God's own country

Athirapally Waterfalls 

With so many of my old pictures of Kochi making rounds on the FB , I thought I would post a short compilation. Since 2010 Kerala has been a revelation- the greenery and the waterbodies all have a way of soothing the eyes. Like the rains that lash in, it cleanses the toxins that we carry within ourselves. Or like the Athirapally waterfalls that meanders across the plains to fall with a force to create the spray and mist- I have memories of sitting with my feet dipped in the water one rainy afternoon before we trekked down the slush for a breathtaking view- and of course there is the memory of that monkey who just grabbed my ice-cream and ate it while I watched .....

Vellarpadam Oil Terminal 

And Kochi is never complete without the Sunset through the Chinese fishing nets at Sunset Point in Fort Kochi. The dusk, the sea, the ships and the sun all create their magical memory for a wanderer, a sailor and even a cynic. There is also the Vellarpadam terminal at dusk- with the lights lighting up the cranes and towers and creating their complicated shadows on the many splendored water.

Sunset at Fort Kochi 

Kumarkom - the backwaters 

The backwaters have their own charm with the house-boats and the quaint  lifestyle that centers around the meandering river- the vendors that sell fish from their boats  and the palm trees that silhoutte the blue sky. It is a life far removed from ours and the tranquility is catching, it can make you feel that time has stood still for years till the silence is broken by the cacophony of the cormorants.
My association with the elephants make me think that I must have been one of them somewhere , sometime.




The Guruvayoor Elephant Park is favored haunt. Bathing the pachyderms, or being saluted or getting a sugarcane thrown at me I have been through it all and each memory brings a smile on my face. My trip to the divine always ends up at this place. Watching these big beauties up , close and personal. Once I even saw an elephant running amok-breaking the chains and running into the mainstream traffic. That was scary and seemed like a bad dream.....


But otherwise God's own country is truly special....