Day 1 - 25 June 2011,0730 hrs.
Quilon (or Kollam) junction welcomed us with a clear sky as the train pulled into the station. We were received by Anjaly's father in-law to be (hence forth referred to as the in-laws). The place where they lived, was a sheer beauty. After a nice shower, semiya baath (vermicelli cooked with vegetables) was waiting to be feasted upon. From then till lunch, we came to know a little more about the in-laws by means of our conversation with them. Lunch was quite a bigger delight than breakfast, with chicken biryani, fried fish (specifically karimeen - a variety of flat fish), salad and papad. Thanks to the pineapple slices that helped the gorged up stuff, down through our systems. Next stop was Anjaly's home namely raj bhavan(not the governor house,of course). A 10 min break and we were off to witness how cashews were processed and packed, first hand in the factory and all it took was 15 mins to finish it off. Then it was time for some countryside viewing with Anjaly's elder sister and brother-in-law, some place 10-12 kliks from anjaly's home. There was a stone crushing unit in the area that stood apart from all the lush green landscape and the shallow water pockets. When we were done with our 1 hr countryside tour, a dumper truck (driven by Anjaly's bro-in-law) took us back to the place we had parked our car. During the bumpy ride, 1 of guys standing with us in the dumper was nearly on the verge of loosing his 'lungi'. We can say, it was one of the best off-the-track rides with a hint of comedy. We dashed for Kollam beach as it was the last thing on the list for the day and we were falling short on daylight. By 1830hrs, we were face to face with 12, maybe 15 ft high waves at the beach. Must say quite cleaner than many beaches throughout the Indian peninsula. Later at dinner, we were munching away delicious kuboos and broasted chicken, not to mention home made chapathi and chicken curry as well. Drowsiness was creeping up, so we called it a day and hit the pillow. Hence, it wouldn't be injustice to say that on the first day, our digestive system was put to the test and our taste buds got some new flavors.
Day 2 - 26 June 2011,0540hrs.
I was probably somewhere in Iraq, being shot at point blank, by a US Marine with an M249...when i was woken up by intermittent knocks on the door. No later than 15 mins, we were speeding away on NH47 (Salem-Kanyakumari Highway), leaving behind Kollam and towards Kovalam beach. The roads were not even 100ft wide, but definitely pothole free and a pleasure to speed on. Before we reached Kovalam beach, we had even hit 120 kmph on the speedo of the i10, which was entrusted to Rahul. Just below 2 hrs, we reached the beach, stowed away our stuff in a hotel room and then headed to take on the waves. Doing all possible antics in the waves was a different experience altogether. They say, time flies when you're into something mesmerizing. 2 hours in water and we didn't even realize it. But somewhere amidst these couple of hours, Anjaly's spectacles were lost in the waves and that sure did dampen our spirits by a small degree.
Soon, we set out for Kanyakumari, after a thorough shower and a sandwich. Just half an hour of driving got us across state lines into Tamil Nadu. The roads here were distinctively contrary to the ones in Kerala. Potholes burdened the suspensions every half a klick and anything worse than that was the driving sense of other people on the road - bikers merging out to the NH without warning, bus drivers driving rashly. GPS was surely a help, as there were no direction markers or milestones inside TN having a single word of english(only frigging tamil!). At last, we reached the southern most tip of india at 1430hrs. We found ourselves standing in the queue for the boat jetty to the Vivekananda rock memorial and Sri Tiruvalluvar statue by 1530hrs. We were lucky to get the tickets, as the ticket window closed by 1600hrs. It took 90 minutes cumulatively on both the rocks. Vivekananda rock memorial is an exquisite piece of architecture,placed inside which is a statue of the Swami Vivekanada and a meditation room. The view of the Vivekananda rock memorial from the Tiruvalluvar statue was awesome and so was the Tiruvalluvar statue itself. The last but one jetty took us back to the mainland and by sunset, we were heading back to Kollam. After travelling 14 klicks,we stopped at Suchindram, to get a glimpse of the Thanumalayan temple that houses the trimurti (Lord Brahma,Vishnu and Shiva). While entering, we came to the know a peculiar rule of the temple - all men going into the temple must go in without their upper body garment. Now that was something, that happened with me for the first time and that too in a temple. But for the sake of god's glimpse, we honored the rule. The temple premises were large and had intricate artwork all around. Having done with a quick walk through the temple, we started off once again on the NH at 1915hrs, traversing through a denser traffic than what we had encountered during the day. It is noteworthy to mention, that almost all the towns we were crossing by, had either a church or a mosque or both.
Driving for 3 long hours brought us on the outskirts of Kollam and the 'vahkle' finally came to a complete stop at Anjaly's place. Her family members ushered us into the house the moment we got down, as if we had completed some cross country rally. A quick dinner was like a catalyst for our sleep. The schedule was tight and had kept us on our toes, but for all that we had got to see, it was worth it.
Day 3 - 27 June 2011,0800hrs.
Clouds that had occupied the skies were starting to scatter, giving way to another bright day. Morning was cool and pleasant, thanks to the rains last night. Breakfast was yet another new experience for the taste buds - idi appam(idlis made out of so-called rice noodles) along with curry. Soon, we set out for a trip around Kollam. First stop was the opticals' shop, for Anjaly's specs. We got to see the big old smile back on her face when she stepped out with a pair of contact lenses on. The heat had stepped up since morning and soon everyone was profusely sweating. The handicrafts emporium happened to be our next stop where most of the stuff was made out of wood - flower vases, tea coasters, diety statues, toys and even miniature boat houses. There was one item in particular, the aranamula-kannadi or the metal mirror which is known to have originated in Kerala. The mirror is not made of glass unlike the conventional mirror, but out of a special metal alloy. Looking into the mirror, one will not be able to perceive the difference between it and any conventional glass mirror. The next destination was unknown...we were guided by Anjaly's F-IL to some place Perinad. It was the second time we had stepped into the country side. Moments later, we were paving our way into a large coconut grove, which happened to be owned by F-IL. It was quite a sight to watch the coconut tree climbers locally known as mupar, making their way to the top of the tree and hacking coconuts. To start their ascent, they would cut out a notch on the the trunk with their machete and place their foot, then cut out another one opposite to the first notch and climb to it. By the time they reach the top, the trunk has an array of notches. Cocunuts kept falling from a couple of trees and the ground crew would swiftly collect them and pile it up somewhere. All the hacked coconuts were piled up and soon each of us was holding a tender coconut, sipping away from it. It was bliss and there couldn't be anything better to quench our thirst at the moment. It was lunch time, so we were back on the road to search some place to eat. F-IL was racing his Skoda Octavia so fast through the narrow lanes of Kollam, that even with Rahul's intricate driving skills we lost sight of him a couple of times. Lunch was traditional south indian meal, which we hadn't tasted since we arrived in kollam, thanks to in-laws' and Anjaly's immediate relatives. Last stop was JSM Bakers, a confectionary and bakery chain owned by a friend of Anjaly's hubby to-be. We were introduced to the owner, Shifas Salim who turned out to be an MBA graduate and now running a business of his own. Chocolate milk shake with ice cream(on the house), stole away whatever little space was left in our bellies.
The trip was inevitably coming to an end. The bus was making its way out of Kollam and as it did, a recollection of everything from the moment we had reached Kollam till then, came up as a flashing reel of events. The places, the food, the hospitality, (not to mention) the searing heat..each of it was a constituent to an incredible holiday experience.
Fellow travellers:
- Rahul Soni
- Prabha Soni
- Anjaly Sheela
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