Mountains, tea-gardens...(getting it? No??) The wide and vast Arabian Sea...(still a 'No'? let me try again)...the 'backwaters'! Does that ring 'the' bell? Yes, I'm writing about God's own country ... Kerala... (Look 'Gannu', I'm about to fulfill your wish).
The first journey of the new year with my lab-mates ; and a special mention of Rashmi Ma'am--(there... there you go Maa! your favorite...when would I be one of your favorites? I keep asking... nope, I never qualify!)
An escapade from the near zero temperatures and unpredicted rains of Roorkee to the sunny, cheerful Cochin. It welcomed us with the sun smiling (rather laughing) at us---err! at our winter clothes and yes, Rashmi Ma'am's treasure trove of jackets, woollen stuff---She'd forgotten to see the weather forecast and the convenor's mail from the conference, simultaneously.
(Meanwhile: "Bhaiya pack kar dena!". I grabbed a chair to pretend I'm not feeling awkward. I fished out my notebook--yes, in MAC--and scribbled the above lines while waiting for my honey chilli potato---always a fav :) )
The die-hard fans of non-veg dishes chuckled at the thought of their wishes being fulfilled here. The cab-driver exaggerated on the delicacies of Cochin while the gang of veggies continued to battle for 'the right to live and let live'. We gave up on our honest motifs when the realisation dawned upon us that after years of practising mastery over answering reviewers' comments (yeah, research papers are our bread & butter anyway---we can't live and leave them alone), it is difficult to win over our seniors. We gobbled up our words and gave them the freedom to 'eat'. :D
After wrapping up with our conference presentations, we headed to Munnar---a hill station, famous for its tea-plantations and the mountain goats, Tahr. Ohh! I almost forgot... we had our share of the native cuisines that particularly revolved around direct and indirect derivatives of rice, the names of which I've forgotten. (...I suck at this, if that's an acceptable excuse). The drive uphill was filled with the sun and the clouds tricking each other and allowing us enjoy their 'peek-a-boo's! The roads were lined with coconuts, 'bhutta', pineapples, home-made chocolates, home-made soaps, chips, etc. The taste of 'indigenous'-ness lingered on everything, especially on the boat made out of bamboo. Subho Sir almost clicked a selfie and said, " Mere iss photo pe maalaa chadhaana!". The boat-ride was perhaps the best part with all of us laughing our hearts out! The hardest of laughter and the broadest of curves on our faces.
Nature has its own subtle ways of expressing belonging-ness. The sublime effect of vulnerability yet affection was bewitching, trying to make us feel how closely our bonds are knitted and inter-dependent.
Whoosh...and silence... and then whoosh and a splash!
The mighty Arabian Sea engulfing the red sun slowly. We visited port Kochi the next day... to splash around in its waters and to have a pensive mood. It was overwhelming for me. "Manu, don't go too close to the rising waves", Maa instructed--the way she'd been doing since decades! "Okay, Maa", the way I've always answered them. But not assured. How can I ever, ever stop myself? ...Running around, I put that little kid to shame who was struggling to pull his hand out of his mother's hold and was looking at me amazed with his mouth wide-open. I could clearly decipher that look! We had them too--" Jab hum bade ho jayenge, hum bhi aisa karenge, waisa karenge..." . "Kiddo, that's the trap!", If only he could read my thoughts.
Kesava pitched the idea of having a time-travel. Just kidding! He managed to persuade Chaithanya Sir to engrave the initials of our names on the sand. The rest three of us were easily gullible. We had our time-travel. Inscribed our initials and watched them wash away... fade away. What a lesson!
My running around was endless, and thoughts frivolous--- Wow! My brain is a super-fast parallel processor.
"... you are incompatible, you don't consume non-veg? you are yet to know the world..we're into the same profession... oh please, there are personal preferences and choices"
The waves came in with a bigger whoosh. Did they not care that I was in a deep, thought-provoking, self-inspection and discussion with myself? The waves answered, ' You ... with your infinitesimal existence think that you're the center of the universe?' And a splash...'...Look around. There are more like you...with uncertainties alike!'
And they washed away. Silence. Now, they almost whispered, 'Be kind and be grateful...always'
...for your fortunate share of serendipity.