From Malabar To Madurai

This trip was long and due. After many hiccups followed by umpteen revision of our plans [thanks to the serial blasts in july].We were just waiting for the ideal time. Diwali holidays  followed by the intra-college fest  and coupled with the “internal” blues  was  enough to trigger our crazy minds to go on a touring spree!!After much thought, we finally embarked on a tour to the all mystifying ,all conquering state of the Indian Peninsula-Kerala, which would go on to become one of my most  memorable trip.

Nov 5th 2008 ,5.00 PM- Four of us [Ajay,Srikar, Abhishek and me!!] assembled at the Bengaluru City  Railway station  to board the Kochuveli express due to depart at 5.15 PM.We took our seats and as always , the train took off at 5.15 PM Railway Standard Time, lagging behind the IST by 15 mins. The train chugged slowly through the plateau . The terrain gradually changed and we were in the Ghats-An extension of the Western Ghats. The darkness took away all the breathless beauty  of the ghats.  And in no time we were in Salem-a small township in TN. In order to beat the boredom blues we took to cards.Since none of us actually knew to play, we eventually  gave up  and hooked onto our music players. Yipee!!! It was dinner time , home made chapathis(courtesy:srikar) satisfied our palate. Meanwhile , the train chugged along  the Coimbatore junction and finally into Palakkad-the first smell of the Keralite soil was pure and innocent and the delicious thought of what would be in store for us in  Kerala was truly exhilrating, as we slowly retired for the day!

We were’nt sure about our alightment. All that we knew was that we had to alight at Cochin,we  did not even have clue as to when it would reach. I feared we might give the station a skip!!An elderly neighbour came to our help and with my limited Malayalam i managed to gather from him whatever was possible. We alighted at the Cochin junction with little idea as to what we are going to do there. With inputs from the neighbour, we decided to give Cochin a miss and straight away boarded the bus to Munnar. Hardly an hour after we boarded, the bus broke down much to our dismay! We took another bus and it was from here the Kerala countryside began. All u needed was a seat by the window and u would be awestruck by Kerala’s breathtaking sceneries.  What with high mountains, plantain fields, coconut trees ,thatched houses, narrow  river stream, gushing white waters- truly made for a sumptuous visual treat!!

Photopoint, Munnar

In the afternoon we landed in Munnar-land of scented spices and plantations. Turn around 360 degrees and all u could find was green.  After much negotiation with the broker, we manged to hire a room with the least possible rent in Munnar- thanks to Srikar’s negotiating skills! Soon , we set out to explore Munnar. We were dumbstruck by its sheer beauty. It was jaw-dropping, something i had never seen in my life. The guide took us to the famous Photopoint,Elephant arrival spot,Kundaly lake and dam -all in the Mattupatty direction,followed by spice plantations and Munnar lake in the Cochin direction.We managed some shopping in the evening before we retired for the day. Next morning we left for the Anaimudi hills in the Coimbatore  direction[supposedly the highest peak in South India]. All along the  hills, we found a rare species of goat- found in Australia also and the beautiful Kurinji shrub which blossoms once in 12 years. Without much fanfare, we quietly slipped out of Munnar only to land in Thekkady on 7th night. If Munnar was jaw-dropping, Thekkady was magnificient!!. We once again found a room with the minimum rent- thanks to Srikar again.Phew!!!

Nov 8th 2008,Thekkady. We set out early morning in our open top jeep to the Gavi Forest Reserve . First, we were greeted by the Forest Officer at the Forest Guest house. He then introduced us to our guides and were addressed about the dangers that lurked in trekking through a forest and the impending threats posed by wild life. We were given sack-like cloth to save the bite of  the treacherous leeches .Much to our surprise, we found the guide with hardly any  protection. All he had was a bag of salt to escape the sucker-leeches. What astonished us was the fact that he was only 3 months into this job, and yet he went through the jungle like Mowgli .He walked callously through the woods with an air of carelessness and disdain!. He seemed to know the forest thick and thin.  The tall decidous trees formed a thick canopy perventing any chance of sunlight from entering it. To our disappointment we could not sight much wild life except for some Samba  deers,  black monkeys and wild  buffaloes. Elephants and tigers–the rulers of the jungle never really turned up. By noon we were back at the Forest Guest house. After lunch, we set out for boating on the lake nearby. It was evening as the sun faded beyond the horizon as we left for Trivandrum-The capital city of kerala, some 200 kms down south of Thekkady.

Gavi Forest Reserve ,Thekkady

We took a bus to Kottayam which reached in the night,followed by  a connecting train to Trivandrum-The Malabar Express. Believe it or not, we took the 2 AM train to Trivandrum [never stayed up that late even during exams]and my Goodness! I had never seen such a crowd at a railway station at 2 AM in the morning. It was upto the brim and unfortunately all of them boarded the  lone train which we took to Trivandrum. All for a 3 hr journey to Trivandrum!!.

We reached Trivandrum on the 9th morning and instantly went to sleep in our room freshly exhausted by the travel and more so the Kottayam crowd!! That afternoon we made a short trip  to the exotic Kovalam beach. The sand was fine and waters much clearer than what i had witnessesd in the other beaches i had visited earlier-especially The Marina Beach in Chennai. We were unaware of the imminent threat by the remnant poison in the dead jelly fishes that still lingered around the beach!!! Yes, any contact with a jelly fish[even a dead one] left blemishes on the skin.!!  After some photography and “stall-eating” , we decided to visit the famous Padmanabhaswamy temple . This is where Kerala gets its uniqueness. Men are not allowed inside the temple  without dhotis and women- saris. After a graceful darshan of Lord Padmanabhaswamy, we came back to our rooms, refreshed ourselves and decided to leave for our next destination.

Kovalam Beach,Trivandrum

Kanyakumari was just 80 kms from Trivandrum -a place which i desperately wanted to visit. Due to time and logistical constraints[remember internals were coming up!!], we skipped KK and  headed directly to Madurai-The temple town.

Nov 10th 2008,Madurai - Madurai also known as the Athens of the East, a town ship known for the renowned Madurai Meenakshi Temple built by the erstwhile King  Raja Raja Chola of the Chola dynasty. Its a magnificient piece of architecture with four Gopuras [ North, South,East, West] with the main Rajagopura at the East coupled with countless sculptures, each one of them both meticulously and marvellously carved out. The Aayiram Kaal Mandapam(The Thousand Pillar Hall] is the stand out feature apart from the main deity Goddess Meenakshi who appears graceful and ever charming. Legend has it that it was here in Madurai that Lord Shiva wooed Goddess Meenakshi- a  reincarnation of Goddess Parvati  and married her. The sacred Kulam(Pool) was where Lord Indra took a dip to wash off all his sins.

Madurai Meenakshi Temple, Madurai

After a grand darshan of Madurai Meenakshi, we managed  some window shopping. Late in the noon, the other attractions  of the city , like the Gandhi Museum-a collection of Gandhi antiques, Madurai Palace,  Pazhamudircholai and Thirupparankundram  two of the six temples devoted to Lord Subramanya,were given a flash visit.

As the night unfolded, it was time for us to return. Yes, we were coming back to Bangalore- leaving behind 4 enthralling days of absolute joy which gave us a piece and a peace of our mind, away from the hustle-bustle of the Bangalore streets and   the crowd which breathed down your neck. It was a total stress buster.I wish we stayed there for a few more days.But Bangalore was calling!!A memorable experience truly. My heart still lies in the realms of Kerala.!!!

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