Just a few days back I was driving home from office, As I was driving I saw thick black clouds hovering over the city. I pressed the accelerator. It had started drizzling. The sweet smell of the first rain of the season. Its not monsoon yet,but this is a phenomenon common in Bangalore. The evening rain. I was home before the drizzle turned into a full-fledged downpour. The fresh smell of the rain still lingering in the atmosphere. I look out of the window. It was not dark yet. Flashes of the kerala rain appeared in front of my eyes.
Reminiscing Kerala, God's own country
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| Country roads |
Yes, Kerala - God's own country. Last August we went to Alleppy, Kerala during the long weekend of Independence Day. From the time we reached Alleppy, we saw the city was overcast. The green flora spoke ample of the abundance of rain that the area has received. Staying in Bangalore, we dont get to see so much of greenery, thanks to the buildings and sky scrappers. But here we are, where the soothing green provides a natural serenity. We reached the Ashtamudi Guest House by 7:30 AM. We freshened up and went out to explore the city. The roads had puddles on their sides and on them!
There were small backwaters that cris-crossed the city. It is a great mix of village and city environment. The atmosphere is heavy with humidity of 100%. So, its sweaty. A light cotton t-shirt makes me comfortable.
Laid-back in the Alleppy backwaters
Tripadvisor tells us which restaurant to go for breakfast.So, we hire an auto, which zooms through the wide roads and narrow lanes and soon we find ourselves having one of the finest dosas we had for months. One was not enough. I order the second one. And then a cup of hot steaming filtered coffee. Now what? What about a boat ride through the city's picturesque lagoons which lead to the huge Vembanand Lake? We tell the auto to take us near our guest house, where early morning I saw offices of couple of travel agencies. We were almost there, when I found a few boats clustered on a small jetty, built beside of the backwaters. We got down. After a few bargains and negotiation, we stepped onto the boat, which was exclusively ours for the next four hours. The motor boat had around 20 seats, a roof on top and iron railings all around. It provided us the perfect view as it glided through the backwaters.
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| Through the lagoons |
There was no sign of the sun. It was cloudy, but no rains. There were roads on either side of the backwaters, but on elevated platforms. There were shops and hotels on either side of the road. Some boats were coming from the other side, others were parked on some jetties. Cycle was a common means of transport of the city. The activity of the city life was slow, perhaps due to the Independence Day holiday. A few shops were closed. At one place a huge India flag has been hoisted. As the boat sailed under the green light-and-shade canopy we caught glimpses of some birds twittering from the
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| Coconut trees |
branches. A few fishes came near to our boats. After a few minutes the boat left the city behind. Now there were more of coconut trees fencing the lagoons. Their tall and slender trunk seemed to reach for the clouds. Suddenly we opened up to a huge lake, the famous Vembanand lake. The other shore of the lake was not visible. It seemed like a huge ocean without waves as the clouds kissed the lake in the distant horizon. It started drizzling. The boatsman, an old man of around sixty years, came hurriedly to cover the sides of the boat with the waterproof sheet. We refused. Soon the intensity of the rain increased. The small drops grew bigger in size. The distant horizon became hazy . As winds blew and the rain waters splashed across the boat, we felt the chilling cold of the rain drops. We told the boatsman to stop the boat, lest the sound of its engine disturbs the musical sound of the rain as the drops danced on the lake waters. Our ears were occupied with the sound, which I had heard long back when I was a child. Our eyes were engaged in the visual treat of the misty lake and some distant coconut trees swaying in the breeze on some distant shores. The smell of the rain mesmerised us as our arms and face were washed by the rain water. The moment was magical and breath-taking. I got lost in the moment.
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| The lush green paddy fields |
When the rain stopped we carried on with our journey through some other backwaters. We stopped at one solitary shop to have coconut water. The shop itself was under a huge coconut tree. Ah! Its sweetness! It was lunch time but we were not hungry, thanks to the heavy late breakfast, almost a brunch. As the sky cleared I could see miles and miles of lush green paddy fields that bordered the backwaters. Some scarecrow stood alone among those fields, completely drenched. There were huts beside the
backwaters. People washed their clothes and utensils. Children with just short pants and bare chested jumped into the water and were having a gala time. We made an unscheduled stoppage at one of those backwater sides. About a few feet from me my wife pointed to a "lotus" field. There were about a hundred lotus that have bloomed in the most uncared environment. Surely, nobody has planted it and nobody owns them. Its Nature creation, owned by the Almighty. A
kingfisher sat on one of the rocks and was deeply introspecting her next catch.
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| Lotus |
"I make sure I have lunch and dinner on time," said the boatsman as he opened his lunchbox. While he was having his lunch, we feasted our eyes and ears with whatever we saw and heard. Huge houseboats sailed through as this backwaters was a fairly wide one. Houseboats are the symbols of luxury in Alleppy. You get all the comforts of a hotel, while gliding through the lagoons. I felt in houseboats you indulge more in luxury and comforts of the sofas and cushions and not devote full-time to the nature. I have traveled all the way through to see the nature. Luxury can be best left when I am at home, resting on some easy chairs and reading a book of my choice. In houseboats I would be in constant dilemma of whether I should indulge in the luxury, for which I have paid a fortune, or I should I enjoy and immerse in the nature, for which I have taken all the pains to come to this side of the country. So, personally, any day, I would prefer the small boats, which snakes through the narrow lagoons, where the branches and green leaves of the canal-side trees bend over you from either sides as you float on your boat. As my daughter and I sat on the top of the boat, the water droplets from the leaves fell on our head as we brushed past them. One person was cutting the banana hands, while another was busy putting them into gunny bags. A few birds of different colours and sizes kept flying from this tree to that and sometimes dived into the water. caught a fish and off they flew again - the fish still wriggling from its beak! Some were plucking insects from the water hyacinth clusters.
Sometimes it would drizzle, sometimes there was downpour and sometimes the daylight got brighter. The soothing effect that the greenery and the rain had on our nerves meant we were sailing through the backwaters and time. The four-hour ride was never a boring one.
Exploring the little-known Alleppy beach
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| Rain dance |
As we got down we took another auto and this time we headed towards the Allepppy beach. It is not one like the Andamans, but it has its own share of beauty. Before we walked on the wet sands of the beach, we had a good lunch in one of the shacks on the opposite side of the road. Our hunger pangs were bothering us, as it was around three in the afternoon. The beach was a quiet one. Not much crowd, but lots of clouds overhead! As soon as we hit the beach my daughter started playing with the waves and making castles of sand.The sea was silver tanned, thanks to the dark clouds and the fading sunlight. the silver tan slowly turned darker. The clouds have gathered in lumps from all over. It was still not raining on the beach, but the smell of rain gave ample indication that its a matter of time. The distant horizon gradually became hazy. We watched with abated breath as we saw the rain coming towards us from the far off seas, amidst the howling waves and cold winds. The far-off red fishing boats which were visible till a few minutes back got hidden behind the curtains of torrential rain. We had two umbrellas for the three of us. We opened them but the wind blew one away and it was almost impossible to hold the other one straight. There was no shelter for the next 300 metres as people rushed towards the sheds of the shops and some below the trees. While the logical me forced my legs to join the shelter-seeking crowd, the poetic me held me to watch the rain racing towards me. I felt the big rain drops on my face and forehead. And within minutes I was drenched. After a long time I get drenched like this. My daughter was already enjoying the rain. She was playing on the water puddles that lay all over. A couple took shade under a small tree, with practically no effect. Another one was under one single umbrella, smiling romantically at each other. A nearby shop sold "chilly bhajjis". Some people walked casually, least bothered about the rain as there was no way they could be further soaked in its waters! The tea seller made brisk business as people took shelter under the tin roof of his "chai" shop. The green leaves fluttered. The sea beach was empty in no time. The only sound that flowed from the beach were the roaring of the seas, the splashing of violent waves hitting the sand carpet and the howling of the wind. The sun has already excused itself for the day.
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| Clouds hover over the Alleppy Beach |
Picturesque Kuttanad
The next day we decided to visit the "green" Alleppy, or should I say "greener Alleppy". The Kuttanad area, which is on the outskirts of Alleppy, is known for paddy cultivation below the sea level. We hired an auto that took us away from the city. As we drove, it again started drizzling. The autos, by their sheer design does not have much protection from either sides when it comes to rain. A plastic water-proof cloth can serve the purpose of shielding the passengers from the rain, but with limitations. A strong wind can expose the protection. The drizzle soon stopped and we drank the fresh air as our auto dribbled through the potholes and puddles of the road. He stopped at a wide lagoon where people were crossing the river on boats. A lady was holding an umbrella. She had
brought as a protection from rain, but now that the sun was out for a few minutes, it provided her the much-needed shade. The lagoon water reached the road. A few more centimetres of rain and the road would have been flooded. We saw several lanes branching out from the main road. We just arbitarily took one of them. After driving about a mile or so, we realised that on either side of the narrow lane there were green paddy fields that stretched upto the horizon. We did make a similar halt from out boat the other day. As electric posts found their foundation amidst these fields and then power cables stretched from one pole to another.Birds perched on those wires. We ventured to step into the paddy fields, which were muddy. Our feet sank in the soft ground. From these paddy fields rice finds its away all over the country. A sense of pride fills me, the pride to be an Indian. To not only buy the rice from the supermarkets, but also to come to those very places where they are grown and cultivated. It feels like going to your roots and finding that India which is away from the glamour and glitz, that India which works in silence and does her duty with utmost sincerity . The small duties that each of us perform in our own way that keeps the heart of the vast nation beating, be it the farmers of Kerala, the IT engineers of Bangalore, the investors of Mumbai, the politicians of New Delhi, the businessmen of Gujarat, the sherpas of the north-east, the intellectuals of West Bengal, the army on the borders and the billion other citizens of the country.
Evening was reserved for the beaches. Different day, but the same story. And yet the story was as fresh as the first spell of the monsoon! There is no better way to enjoy life that be one with the Nature. Perhaps that is the first step to being one with the Almighty, where the happiness lies and where the path of sorrows and sufferings culminates
The next day we took another quite journey in a small boat through the beautiful lagoons of the city and then Vembanad Lake. Evening was for the beach, albeit a short stay. Out train to Bangalore was at around 7:30 PM.
"I love the rains!"
The trip to Alleppy can never be complete without a few words of the wonderful host of the Ashtamudi Guest House. They were the best hosts among all the stays we had all over India. There was warmth in their words, which touched our heart right from day one till the last moment when they called an auto for us for the station and bid us farewell, stepping out of their home, as you would expect a relative to do. There were no servants, just the husband, wife and their next generation. My daughter had a great time with them in the late evenings.
Talking of my daughter, I realised that she had joined me in watching the rain from my house in Bangalore. She sat silently beside me and I hardly noticed her. It was thirty minutes over and the rain has shown no signs of stoppage. There was no person on the street. The power went off in between and silhouette of the distant building and the church in front of our house gave it a mystic look. A soft song was played in the church, obviously in praise of the good Lord. The last few rays of the day's light was lingering. I refused to switch on the power back-up. Its not everyday that you find yourself in such a bliss. Water rolls down my cheeks - dont know whether they are the raindrops or teardrops.
My daughter stretches her hand out of the window to reach for the rain drops.
"I love the rains...We all love the rains!", she says in joy.
I cannot agree more!
