Thursday, April 22, 2004

How I spent my summer vacation

Through a window, clearly

The first glimpse of Kerala always floors me. The mode of transport doesn’t really matter. A train window does offer a different perspective compared to the view from above, but the effect is the same. Wonder. Happiness. Awe.

Sindha looked outside and said, "I see only coconut trees. Nothing else - no houses, no roads, nothing." I smiled back. I love this land.

The Heat

We could feel the difference in climate from the moment we alighted. Hot, humid, sultry as hell. Rachu got affected the most; the first day was pretty bad for her. She cried a lot after reaching home, got very cranky in the evening and scared off most people who came close to her. Luckily, we did have a bit of rain a couple of days later, which cooled things somewhat. Sleeping with the a/c turned on also helped. Rachu perked up immediately when the a/c kicked in. She grinned at us, did somersaults on the bed and went to sleep without too much fuss.

But it was still hot most days. We didn’t venture out anywhere during the day.

The Songs

It was all about one song, really. Lajjavathi was everywhere. Three year old kids who couldn’t put a normal sentence together were crooning the lyrics. Sixty six year old grand-moms whose last song sung was Aatmavidyalayame were singing while working. The song played in shops, in movie halls, from loudspeakers on cars on election duty and on every channel every day.

The song is quite catchy, of course. It’s easy to see why it’s such a big hit. Jassie Gift’s singing style adds a tangy flavor. However, I doubt if he can repeat this phenomenal success.

I bought a few CDs - 4 The People (of course), Hits of Manju Warrier, Bharatham, Panchagni+Nakhakshathangal+Kaathodu Kaathoram (the best Malayalam soundtrack CD ever) and an assorted collection of the latest hits.

The Books

I badly wanted to start reading Malayalam literature. I’ve always been ashamed of having read novels like Kazhakhinte Ithihasam and Yakshi in English, rather than their native Malayalam. Went to Current Books and bought a pile:

1. Kazhakhinte Ithihasam by OV Vijayan
2. Marthandavarma by CV Raman Pillai
3. Ummachu by Uroob
4. Mayyazhippuzhayude Theerathu by M Mukundan
5. Payyan Kathakal by VKN
6. Asuravithu by MT

Sindha bought Mrs. Mathew’s cookery book and an English translation of Premchand’s Godaan. I started reading Payyan Kathakal, found it light and enjoyable. The others will be more difficult, I guess. Might need a good dictionary, too.

The Movies

We couldn’t go for any movie, for obvious reasons. Or rather, one reason - li’l Miss Rachana Madhav. 4 The People and Vellinakshathram were the current hits, from what I understood. Mohan Lal had a new movie called Vismayathumbathu, which appears to be a pale reworking of Manichitrathazhu. No one apart from a few die hard fans seemed interested in the film. Sad to see one of the best actors of my generation slowly sink into oblivion.

The Friends

There aren't too many of my friends around aymore. Jamy is the only one from what I call my inner circle, who is still in Trivandrum. Sindha, Rachu and I went to Sreeji’s house and met his parents, two brothers and other folks. They were quite happy to see us, after a really long while. Met Jamy at his house, but he had a personal emergency and we couldn’t get too much time to sit and talk. We wanted to go to Jayasankar’s house too, but lacked the energy to go up to Vattiyoorkavu in the heat.

Sindha's circle has three friends, out of which two were in Trivandrum. We visited both of them. We also did the obligatory visiting neighbours thingy too. Smiles all around.

The Sights

Veli was packed with people the day we visited. I was sad to find that my favorite coconut tree, the one which leant over into the backwaters, was missing. That apart, it was quite relaxing to sit next to the lake, with the cool sea breeze gently touching your face. Rachu was delighted too - she really enjoyed being next to the water and watching the birds fly by.

We did visit Shankhumukham beach too, but the kid was exhausted by then and we had to leave.

The Food

Staying at Sindha’s place is always fun. I never feel hungry from the moment I step in. Chicken - curry and chilly, three different varieties of fish - each fried and curried, tapioca, mutton cutlets, crab curry, fried prawns and the usual vegetarian spread of avial, sambar, thoran, ithyadi. The whole trip was one gastronomic delight. I also managed to get meat puffs from Jayaram Bakery and halwas (pineapple, grape and fig) from Sweet Mahal.

Net increase: 2.5 kilos per person. Rachu has also put on weight. Not bad for a week’s visit.

The End

Back in Bangalore. Back to routine, back to work. Back to pressures and deadlines, expenses and bills. But also back to what we can really call home.

33 comments:

  1. She grinned at us, did somersaults on the bed

    Cute!

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  2. There aren't too many of my friends around aymore.

    This is always a major reason behind le homeland blues. When I go home, there is no one to go meet and visit familiar places.

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  3. What happened to our coconut tree? Have they cut it down? (of course they have. couldn't have walked off on its own).

    Can't wait to go home and have my fill of ithyadi.

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  4. Am going to kerala for my honeymoon.

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  5. Oh my gawd, that Lajjavathi song is everywhere. The song's like some kind of an anthem.

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  6. I heard he stole the lyrics from Diana King. Any truth in that?

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  7. there is no one who can match payyan, except perhaps ittoop muthalali.

    there was this manager of mine who reminded me of kenal (colonel) renu. o.O :))

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  8. The first glimpse of Kerala always floors me

    Totally!

    I am already in love with Sindha's folks.

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  9. Could have fallen down by itself (herself?)Or could have been knocked down by an elephant or a boar or a bull.

    Oru yimagination cheyyu!

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  10. Having driven the Kozhikode-Bangalore route quite a few times, I totally understand and agree about the first sight of Kerala. For me, it's also the roads- so much better most of the time.

    The oppressive heat too I can identify with...

    And while I'm on a (enforced) gastronomic adventure here in Mumbai, your post has reminded me that I must enjoy the food while I'm at K over the next year!

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  11. Ha. I got myself a copy of *the best Mal cd ever*, the last time i was home.

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  12. Chamiya Teri Maa ?

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  13. It is quite an experience listening to Malayalam music on the private buses especially when you have fields on both sides of the road. There is this stretch somewhere on the route to Pandalam (from my place), Kodassanad I think... can never get that off my mind.

    Also, nothing like the high that comes from the smell of cashew trees and burnt firewood.

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  14. I agree, Madhav... The sights, the sounds, the smells... I love them all! Here's something that I'd posted as a part of an article on Sulekha.

    'All through my school and college life and for some part of my working life, I used to visit my grandparents in Kerala. Before the Konkan railway route was built, the Jayanti Express used to take the Malayali folks from Bombay to God’s own country. The duration of the journey was almost 40 hours, I think. Thankfully, we got off long before Trivandrum. The route passed through Maharashtra, Karnataka, parts of AP and Kerala (Please correct me if I am wrong!) A major part of the scenery consisted of dusty plains whizzing by with barren landscape and solitary railway stations with a flag-bearing stationmaster. Come AP and the train would be plagued by hawkers selling delicious and spicy vegetable salad, women selling peanuts, guavas and huge cucumbers, beggars suffering from every possible deformity, eunuchs in bright saris, urchins, mute women with cards, etc. The heat of the summer months in those parts of India is intolerable and spending nearly 2 days in the train only serves to make it worse. The train reaches Kerala sometime early morn and like magic, the landscape alters instantly. The brown gives way to the green and in spite of the million trips I’ve made to Kerala, it always inspires the same reaction in me. It’s touching, almost emotional, a true homecoming. Square green patches of paddy fields, tall waving coconut palms, small tiled houses; verdant is the word. Green describes Kerala the best. Magically the heat and dust of the day before would pass over and be replaced by the smell of wet mud, the kind that precedes a monsoon. The train races through various stations before reaching Thrissur, then known as Trichur, my grandparents’ home. In spite of being Bombay-born and Bombay-bred, Kerala brings forth in me such an emotional reaction that it’s astounding. In some strange ways, it is home to me.'

    She's one of the most emotional elements in me: Kerala.

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  15. Yikes..you like Lajjavathiye?!

    I wonder why its such a big hit.But I also know of a snooty mallu friend who was forced to go to Kerala.Till then he professed not knowing the language.But when he came back he was singing Lajjavathiye!
    I must listen to it more carefully.I was forced to listen to it,when I went to pick up some meen polichethu from the malayalee restaurant "Kumarakoam" the other day!

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  16. Madhav, any link where I could hear this great track 'Lajjavathi'?
    Am terribly curious now...

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  17. Can somebody put up Lajjavathi mp3 for download please.IIRC last time a song had so much attention LJ was "Oppodu" from gemini movie.

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  18. Is Sindha from Kerala too? That's quite a unique name.. What does it mean?

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  19. You could find it on Coolgoose. I wouldn't classify it as a great track, btw.

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  20. Yes, she is from Kerala too. The name doesn't mean anything. Should it?

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  21. > Sleeping with the a/c turned on also helped. Rachu perked
    > up immediately when the a/c kicked in. She grinned at us,
    > did somersaults on the bed and went to sleep without too
    > much fuss.

    JPEG! JPEG!

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  22. :-)
    Definitely does not need to mean anything. I wondered if 'Sindha' was short for something else.
    Besides, I like finding out the meanings of names I come across.

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  23. Am listening to the 'great' 'Lajjavathiye' and all I can think of is... Am I a snob or is the song pretentious?
    God, I can't even imagine the reactions of my folks in Kerala!

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  24. Pretentious? Have you heard anything like this before?

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  25. Haven't... And I thought this attempt at fusion ended up sounding rather wannabe, if you know what I mean.

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  26. "Oru yimagination cheyyu!"

    Isn't that a Suprandi-ism? Made me laugh.

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  27. Seems like we were in TVM/Kerala around the same time, your post reads like a transcription of my holiday, minus Rachu ofcourse ;) If I ever get around to write about this holiday, I am gonna put a lot of hyperlinks and cross-references to this post of yours(makes it so easy when someone has already written about it in better words, eh;))

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