The Weekend Trip: 22-24 Nov' 10

An overnight trip was due for a long time. Friday night after work, my flatmate, Biju and I got on the MC road and rode towards his home. The main central road, connecting Trivandrum to a town in Ernakulum district, is a better option because the road is wider and traffic is less. This was a welcome ride—The last time I’d done a 100 plus ride was almost a year back when I’d gone to Kanyakumari with three other friends. We reached Biju’s house at around midnight. Within 15 minutes, we were sound asleep. 

The next morning, after having warm idlis at his uncle’s place, we toured around Malapally for a while. By afternoon, we were ready for our next destination, Thekkady. We’d hardly covered 10 kms when there was a sudden downpour, giving us little time to find shelter. I wasn’t looking forward to this. After about 15 mins, we were on the road again. Minor drizzle continued. We understood that taking refuge from the rain would cost us a lot of time. So we depended on our jackets (which obviousy weren’t waterproof). Biju had heard of the meadows of Vagamon; I doubt if he’d been there before. So, he advised that we should take a detour from the KK road and go via Vagamon. The road was bad, but the first look at the small hillocks of Vagamon and I knew it was worth it. Unfortunately, it was raining heavily and we couldn’t take any photographs or relax on the meadows. There's always a next time, they say.

We were hungry, but we had no cash. We had thought we would come across ATMs in the town. None. The figure of hungry souls in the world had just increased by two. Finally, an SBI ATM by the fuel station. Withdrew some cash, refilled the tank, and then our stomachs. We were completely drenched and it was going to get dark soon. We had another 60 odd kms to cover. I badly wanted to change into dry clothes. Decided against it. By about 8 pm, we were in Kumli. That was where Biju’s friend had booked a hotel room for us. In the room, I got our stuff out of the bag. Nothing was completely dry. I put on the semi-dry clothes and wrapped myself with the blanket. After a while, we helped ourselves to vodka, followed by some food.

We woke up late the next day. Headed to the resort where Biju’s friend works. He had invited us for breakfast. We did not have enough time, so we entered the Wildlife Sanctuary just to view the lake, which was beautiful.  We then entered Tamil Nadu to see the water pipelines that feed the Tamil Nadu fields.


We had been in Vagamon on a rainy day. Why not when there’s sunshine? We took a detour again on our way back. We passed the beautiful tea gardens through the narrow, winding road. The half hour spent in Vagamon was the high point of the trip for me. Never before had I seen such sprawling lush green meadows. This state of nature was picturesque in every sense. I hope it remains this way; I hope we do not bring in the commercial concrete to satiate the never-ending human excess.

Saturday afternoon in Varkala: Second Oct'10

Varkala is one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve come across in my country. The cliff is one of the best things here. The numerous restaurants on the cliff overlooking the sea are occupied from people across the world. I’ve been here many times, but by myself, for the first time. Felt nice. The beach had been swallowed by the hungry sea but I was safe on the cliff. Most restaurants were being renovated for the next tourist season, I suppose. I decided I would walk to the other end of the cliff. An artist had displayed his beautiful paintings outside his workshop, his proud signature on each of them. Inside, he was dedicatedly stroking his brush on an incomplete canvas.

After a couple of shops, I stumbled upon a small bookstore selling second-hand books. Born to Oriya parents, adopted by an English couple, I don’t know how Lakhiram had landed up in Varkala. He had a very good collection though, which spoke of the man's good taste. He was impressed with my Bengali, though he admitted that he could only as much as understand the language. I picked up a couple of translated Greek classics and one of Coetzee, and procrastinated the walk to the other end of the cliff. I was thirsty and hungry. I scanned the restaurants as I walked back and settled into one. Drinking beer by the sea is always amazing, it’s even better when you do it on a ‘dry’ day. Finished Plautus’ Pot of Gold and the beer. As I got up to leave, the rain gods lashed their fury all over Varkala. A 40-km ride in the rains is not a very pleasant thought. As I waited for the rain to stop, I started chatting with one of the waiters who happened to be from my home town. We talked of home, the people, and politics. We hoped for better days. The rain had stopped, if only for a while.