Dear Rohit
I have not
seen you on the Facebook since a long time. Each day I go to check your
timeline I do not see any fresh status on your block under "Whats on your mind". I had posted some pictures lately of my trip
to Kerala but there were no likes nor any comments from you. Did you do
that on purpose? Did you ignore my post or have you been away from Facebook lately? Hope all is well with you.
Last week I spent few days at the tea estate
at Peermade, four hours drive away from Cochin. I was with my women companions...friends
who are beautiful inside out..ones who I love most dearly..ones who add
sunshine to my life, the combination of their presence with the beautiful
stretch of greenery spread over miles and miles of open space transported me to
another world..of happiness and bliss...a pure personal delight. My virtual friends on social media, who saw the pictures of my trip
thought that I was at the most boring place to be, since they could not see any
other people besides us. They wondered as to what fun could we have in such a
lonely place.
But believe
me Rohit, it was a wonderful experience. I wish you had also come along with
us, I am sure you would have liked it. I know, I know, its my fault. But then,
I couldn't have invited you since we were a group of only five women.
Early
mornings were the best. The crisp air had lovely fragrance, perfect time to
practise Ramdev's pranayams. We would spend the time on cane furniture, out at
the porch, soaking in the sun, sipping warm jeera flavored water, chit chatting
in our night clothes, our hands clutching the shawl wrapped tightly over our
shoulder. So many stories to share..of family, of friends, of good times,
of bad times, knitting the canvas of past memories together, bridging the
moments with laughter and fun. Each day was so precious, that I would wish it
could last forever. Not that
there was no moment of silence, there were. Sometimes I sought an empty corner of
the house to be alone..to check my thoughts..but it lasted just a while. The murmurs of group chat always distracted me...I didn't want to miss on those
conversations.
Days were
spent exploring the area, driving through the uneven dirt tracks
in between long stretches of small neatly arranged shrubs of tea plantation.,
some of roads were too narrow and bumpy, so dangerous that we slipped off
our seats. Since seat belt is not an Indian culture...we held on tightly to seats or to the friend’s arm for support....eyes popping off sockets with
instant fear. Diverting our attention to a game of Antakshree was the best
option.
Rohit, I am
sure you would have enjoyed the South Indian cuisine. When in Kerala, eat what locals eat...so
south Indian food was our regular diet. We had three cooks in the kitchen who
pampered us with their delicious cuisine. Fish made regular appearance at
our dining table so much so that our vegetarian friends wondered how we could
enjoy the fish everyday. But we did. It may seem like same fish everyday to my
vegetarian friends, what do they know the difference in taste between Rawas,
Tuna or Sardines? For them fish means fish, with tail, head, fins. One
afternoon I even spend some time in the kitchen watching the cooks churn out
a tasty fish curry. I have made a note of the recipe and clicked pictures
too and I plan to cook for you sometime. Coconut rice was another dish that I
enjoyed a lot..you would have loved the delicious coconut bits with dash of
mustard seeds and curry leaves...You missed it, I am telling you, you really
missed it. For my vegetarian friends there were dosas and appam with stew or
sambar...and spicy coconut chutney.
We were not totally
cut off from reality. Although it was difficult to get telephone range, we were lucky. We had wifi. It was easy to stay connected on line. I was
able to post pictures on Instagram and also tweeted some interesting moments. We
heard music on U-tube. Lazy hours were dotted with music and game of cards. We played with only plastic chips, winning a game brought so much
pleasure. I also cheated in game of cards, (like I always do) but then it was
not with real money, so its okay to cheat and be caught in that act. I captured many candid shots on my camera to
share on Facebook and Watsapp hoping that you would see. But you didn't. People
who saw the pictures were not very impressed. They felt impossible to believe that I could enjoy in
such wilderness...there is not a soul...just greenery...But we did....
On our third day, we
went into the city at Tekkady..We walked down a busy street, shopping for
silver jewellery, ate freshly fried hot banana chips. In the south, they fry banana chip
on the road like they fry batatawadas in Mumbai. The air smelt strongly of
burnt oil.
I even sneaked into a beauty parlour for instant kerala spa. I
wanted to try the Shirodhara massage, an Ayurvedic treatment
that consists on dripping oil on the forehead, exactly in the place
where the traditional Indian culture says the third eye is located, I was told
that we could find the gate to our inner realms, in a randomised,
controlled protocol involving regular movements. But then, I would have to wait
for two more hours at the place and then go out with oily body. (Friend tells
me that after such massage you are in daze, you walk like zomby with irregular
gait). Time was short, so I went for just head massage.
We went to
see Kathakali dance. Have you see this beautiful cultural performance? This
dance focussed on facial expressions. The performers are dressed in huge stiff
colorful dress, their face painted with thick different color mask. The colors reflect
certain categories of emotions and gunas (attributes). For example Green goes
with godliness, white with spirituality, red with ambition and violence, yellow
with passivity and black with evil. Rohit, did you know that?
Their eyes
rolled to the rhythm of mridangam from left to right, up and down like marble
chips on a billiard board, their face expressions narrating a mythological story
without words. You have to see this performance Rohit, this is so amazing.
Later, we
walked down the spice garden, plucking out the bark of cinnamon off the tree,
or nibbling on fresh, soft cardamom seeds. There were bay leaves, and cloves,
and edible leaves and herbs, spice
fragrance was so strong that I had an urge to cook a Briyani. We did some spice
shopping at the end of spice trail. Unnecessary expenses, you would say, if
you would see the number of bags I bought back home.
The days
passed too soon. There is so much more I could tell you about this trip but I
am saving the interesting part to share with you when I meet you personally. I
have to go back to Kerala again and this time it will be with you.
Loves
Pushee
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PS: I have
posted a video of my trip on Utube, do watch when you have time. Here is thelink
