I flew to my home city Bangalore on June 17th, just to spend a day there and got going to my native place, Kasargod which is the northern most tip of Kerala. The drive through the western Ghats which are soaring mountain terrain adorned with thick jungles by the grace of the torrential monsoon was magical. I had undermined Monsoon all my life and now after 29 years is when I realise its full potential. Rains that nurture life does show its fury. Some times the rains are so heavy that I had to stop my car even if it has its wiper at full speed because the windscreen is a wash with gallons of water.
I have never seen life in its full splendor ever so much before. Forest flora and fauna take a life of their own.The noise of the creatures with the thunderous noise of torrential streams made me appreciate the true beauty of this god blessed country.
Even when it comes to fruits or vegetable, running to the Tesco's is not an option at all. Food is what is grown around us. Nature offered us more that 5 types of fruits and numerous vegetables right in the plantation that we lived in. No food has ever been more tasty than the food we produce.
.I visisited many temples in the district, each one having a different level of serenity and godliness to it. Out of it the most impulsive visit was to a temple called Kukke Subramanya which is deep in a jungle. A 100 kilometre drive to this place made me feel that its worth the effort.
. With the lords divine blessing the journey continues. Another hair raising experience I had was a visit to a temple where I was part of a ritual to offer prayers to a god who takes care of any hurdles in life. I was sitting for close to an hour next to a priest who spent a good part of one hour earlier to decorate the place with rice,leaves,lamps and Vermillion and Turmeric powder. Just watching him perform this would make even a non believer into a religious chap. He chanted away uttering my name many a times fully engrossed with different hand movements. I did feel sanctified and blessed by the end of the ritual.Another memory that I cherish the most was the visit to my ancestral home. The home that gives me the Initial 'K' in my name. This is the home that ties down several generations of my humongous family who has the Initial K (Karicheri). The house is where the demi god of our household; 'Korathiamma' resides. I visited this home with utmost humbleness praying for her blessings.
. This home is several hundred years old and regularly elaborate ceremonies have been performed to keep the Godess happy.Its the mothers' who carry the blood line for us,that means I am the end of the road, but my sister will take the initial forward to the next generation and so on.My home in Kerala is in the middle of arecanut and coconut plantation, which is hard to get to place but great to live in place. Water so pure that if flows unadulterated through the thick jungles forming swelled up streams are mush better than the Evian water you pay for. Trees all around giving you the purest of dust free air makes you feel to relaxed. I used to get the bang for the zero buck I have given to be here. used to take a shower at a tiny waterfall everyday.
Nothing else felt so refreshing and my mind was always reluctant to get off that stream. The plantation floor was thick with many wild plants growing to make the best of the rain and the slender rays of the sun. It did give me a feeling that we as humans are sharing this rich planet with so many other creatures who can rightfully claim the same space as theirs. Alas if they don't have a will, but none the less they can stay on. I enjoyed meeting the guests of this undergrowth. The vividity of the shapes and size, colours and pattern amazes me.I witnessed snake many times but hardly had my camera with me on those occasions, so once I decided to capture some of these respected creatures and in a matter of ten minutes spotted two of them.
. The wonderful attitude of folks from Kerala are they understand we all creatures must co exist. It so happened once that on a journey to a relatives place through the jungle in the thick of the night a python was crossing the road and no one panicked, all waited for it to pass on not even discussing about the incident. If everyone agrees to the fact that we all share the same space and we gain mutual respect, then this beautiful planet of ours would brim with more unfathomable life forms only to appreciate it.The high light of this trip was a life changer for me, this is the trip that has finally tethered me down. The trip that finally made me meet my life partner. The traditional arranged marriage process was quick where I hardly had a glimpse at her for 10 minutes and got to hear less than 100 words from her and I had to decide if that is the person I am going to spend the rest of my life with. For such a critical decision, things happened in a humble fashion.Engaged I am.I am glad things turned out the way they have and now I realise the effect of all the rituals and offerings to all the lords. The Lord knows what I need.My prayers have been answered. My Ashitha.
For more pictures: http://goo.gl/m0kIj
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