Another journey to Cochin

Onam, beginning of festive days in Kerala. Every one loves to be at home, with their parents and siblings and enjoy the flavor of the nostalgic surroundings.This time it was 4 months after my last visit. The nature had changed its coat to lush green and wet. Every where water, and lilies is on the surface. These were invisible on the dry land in the last summer. Lot of migratory birds and Cormorants are busy in fishing.

This time the whole north malabar was hit by the unusual fever called chicken gunia. The after effects are really bad. My parents were suffering from joint pain with swollen ankles. We had taken preventive medicine to escape the mosquitoes.

For some reasons I felt this years Onam was dull and sober, it was raining. Many of the native friends are vanished sow as not in a mood to hunt them and find out where they are. Few phone calls to renew my presence and to prove I am alive. The traditional flowers has vanished now the flower carptes called “pookalam” are made of  imported from the neighboring states.

Pookalam

 Had some good time with my cousin brother and sat on few bottles of good danish beer as I missed my favourite ” Kalyani”. Had a great lunch at home with home made mom made delicacies with a exotic and delicious payasam. It was all in a rush the same day I need to come back to Cochin. I was feeling dull and low and bit nostalgic to leave the native. It is a great feeling to be with parents even if you grown up and grown old. Do you all think so?

Wife  was busy packing, the return trip luggage usually used to be less of goods.  But the baggage was not ready to get reduced. The native bananas and dinner came in as parcel. I was thinking is it going to test my endurance especially being a festive day it will be very hard to find rickshaws on road but tuned my mind to proactive thinking, there will be autos especially for you. Let us see when it reaches Cochin. Coming day the villain was the heavy rain and god knows this time the villain will a auto rickshaw.

 

pookalam

 My brother dropped me and my wife at the station and I gave him few encouragement and motivation, told him to take care of Amma as she has joint pain. Hope he remembers all these. It was sunny bright afternoon, the rain clouds are scattered and not so heavy. The announcement was going on, mind started reloading the work mode and the life different from here.

Tasks, projects, reports,creativity, client, chats, blogs and tweets came in…then thought why to think too much in advance, then came the thoughts about the train. The onward journey was like a prehistoric or a vintage. The air conditioned chair car was a mess. Apart from seats rest of the things were all worn out. No trays  to keep your food no cup holders, some seats the tray frame was there and tied with ropes some seats the push back was in meditation mode rather call it static mode. As i always think, thought about a compartment worst than this.

The  final bell…seems train is reaching the station. It was boggy number 4, C1 seat number 57,58w… rush was not much as every one was celebrating onam. To my surprise the ambiance looked new and bit face lifted. It was like a middle aged lady with a coat of bright lipstick trying to say I am still young. But comparing the regular compartments  she was stunningly beautiful. In my last journey back home, one of the A/c mechanic shared me his pathetic story about compartments..some of them has more age than his total experience, too old… he even told me how to identify the age of a compartment…

I was just searching for that number in my onward A/c coach..it was more than 25 years old..seems some second class compartment might have got renovated to an A/c. As i got in to the train it was refreshing feeling for the first time. The fan was blowing on to my head, made me feel it was going to freeze my brain. I took a chance to look back to find out which polar bear has landed here. To my surprise it was boy sleeping like a sloth, hard for me to reach the switch to off it… I was feeling bit uncomfortable and in my second try this boy was awake and told him to switch off the fan. Seems to be a well groomed obedient boy. Next came the issue of tea, hardly these days you can find tea vendors, instead its all coffee vendors. Don’t know the reason for this. Is coffee making more profitable than tea? need to do a survey.

This train is always punctual and fast, still so many seats vacant and to my surprise the next seat was occupied by  a famous writer of Kerala. the train journey always brings some celebrity faces in front of you. You get a chance to interact and observe them. I dont want to write more about him because it might become a long blog.

Filed under: Nature, travel

Croaking frogs are back…!

Wow the monsoon is back again in advance..! Some thing to cheer for me. Feels like listening to “Geri Halliwell – It’s Raining Men” on a louder volume. The blistering hot and sunny days are withdrawing from climatic calendar of kerala giving way for showers. Look at the south west sky, do you ever get a chance to miss a cloud. Wow the overcast sky with a mild wind blowing forecasts the arrival of another big rain.

Get ready for it..! Look at the kids freaking out in the muddy waters..oooh look at the small kids riding his bycyle like crazy through the water logging…splashing all through the rear of the parked cars. he doesn’t realize it is wrong to do such thing.The priority now seems to enjoy to the max till the school reopening. Am i taking you to those nostalgic days…!

As I said in my earlier scribbles, monsoon for me is mind boggling. I always feel a rejuvenation of nature. time to shed the old , start living fresh. Look at the dry bushes now dangling in the wind like a young girl. The green leaves has a different glow. Look at the sky looks like crystal clear visibility.

But the topic I started was about the croaking frogs. Did I carry too much through the monsoon. Last night I was listening to this familiar croaks. Must be really celebrating the arrival of the monsoon. I wish I could understand those language, What could be their topics? Is it only monsoon or are they telling the shortage of insects? Do they feel the snakes are vanished from the drainages.

I still remember that frog which used to be always near to the pot. Like hiding and waiting for those drops to fall on earth.

The ultra slow motion camera depicts this scene very beautifully. the way it falls and the red clay like the ones on the Roalnd Garos splashes around. in few seconds every thing is wet from dry. The next day morning after the first monsoon rain you could listen to those morning birds busy in conversation. Might be they are talking about the monsoon. The way that wind came and almost taken their nest away. But she was appreciating the skill of her partner’s nest making skills.

Lot to write..wish I could get more time on this….!

Filed under: Nature

Global Warming

An important concern for those who are concerned about it. If you look around your developing town and cities you might have heard and seen rivers getting dried up, sand being stolen, bore-well being digged at every spots, polluted wastage being dumped by factories. But majority’s needs getting prioritised by ignoring long term effects on our environment.

The administrations of different legal elected bodies were more efficient in looking at the laws and rules. Is this happening because the society being not developed to understand the consequences which will be drastic on the future generations. Or is it the people sitting on the top are lacking vision and insight to such issues. Are they blind political elements of this unprofessional machinery of politics. Or the people like you and me have the time to raise such issues.

I have asked and tried to understand these, Why such things happens by-knowing the realities that the global warming can harm and erase certain species from this world.

There were declarations and notices issues in newspapers about banning the plastic, but still everyday you and me get your groceries in those. If you look at the sideways of highways and rail tracks you can spot huge quantities of plastic scattered all over these places. I have heard about the efforts of Greenpeace and other organisations to check these issues.

But as i told earlier the majority who doesn’t bother such things becomes a threat to minority who are concerned about mother nature, rivers, birds and ………

May be the future belongs to big corporates who can make money out environmental protection and it could be a new concept. Does it mean it’s all about money and business? May be we need to think more about the answer but looks it is!!!!

Filed under: Nature

Monsoon

Monsoon, I would say the most beautiful expression of Mother Nature. Majority of the readers might think it is not, because we cannot go out, we cannot wear the favorite shoes. All around us is wet and cold. You might even think …am I too crazy?

 

But if you have imaginative mind to think about the emotions of the moments, when the first monsoon clouds gather around the dry land. How many of you might have noticed the welcoming cry of frogs hiding near the pots in your mom’s garden. I have noticed them. I was amazed how they know the rain is going to come. Isn’t it amazing? Mother nature is amazing.

 

When I come back to the rain, I have enjoyed the heavy shower of the initial monsoon days. When you drive around the sea shore or river banks you can see the dark red muddy mixed water. The land is washed out and taken away all the dirt.

 

How many of you have enjoyed the monsoon cricket on the sea shore, where the sea is very arrogant and always like to grab your wickets. Don’t you remember when you played with paper boats.

 

Still I remember the moments when I felt so happy to catch a tiny fish with a black stripe on the side of the body, which resembles the JET AIRWAYS planes. I remember a speciall skill of throwing flat stone on the surface of placid water boddies. The stone

Used to Slip on the water surface producing a series of water splashes and subside after the momentum is lost. It was scary to notice some hiding non venomous water snakes around the streams.

 

Where are those days, is economic boom and modernization grabbed all the paddy field and streams. Are they buried under the development? Is only roads important than the streams. Is it going to be a museum for such past ecosystem? I have noticed these days King fishers are hardly able to find water to dive and catch a fish. Rather they prefer to catch grasshopper or bugs. Are we experiencing the worst transition mode. Are we just spectators or do we need to act?

 

I hope those rainy days were more beautiful than these where I could see the rain drops hitting the floor. From the roofs it made a water curtains. But these days the water harvesting has taken them away to the storage tanks. Some times I think the ancestors of humans shouldn’t have descended from the trees.

 

So how many of you really like the rain!

Filed under: Nature