Kerala: The Husk, The Coconut, The Sea

IMPRESSIONS & BEYOND

Perhaps, as the best of experiences elapse, we often exclaim, ‘Ah! It feels like yesterday, isn’t it? The traveller may forget the details but, the impressions of the place imprinted on the heart stays as long as life does. Every experience and every impression stays at a secluded place in the heart, even as the traveller goes to find new ones with time. What follows further, is a story of one impression that etched deep inside a traveller’s being:

After concluding a sacred day in Cochin, traveller was on the way to Vytilla Bus Station. He was eagerly looking forward to a city whose culture, people, food and architecture stand the test of time. A city that personifies ‘history’ itself. The City of Lord Padmanabha, ‘Thiruvananthapuram’. However, as the day was dusking out, traveller was running late and perhaps, panicked as he had managed to miss his bus. With every passing minute, every letter of Malayalam on the buses (and only Malayalam), he was perplexed! At last, after being numb for an hour and then, actively searching a transport for another hour, he managed to get into a bus, but not to a seat at 20:00. Just when his outlook on this new journey was changing, maybe gradually turning a bit frustrating, irritated? Just then, he gets to smell the sea as the bus drives through Alappuzha, moving swiftly towards Kollam, en route to Trivandrum.

‘A hint of salt, loads of fish and a cool humid breeze, coconuts galore, and there was the Travancore with open arms to welcome the traveller’

He reached the city late in the night and winded up for the day. The next morning, he was awakened by traditional Carnatic music recitations, subtly flowing in the background. This morning was unique, as first, he didn’t wake up to blaring horns and traffic, and second, he was to join his office for the first time. He got dressed up and drove a 100 on NH 66, pushing a new breath in him. Driving along new routes, and taking intentional detours had always been a soul-stirring activity for him.

The office at first glance, looked aesthetic, however, muddled up with chairs and people in all places. Perhaps, that is the first sign of a great office, which does not bind people to cubicles and designations. So, it was the first time traveller was in an office and even the first time when he spotted his teammates popping out of a Google Meet window to shake hands with him.

What followed in the next 4 days was a tale of work, rain, lunches, friendships, ideas and people! However, I can’t skip one part. For the days that traveller visited the office, as and when his colleagues talked to each other, he could only hear ‘tunes’ instead of words. He bowed his head in respect to the Travancore people who happen to be born with one of India’s toughest languages, ‘Malayalam’. But, at the same time, it’s tough because it is so raw and deeply beautiful. No wonders why Malayali music converses with the soul. Does language stand as a barrier to the soul? Absolutely not. It just flows in, as the sea flows into the sand, leaving it moist, once, twice, every single time it hits!!

But, language could have been a barrier in the office, however, traveller did not feel left out as everyone tried to make him feel included. To those, the ones who put effort to make him feel included, he proudly calls them his ‘friends’. It was for those people who made him pour out his thoughts. At this juncture, as the traveller is travelling back to his hometown, he feels he’ll miss Trivandrum now. But, only to come back sooner to meet the amazing people, perhaps taking back new impressions of Kerala, Trivandrum and the ocean!