, we walked along the river and sat at a shade just
at the bank of the river. The river which was hugely spread with full water in it
looked beautiful and enchanting irrespective of the dusty water it had.
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| "The water played with us, and we played with the water.'" ;-) |
Then, back to
Kerala, first we went to Kovalam Beach, where the waves arising out of clean
and blue sea water, along the coasts full of coconut trees, welcomed us with an
amazing view. We sat there, watching peacefully to the sea waves and lost in
our own respective thoughts for more than an hour. It was quite relaxing and of
course we let our ears open to the soulful sea music, while our hearts danced
at the lovely tune. :-)
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| "Contemplate near a sea; it works!"" :P |
It was already
4:30 pm, so we headed towards Trivandrum to visit our last destination; the
Padmanabhaswamy temple. I just heard once about the gold that had been
discovered from the temple, but never paid that much attention to it. But being
there at the doorstep of that very temple that looked majestic from outside
also, I felt quite intrigued. The tight security arrangement it had, the cctv's
all around, and the special Audit office at the backside of the temple, only
for the audit purpose of this particular temple, all these indicated that this isn’t
some common temple. Yes, it is one of the richest temples of India, dating back
to 16th century and made in Dravidian style. Those history books,
which irritated us a lot during our academic days, the value of them we've
started realising now as we see the wonders from the books coming alive from
the pages, in front of our own very eyes. One more interesting thing about this
temple I forgot to mention is that we have to wear lungi (dress code)
compulsorily to go inside the temple. So, with wonders in our eyes, we bought
lungis for each one of us from a nearby stall, tied it around and went in after
the security check. No cameras allowed, for security purpose obviously!
And there we
were, in the temple complex, which was rich and grand. The wide open and
spacious corridors, along both sides of which were statues of Gods and
Goddesses in different postures, and beautiful oil lamps on both sides at every
few feet's interval, led us finally to the main sanctum, where God Vishnu, in
his sleeping position, hugely decorated by gold ornamaments, gave us the
darshan. Struggling through the large crowd, pulling ourselves up we tried to
get a proper darshan, but that wasn't possible due to the crowd. But still it
was mind-blowing, and to speak honestly, I was too much lost in the grandeur of
the temple, with unbelievable eyes, wondering so much whether this really is a
temple that I forgot to pray even.:P We came out of the temple in half an hour,
all three of us looking at each other, raising our eye brows and broadening our
eyes and mouth and echoing,”Kya temple hai yaar!” Guys, I truly recommend you to visit this
temple once in your lifetime. J
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| "Padmanabhaswamy; the magnificent temple."" |
With this, our
trip ended. We came back to Mumbai the next day, fully satisfied with this
grand itinerary. In my own words, this trip was “AA-Awesome!” Keep smiling :-)
Nawi
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| "So, here we leave. Tada and Thank you."" |
