Am back after a small hiatus, blogging about my NOT so recent trip to God's Own Country - Kerala.
Why does KTDC (Kerala Tourism Development Corporation) brand it as "God's Own Country" ; well the probable answer might be that, whichever place you visit in Kerala, has a unique history attached to one of its temples. This particular observation came to me through this visit, which my dad proudly claims as a tourism cum pilgrimage trip, given the fact that the number of trips to temples far outnumbered the number of different places we visited. But frankly speaking the temples of Kerala do have a really sanctimonious air around them. Even a atheist might be drawn to the pure sanctity of the places of worship. Though some of these temples have been highly commercialised, others still seem to have the mystic air surrounding them.
The second possibility for the nomenclature, a much more widely accepted one would be to say that the state is so beautiful that it definitely is home to God. Zaroor bade fursat se Kerala ko banaya hoga. Whatever be the reason, it is unerringly called so. For proof of the same, do visit my album (the link is given on the right side)
Our journey started from Perumpavoor, home to my paternal uncle. The team this time consisted of my dad, my mom and me :) . Our choice of travel mode , a Tata Indica, with Manu at the helm.Theres another thing about Kerala that has always baffled me. My body clock automatically advances an hour. The days spent there seem unusually untiring. So it is pretty much feasible to start a journey as soon as 6 in the morning, that amounts to waking up at 5.
The three day trip planned to take us to Kanyakumari (India's southernmost tip), Trivandrum (Kerala's capital), and Kumarakom (Famous backwaters).
En route Kanyakumari we were scheduled to visit a few temples (Kidangoor, and Ettamanoor)
After our scheduled pitstops at these locations we set forth on a long journey of approximately 270kms. The drive through the serpentine roadways of Kerala, kept introducing unending stretches of exotic locales. The most prominent among them being the backwaters at Allapuzha. The road trip alone proved to be much more exciting than anything else. Picturesque scenery, a good camera, lots of enthusiasm and a good photographer make the perfect recipe for a great album and it was. 3 days and 500 shots later, I realised what a trip this was.
We got to Kanyakumari at the perfect time for sunset. But the clouds played spoilsport and we were unable to see the sunset. Nonetheless the atmosphere was pretty close to perfect, the warm wafts of air feeling your skin, the waves lashing on the rocks, and the smell of the sea gratified the senses. Next on the itinerary was a visit to the Temple of Goddess Kumari.
We retired to a fundoo seafacing room, all set to wake up the next morning and hopefully witness an unmarred sun rise.
The next morning I woke up, completely enthused for watching the sun rise. Armed with a cup of coffee and my Canon S3 IS camera, I was waiting to capture the shades of orange emanating from the horizon. The colors changed from, dark blue to pink and then to orange. As the industrious fishermen cast their nets for the day, the streaks of golden sunlight broke the surface of the Indian ocean. The sun in its entirety rising out of the water, the scene couldnt be more scenic. What a beginning to the day it was!!!!
Having performed all the daily chores, we were all set to visit the Vivekananda Rock and the gigantic Thiruvalluvar (great Tamil poet) statue out in the sea. We climbed aboard a ferry which took us to both of them and back. Nothing specific to mention about either of these, except that both of them are a historians delight.
Next we proceeded towards Trivandrum, with some pitstops scheduled at local temples and a worthy place of visit 30kms from Kanyakumari - the Padmanabhapuram Palace. Unassuming as it may seem at the first look, this palace captured my interest the moment I entered it. The highly ornate wooden carvings, works of art and antiques were the things that added to the grandeur of the palace. Most of the interiors were made of wood, adroitly carved to please the king.
The next stop was Trivandrum, where we were scheduled to halt for the night. The capital has nothing much to be spoken about, except for the traffic woes, and of course Padmanabha Swamy temple. This is one of the temples which still is under the rule of a local king. Most of the temples in Kerala are otherwise managed by the temple Trusts. The temple is home to Lord Vishnu in the Ananthasayanam (sleeping) posture.
Waking up the next morning we headed for the backwater land - Kumarakom. One of the most beautiful places (refer to album) Kumarakom was a treat to our eyes. a 2 hour boat ride took us through the backwaters, bird sanctuary (sans the birds) and Pathiramanal - an island in between the backwaters. The recommended best time to visit is November to March. Though I would have loved to stay over in a house boats that night, but our strict schedule didnt allow us the luxury. The luxurious house boats are available from 3k to more than 20k per night. It has all the amenities one can think of. From a personal chef, to a plasma TV, you name it and you have it :)
And since its 00:00hrs now, its time to bed but before that just the all important climax ;)
After the boat ride we were again home bound, back to Perumpavoor, with lots of memories and a strong desire to go places :D. A lot of Kerala is still left unexplored, hope to cover more in the time to come. Will have to do with the memories till then :)
