First Kerala trip

My first visit to Kerala was in December 1999. I went to Cochin to write TOEFL. My score was 543.

I boarded the Kanyakumari Express at Bangalore City Railway Station one night with an RAC ticket. Sometime during the night I got a berth to sleep on. Many people in the train were talking loud Malayalam, feeling all at home in the train that leads to their land. Initially, so many people talking Malayalam sounded a little cacophonous. After some time, I found that there is a sweetness in the language and the "wavy" intonation (of may be dialect of some particular region within Kerala) of Malayalam was quite sonorous. Harsh ('parusha') sounds were almost never heard in the language ; it always sounds very light, crispy and easy flowing.. I felt all this, though I didn't understand even a single word. I learnt my first Malayalam word only later in the day: "Vellam" means water. (Of course, I already knew that 'Kera' means coconut and Kerala means, "land of coconuts.")

As soon as I got hold of a berth somewhere after Hosur, I slept off.. I woke up early in the morning to the high-pitched voices of 'coffee-tea' sellers in Coimbatore railway station. As soon as the train pulled out, I slept again. Palakkad passed without my knowledge and I saw Trichur slip away, half awake.

When I opened my eyes finally.. what I saw outside remains etched in my memory forever. My first ever look at Kerala. The greenest landscape full of coconut trees and paddy fields, a river (Chalakudy?) flowing alongside the railway line, light mist over the fields, green hills and mountains (looking dark blue), some of them being kissed by clouds at a not-far-off distance... I felt the train had transported me from Bangalore to a dreamland. Soon, the towns of Angamali, Alwaye passed and I was told by a smiling Keralite (which Keralite is not friendly, cheerful and smiling, by the way?) that my destination Ernakulam is nearing. Of course, being a travel enthusiast I already knew this as I had done homework on routes and soon after the train passed Alwaye I started preparing to get down at Ernakulam North (Town) station. As Ernakulam-Cochin is the largest city of Kerala one could see the looks, smells and sounds of a typical Indian suburb already. Also, even back in 1999 one could see the 'real-estate' buzz in the surroundings which are close to Cochin International airport.

After reaching Ernakulam, I took a hotel room and in the afternoon headed for the TOEFL exam center (Sacred Heart College, Thevara.) Next day early in the morning I went to Kalady, then to Fort Cochin and later to Guruvayur and headed back to Bangalore on the third day.

The short and lonely trip made me a fan of Kerala for my whole lifetime. My second ever trip happened more than 9 years after the first, and after more than 4 years of 'planning and postponing.' This time it was much more wholesome and has been the most memorable trip I ever undertook.

Our hosts Rajan U family in Valapad (near Triprayar, Thrissur district) made it an unforgettable stay with their unending hearty hospitality. It was their love and caring that made us feel at home even though both our families understood very few words in what each other spoke. The fresh clean air, green surroundings of the vast household (with its beautiful blooming flower orchards, countless areca, coconut, mango and other trees and spice creepers), sounds of nothing but wind, birds and rustle of trees, mellifluous music, ayurvedic water, delicious and sumptuous food.. one never felt like returning from there.

I have to dedicate many subsequent posts describing every part of this trip in detail to pay homage to the loveliest land on earth with God's own greenery, God's own people, God's own food, God's own backwaters, God's own beaches, God's own cities, God's own towns and God's own villages.