the mobile phone and me…

…don’t really get along too well.

I don’t like talking on the phone much…and if you have a problem with that, I’m sorry I can’t help you. Well, perhaps I can (by attending your call), but I don’t plan to   I guess I owe many people this explanation (though very few of these people read this blog ; the other option is to text them all. And they may call back. Uh oh…)

I really am not avoiding you, okay? I’m just avoiding your call. Ouch — no, I’m just avoiding having to talk on the phone. Leave me a text message, leave me an offline chat, leave me a mail. I’ll respond, almost instantly, unless i’m sleeping, or unless the phone is like hidden under the cushion, pushed int here by the naughty lil’ Pumbaa. But if I see an SMS, I WILL respond; I cannot guarantee that about a missed call you leave me I just don’t like the mobile phone much.

Not that I hate it or don’t use it. Just that I don’t use it for what it is meant. A mobile phone, for me, is essentially just a replacement for Gmail chat I am a person of few words…I talk very little even face-to-face and I generally prefer “talking” to someone through “chat”or “sms”. And on chat/sms, I can go on for hours together

You wont believe it, but I ALWAYS rely on a text message to communicate with someone, before having to actually call that person up. Including emergency situations like being on a busy highway, at the signal, and wondering if we must turn left or right to reach that person’s house And when I’m blasted for being so dumb, I dial the number, press “Call” and instantly stick the phone to Suraj’s ear (or whoever else is driving)!

There is just ONE person (yes, person) with whom I can actually talk non-stop, for hours. And that is Pumbaa Well, he can’t talk back, and one of us has to do that. So, I happily do it

There are very few people with whom I can talk non-stop, for hours, on the phone. One of them is Amma. The other is my brother. Then there are a couple of close friends. Recently, after a rather long conversation (if I may call it that), Hobbes asked me if I were “the same girl who hates talking on the phone?” Well, that did leave me mumbling for a bit.

And I can’t tell you just how many times I’ve got into trouble with Suraj for never picking up his calls. Well, how will I know he’s calling when the phone is (eternally) on silent mode? [Who puts it on silent mode? Uh...I do.] Even before getting married, this was a constant problem. I guess it was the ONLY reason for our quarrels. He would call, I wouldn’t pick up. He’d call 10 more times. Then he would try my mom’s number, but I’d be at the aunt’s place. Then he’d call the aunt’s number — but by then, I’d have run back home (having realised that the phone has been abandoned somewhere, undoubtedly on silent mode, and that Suraj would be trying to get through to me). Finally, he would get through to me and blast me. I would silently hear him out, ask him if he’s done, and then hang up and go my way.

Except with Amma and my brother, I think I switch to listening-mode with most others And happily too. I’m better at listening than talking. Some people make it tough, because most of the ones who matter knows me well enough to continue doing the talking without much expectations Unless I’m completely comfortable with the person on the other side, even being on listening-mode is a pain. So, avoiding calls is the easiest thing to do.

I really don’t know why I talk so little — in general, and on the phone. There is one friend who calls me a chatterbox (really!), but well, I admit that I talk a LOT to him; well, I used to. To others, I think it is mainly because I keep thinking whatever I have to say or talk about will not be of much interest to the listener. Seriously I don’t know why I think so, but I do. I don’t say a lot of things, thinking it won’t be of any interest to that person, only to listen to something very similar coming from the other end And well, by then, whatever I could have said would have become stale Well, I get into one of my PJ moods when some of my brother’s friends call…and I go on yap yapping for hours, till they hang up on me, threatening to kill me next time they see me.

So, basically, for me, a mobile phone is essentially just a replacement for Gmail chat And Winamp! I use it to text, and I use it to listen to my favourite music tracks. That is about it.

My first one was a Sony Ericsson w810i. I bought it because it came with the cutest, tiniest pair of external speakers (which incidentally wasn’t working, and I still have not used!). I loaded all my music into it, and was always plugged to my phone through earphones. An incoming call in the middle of a favourite song would piss me off — and I’d just disconnect the call! Yes, I used to be that bad. I was sooooo attached to that phone that despite being gifted a 160GB iPod, I refused to part with the walkman phone. I did not use the iPod for almost a year! I used this for over 4 years (it looks MIGHTY sad now, considering the number of times it has gone bouncing down the stairs, into rain puddles, on to the road, blah blah!) It served me verrrrry well, though

Finally, Suraj convinced me that I baaadly needed a new phone I refused to exchange my w810. I would always want it, I said.

I bought the Sony Ericsson Xperia w8. Again, for the music. I HATED the fact that it was touchscreen! Texting someone became an ordeal. I actually began calling people! Bah. And then I got used to the touchpad, and now my phone is back to being a walkman, and a Gmail chat alternative And I like the fact that I can access Gmail chat also on it That’s about the ONLY reason I appreciate a smart phone now. It is quite smart Well, the w810i was smart too, but I wasn’t smart enough those days

Poor thing, Suraj. New phone and all that, but it too has the silent mode thingy in-built! Oh well, I’m still the same, I guess. I still do not pick up calls Living in the same house makes it a little easier for him, I suppose. [And it does not help that he calls to remind me to do the many chores he assigns to me every morning, which I promptly forget Listen, if I forget it, perhaps I really do not want to do those ]

I still remember, how when we went to Coorg over a year back, there was no mobile connectivity at the homestay we stayed at. Was I thrilled! It was a real stress buster. No one called, no one texted, no one could contact me at all. Absolute “Yay” it was!! (Not that I’m always getting calls/text messages, but still) I was at peace, while Suraj freaked out.

So why am I blabbering about all this now? Because recently, a couple of old college friends ganged up against me (okay, I’m exaggerating, but it was akin to ganging up alright. Bah!) for not keeping in touch. Well, I’m ALWAYS online — and none of you are! If you’re all always available on phone, why not give me a call? Er er…I mean, send me an sms Anyway, after explaining myself and brilliantly emerging as the innocent angel that I am, I’ve decided to give the single “ring-ring”s in loving remembrance henceforth

However, all said and done, I have to say: the mobile phone and me…don’t really get along too well. And I might even forget about the ring-ring agreement after a while. You are always in my mind, just believe that Was I any different at all when we met last weekend?

Edited to add: Yay!! I’m not alone. She may be my soul sister I could easily have written this post!!

Yay!

My blog is recovering from 50,036 hits since 13 June 2008! Bah, folks. So you go ahead and see the “since 13 June 2008!” part? Now whose fault is that? Yours! If you all had kept crazily clicking on my blog every other day, I’d have reached this milestone a loooong time back Oh, so I have to write as frequently as well? Hmmm…whatever.

Well, honestly, it does not matter to me. And I noticed it only because a friend pointed it out (snickering, saying “valla vidhavum athrem oppicheduthu” — literally translates to “finally you managed to reach that much”). Yes, such friends I have. Sigh.

So well, I’ve seen people posting such milestones. And for want of anything else to write about, here it is.

Yay! 

Child Development, Nutrition and Inter-personal Relationships :)

The officer at the Driving License counter asked the lady “What is your occupation?” The woman seeking renewal of her license seemed to be puzzled. So the officer said “Ma’am, are you employed, have your own business or…….. The woman replied “Oh, yes!! I have a full time occupation. I am a mother.”

Officer: “We don’t have ‘mother’ as an option for occupation. I will write it down as ‘Housewife’. That takes care of all questions.”

This had happened long ago, and was forgotten. Years later when I went to get my license, the Public Relations Officer was a somewhat pompous woman. “Your occupation?” she asked in a rather authoritative tone.

I just had an inspiration and replied “I am a researcher in the field of Child Development, Nutrition and Inter-personal Relationships.” The lady officer stared at me in amazement. I calmly repeated my statement and she wrote it down verbatim. Then, unable to conceal her curiosity, she politely asked “What exactly do you do in your profession, Ma’am?”

I was feeling good about having described my occupation so calmly and confidently. So I replied “My research projects have been going on for a number of years (mothers never retire!!). My research is conducted in the laboratory as well as in the field. I have two bosses. (One is God and the other is my entire family). I have received two honours in this field (a son and a daughter). My topic is considered to be the most difficult part of sociology (all moms will agree!!). I have to work more than 14 hours every day. Sometimes even 24 hours are not enough and the challenges are tougher than many other professions. My compensation is in terms of mental satisfaction rather than money.”

I could see that the officer was thoroughly impressed. After completing the licensing formalities, she came to the door to see me off. This new viewpoint about my occupation made me feel much better on my way back home. I was welcomed by my 5 year old research assistant at the door. My new project (my 6 month old baby) was energetically practicing her ‘music’.

I had earned a small victory over the Governmental red tape today. I was no longer ‘merely a mother’, instead I was now a highly placed functionary in a service vital for mankind – Motherhood!!

‘Mother’ – Isn’t it a great title?

P.S.: Thanks for this forward, UmaS I felt this was too fabulous to not share! Please, share this as much as you can, as widely as you can. No one will book you for plagiarism

And to the “mother” who said all this: you are fabulous!

Goa :) so aah! – a travellogue: part 3

Disclaimer: I drafted this post a day after I published the previous one — but well, all the pics were in my brother’s camera and he left the transfer cord at his friend’s place in Kochi. I waited and waited for two weeks before I got it couriered by him. So, here the post is with the pictures…

After many things ancient in Goa—Fort Aguada and Old Goa on Day 2 @ Goa—we had decided to keep aside Day 3 @ Goa for the modern And on top of the list for the day was parasailing!

A few weeks prior to the vacation—after making the list I forgot to take along—I happened to read a blog called Passion For Road Trips. The author, Subu (who i recently discovered is a much-admired and much-respected friend of my friend!! — small world, huh!?), had been on a recent trip to Goa and had a fab travellogue put up on his blog. From my research for the list, and reading through this blog, I had made up my mind to go for parasailing, scooterboat ride and something called a banana ride.

But after spending all that time at the Colva Beach on Day 1 @ Goa, I had decided that the scooterboat ride was too bumpy for my already bummed spine; and that the banana ride was not all that interesting—except that at one point of time, you’ll be toppled over into the sea and then have to climb back on to the banana-shaped floater which is pulled into the sea and back to the beach by another boat.

But parasailing…it looked awesome, exciting and was sure set the adrenaline soaring. The day we went to Colva Beach, we were approached by guides who offered to take us parasailing for Rs 800 per couple. We bargained, saying it wouldn’t be more than Rs 150 Finally, they brought it down to Rs 500 per couple, but we still did not give in: the main reason being that I’d come to the beach in a skirt

Anyways, 31 December in Goa—for that matter, at any place—is a costly affair…and parasailing was no different Once again, we were at Colva Beach, bargaining with guides who refused to reduce it even by a penny beyond Rs 800. The final one who came to us quoted Rs 800 as well…and to him I said in a voice filled with despair and disappointment “it was 600 when we came yesterday…this is unfair”, blah blah. When he saw me sulking, he relented and agreed for Rs 600. I was then chided for having blurted out 600 instead of 500 (or even 400!)…but well, I just wanted to parasail, no matter what In fact, I’d still have gone ahead and done it even if they stuck to Rs 800!

So, we finally agreed for Rs 600 and waited in queue to be the next for sail! The rides were coming to an end for the mid-day break and we were the last ones in queue.

As the couple in front was strapped, buckled and then sailed away, a million butterflies came to life in my tummy and I had second thoughts! The parachute went up to such a terrifying height…there was the sea below…and I didn’t even know to swim—as if it would help at all. Was I still sure I wanted to go in? I turned around to look at the husband and ask if we should back out…he wasn’t very interested in it in the first place.

:) Almost about to parasail!

But alas…when I did turn around to ask, there were two guides on both sides, strapping a life jacket and buckling it up, strapping us both together on to another buckle, the other end of which was fastened to the boat—and before I could say “hey”, we were moving! At 12.45 pm, on a sunny scorching New Year’s eve-noon, we were parasailing!

Up above the world so high... -- pic courtesy: my bro

Almost about to land -- pic courtesy: my bro

A parachute -- a pic I took

It was one of the best things I’ve done in life. The take off was as smooth as one could imagine it to be…there was no air rushing up against or out of me…and the feeling of being in flight, like a bird, was spellbinding. I really and honestly CANNOT describe it. To have to do it to know it.

And the sight! Oh my god, the sight from up there cannot be described! Perhaps if I were a poet, I could have done some justice. But well, I honestly think (and I repeat!) if you really want to know, you must try it someday!

As we sailed up, I began howling like how we do on one of those giant wheels at the theme parks. But I stopped it as soon as I started it: because it was so calm, it was soooo calm and smooth, I realised there was no NEED to howl or scream or even break the silence. All we both did then was gush…. “Oh, wow…look how…” “Ah…this is just…” “Awww…how small those people…”

The vast expanse of the sea beneath, the endless blue sky above, and a wonderful, wonderful sight of the shore, with palm trees lining one side and the virgin white beach seeming to be covered with people the size of mere ants!

Oh my god. I’m still getting goose bumps as I write this! The husband, who had to literally be begged to join for the adventure, was the one who perhaps loved it more that I did! He was glad he did it; it was thaaaaat good. (See, this is why you should TRY things out, darling! )

Again, being one of the last ones in queue, we had a pretty much shorter ride than the ones who went before us…we seemed to have gone up and touched back ground in a matter of 30 seconds. But it was worth every penny we spent!

Happy, content and satisfied of having had a wonderful trip so far, we headed back home to change, have lunch and head to Panaji!

I had no clue that an awesome sight awaited me—one that would leave me as breathless as this one did. Day 3 @ Goa had just begun!

I Finished it to Win these ;)

Like I wrote here, I had also participated in CB‘s story-finishing contest – Finish it to win it. I finished it to win…these following awards. Well, my story was so lame, but I had fun participating, writing, commenting and then commenting again on the first prize winner’s post

Here’s the link to the first half of the story. And here’s what I wrote, the second half Bear with me (and the story).

And here are what CB gave!!! Yey!

For participating...and writing a story

...and for guessing who wrote which one

SAGS

IHM and Swaram have tagged me to list at least ten things I ever wanted or did which my gender is not supposed to. 

So, here goes !

- I love being the engineer in the house..and dive right in if there’s technical things to be rectified.  My bro calls me Benchineer (B.A + Engineer) and the husband calls me Miss Technology

- I’m most comfortable in my jeans n T and sneakers

- I hate pink, lipstick,nail polish and gold!! Hate wearing necklaces, bangles, etc.

- I work, travel alone, have lived alone.

- I love travelling and I do not care if it involves getting dirt splashed on to my white shirt

- Have fought with auto drivers, thretened to report them for asking excess fare. Have made peoplethrow ciggies away, for trying to make me a passive smoker.

- Love my phone, camera and laptop And i prefer figuring it all out myself, han being taught. I’ll walk into any dirt, to get that perfect shot.

- Do not think cooking, cleaning and serving is the way to please anyone in the family/to get a name for myself. In fact, wile i love cooking, I do it ONLY if I have the mood. Else, I make sure the husband offers help/make him help

- Love books more than tailoring, embroidery and crochet (donno any of these) !!!

- I hate gossipping (unless it’s the funny, harmless ones) and wasting time reading Femina, etc.

And of course, I love home shopping, pani puri, cooking, mehendi, lovely kurtis, mangoes, cuddling up, sleeping, bathing It’s a good mix

As for tagging, I hink I’m the last person to put this up Anyone whos reading this, can take it up.

In fact, all of us seem to be the same. It’s all just a good mix. There’s nothing that man must do and women must do. “Can”/”Will” is a different matter.

us & them @ munnar: a travellogue

Till we actually set off for Kochi on Friday evening, I was dreading it’d be called off any minute. The couple from Dufaai Dubai might drop out, the couple from Kochi might want to stay back with the baby, the couple from Bangalore (me n the husband ) might miss our bus and not reach…etc. But we did reach Kochi at 5.30 am on Saturday. And it was raining like the skies had gone crazy! Anyways, the tempo traveller came to pick us up by about 10.30 am, and off we went. The tempo traveller had seats that were swaying like a boat. And a whacko for a driver So, when we started the climb towards Munnar, it was almost a 4D experience Well, we were moving in all 4Directions and even moved from within, by the pathetic PJs of the driver

Of the initial 10 enthusiasts, 2 had dropped off. Well, it was 4 couples plus 2 single guys. So, when one of the guys dropped out, the other declared he’d be too left out So, it was the 8 of us: (pic of us all) And of us 8, five were classmates. So, we were a bit anxious about how the other three would feel. We had back-up plans for everything else, but not if these 3 felt left out But well, it was all like the proverbial eggs of the same basket Probably why, the trip turned out to be as great as it was! Oh my. How much we laughed. All that laughing plus the boat-like motion in the bus finally made us all sick! Well, maybe it was also because of the 60 Ferrero Rocher chocolates that vanished in less than 10 minutes…mainly gobbled down by Gulfu, Jaya and me

We reached Elysium Garden Resort by 3.30 or so, because of the heavy and constant rains. We all trooped into all the 4 rooms and made all of them equally untidy And almost instantly, the cameras were taken out and the posing and clicking began

When I clicked a pic of the three girls, Merlin said “Priya, you don’t even know how to take photos. Give me the camera. I’ll take.” And she clicked this one

Every time we went out on to the balcony to click a group pic, it’d start raining and the winds would drive it in, right into the room. It was like the rain had signed a pact against us…and would make sure we stay indoors all the time Well, we weren’t complaining. It was quality time we spent, getting to know each other, having limitless fun. And, we had packed playing cards and Pictionary and Ludo and all. So, finally, we settled for Pictionary. And my god, the fun we had. There was just so much cheating and screams and finger pointing and red cards and yellow cards and everything! Hehe…here are a few snaps of what the words were…and how they were sketched. (For those who do not know the rules of the game, CLICK HERE! You should play it sometime…if possible, with a big group. It can be the best fun ever! High scope for cheating and calling names )

Well, it was fun! Prashant saying “oh…ithenikkariyaam…Aamayalle? Frog Frog Frog!”; and for “surfing the net:, drawing a cloud to indicate “foam…surf detergent…and surfing…” ; and Leena slyly pushing their token two blocks ahead every chance she gets; and Jaya slowly writing the word itself next to her sketch (but me the dimwit still not getting it right ) We had about 2-3 hours of pure fun!!!

There were times when we all laughed out so loud, it was deafening. Like when Prasanth ordered “naalu chappathiyum oru chakan curryum”; when Jaya kept asking “adimaly ethaaraayo” too many times, that Prasanth finally said “Ho! Enthonnithu. Ethumbo ariyikkam ”; when Ragesh kept making the weirdest statements which we kept connecting with the gay community, like “Da, nee kaalukal ingane veche…njaan kaanichu tharaam” ; when Merlin said, in a most serious tone “…Why do you all keep calling him Rakesh? It’s Ragesh…as in RaGEYsh”; when Leena asked “Pavaroor kalava ethiyo?”; I can’t think of anything I, Gulfu or Suraj said…but am sure there were enough and more Especially from me

And then, after another round of photo shoots and everything, we all went off to sleep. Planned to wake up at 6 the next morn and go for sightseeing. We all slept through right till 8 o clock and woke up to constant rains again. Went back to the fun thing: photo shoots.

Leena had planned to have a black-n-blue and white-n-blue themes and everything….so we got all that done Gulfu, or professional photographer, was driven to madness by me and Jaya, making him click pic after pic of us both, till we finally got a snap we both liked

Gosh! We were having so much fun that we forgot to do the one thing girl-friends supposedly do the most: gossip! So, on the way back, when we stopped for lunch, we had a proper gossiping session as well. It was a laughing riot at the Maria International Hotel, Kothamangalam. But we got bored of it in less than 5 minutes. So we went back to what we were best at: making stupidly funny statements, one after the other.

Like Suraj kept telling me before we left Bangalore, the day we were doing countdowns for and waiting ever so excitedly, just slipped through our laugh riots…and we were back in Cochin before we even realised it But not before we planned out next trip: Malaysia in May 2011. Yes, it’s a doubtful month (one that sounds skeptic), but we WILL go And then, little Ananya would be with us too! Yeyyyy!

We reached the same rainy Kochi that we left behind the previous day, at about 5.00 pm on Sunday; hugged, kissed and separated and went our ways—everyone back to where we belonged. And, on Monday, back to work. I couldn’t stop giggling now and then, even at work, thinking of the many funny incidents. I still am giggling! Next time, we’ll make sure we carry a tape recorder along, so that the funnies can be recorded for later laughs

A few good outcomes:

• Got to know Lee n Gulfu are finally getting married. Yeyyyy.
• Jaya quit her job, when she went back home and realised her baby had not missed her one bit the past two days! Between me and Jaya, we know why I say it’s a good outcome Sad though, that it wasn’t accepted
• The 8 of us have become closer, and know each other much better (so much so that we’re actually sooo looking forward to the next trip)
• We’ve definitely decided to make this a yearly thing. Next trip: Malaysia, Truly Asia
• Each one of us knows there are at least 7 people who’ll be there for us, at any point of time
• We’ve realised that one does not need to be constantly in touch to maintain the friendship/or to have limitless fun when one meets up. What matters is just the mental wavelength…

Oh that was one true-blue vacation. A real fun ‘meet-up’. The best fun trip ever. I can’t justify the fun with words. The rest of the gang who missed it: you guys missed a lot. And we missed you too!

Mission Malaysia May 2011

a bold new drive! :)

Yea. So, the vacation I had was not just about fun and beach and yummmmmy food and unwinding and more beach and everything. It was also lectures on and admonitions for not saving money…and being callously spendthrift

Ok…I must give my poor dear in-laws their due: they were real darlings about it

There. Now, that done, let me tell you, we had long siesta-turned-discussion stretches on how to save money. Hehe. Apparently, all the while, they’d thought I’m careful with that thing. Turned out, money leaves me more quickly than it does the husband

Anyways, after we shot down suggestions of buying a house now, we settled on the topic of cars! All this while, instead of even thinking of buying one, we’d been shamelessly cruising around on the Matiz which the dad-in-law gave us when they moved from Kochi to Chennai for a year and half. That year and half is over, and he’s retiring end of this month. So, the Matiz has been called back for duty at Kochi.

At the cost of gifting us the down-payment for a new one So, we happily said yes to “investing” in a car.

The husband had multiple options in mind. Ford Figo; Hyundai i10 and 20; Chevrolet Beat; Maruthi Swift.

I was hell-bent on a Maruthi Swift. Both set of parents said it looks like a frog. But well, who cares

The dad-in-law suggested the Ford Figo; my dad agreed too. The common hatred of the Swift bound them both closer than fevicol ever could!

The brother said “Never ford or chevvy; high maintenance”.

Finally, the husband and I struck a deal: I get to choose the car; he gets to choose the colour. [Yea. The husband swore never to buy a car unles it's a black one! Sigh! Bowled over my complaints of it getting heated up, saying there's auto climate control these days ; so then the other option was to let me choose the car.] So well, it was decided we’re buying a black swift.

Many test drives, comparisons, features, costs, EMIs, loan providers, opinions, likes and dont-likes, and colour-arguments later, we dumped all these options. There was one more babe in town.

We went. We saw. We fell (in love). With tuscan wine .
And the opinion was unanimous. Only the colour was a problem. But when the wife likes tuscan wine, the husband can’t whine!

She’ll be home in 3 weeks!

The tuscan wine punto.

The Tuscan Wine Fiat Grande Punto Emotion 1.2 (Petrol)

Travellogue: a week-long holiday – part 3

Like I said already, there was MUCH sleep pending…and the dark circles where threatening to make such deep pools that could drown my eyes!

In spite of all that, for the first time in my life, I woke up at 4.45, in spite of sleeping late, at about 12.00 (even on my wedding day, I woke up at 7.30! ) Anyways, that’s how the beach beckons

We left home by 5.30, off to dad-in-law’s house in Kottarakkara. Reached there by 8.30, had breakfast, had lunch and left by 12.30. Was damn sleepy, but I was too excited to sleep By the time we’d entered Trivandrum, there was that familiar joy of “I’m home” that surged through me. That I was going straight to beach, only accentuated the exhilaration [It is at such times that I consider it possibly true, my friends’ taunts that I was adopted from the beach ]

Poovar: 34km from Trivandrum city. Probably 37 km from my house. And I’ve never been to Poovar AT ALL in all my 23 years spent there. What a loss it was! And now, had to travel about 800km, all the way from Bangalore

We reached there by about 3.00 p.m. And it was worth every penny, every sleepless night, every drop of sweat, every moment of heat

Isola Di Cocco Beach Resort, Poovar, Trivandrum

The road to Isola Di Cocco wasn’t the smoothest. In fact, there was a long stretch of unbuilt road. We began wondering how much longer it’d take to reach the place. But when we saw vast stretches of coconut tress obediently standing in rows, with little streams of water adorned by aambal flowers separating each row, we knew we’d reached.

The island of coconuts...the vast stretches of coconut tress obediently standing in rows, with little streams of water adorned by aambal flowers separating each row...

The Art Centre, near the Reception.

The lake front near the Reception

The chilled out family (more like the sweaty family )

The 'nadumuttam' within the Reception area

The long winding walkways...

After the formalities, we went off to our rooms. Beautiful. Typical ‘tharavaadu’ style Cool, dark and cozy. Totally awesome it was

The "Kerala Heritage Home" where we stayed. Cost us 4000 bucks per couple, per day. Facilities include Swimming Pool, Billiards Room, Badminton, Boat shuttle to beach, Children's Park

The verandah and the frontage...

The Tree House

;)

Now, the highlight of our rooms were the totally un-typical bathrooms! You will know by now how taken by rooms and interiors I can be But seriously, these bathrooms were just so nice!

You open the door to the bathroom and you find this open area with a washbasin, a classy toilet and a shower area—lit up directly by the sun, surrounded on 2 sides by 12-foot walls and on the other two, by the room. There’s a small square area right next to the washbasin, complete with a plant, sands and everything! A bamboo curtain (seem to) encloses the toilet and shower area.

No wonder people used to wander out into their backyards in the mornings!!!! Hehe.

The a small square area right next to the washbasin, complete with a plant, sands and everything!

The bamboo curtain that (seem to) enclose the toilet and shower area

Well, after settling down, we all took a short nap and was out by 5.30, exploring the resort. The place was awesome. Truly Kerala Coconut trees, stretches of water, lakes, flower-bordered walkways, heritage homes, Ayurvedic centre… and a swimming pool! Across a vast lake right at the foot of the resort lay the Poovar beach. And there was a boat that’d ply us to and from the beach whenever we wanted! Super. You can’t imagine my excitement, my happiness. Typical case of ‘water water everywhere, can’t wait till I jump in’

The restaurant, overlooking the pool. Sigh!

The grand pool that beckoned till we jumped right in!

The ‘rules’ at the swimming pool said it’s open from 7.00 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. Damn! The boat to the beach also plies it’s last trip at 6.00 p.m.

The boat dock.

Hmmm. So, we just sat by the lake and saw the sun set.

View of the beach at twilight.

On our way to the restaurant for dinner, at about 8.00, we noticed the pool was occupied. So, that was it. Rules were meant to be broken. Dinner was yummm. Buffet, with a million choices. Hogged.

Let the in-laws walk ahead and quickly took to the swing. I love them!

Early next morning, at 6.00, we were off to the pool. The mom-in-law, who’d been trying (in vain) to convince me it’s important, healthy and good to wake up when the sun rises, was surprised to see me up and about, all set for a dip We had a good one hour in the pool, by when a group of kids and parents came over. We went our way and had breakfast. It was yummm. Buffet, with a million choices. Hogged.

On the way to the pool for a dip, early next morn!

Spent the morning looking about, clicking pics and lazing in the cool of the AC rooms. Again, thank God for Acs. Though not as hot as the rest of Kerala, the heat definitely was making us weary. Not to mention the sticky, salty air.

Lunch was yummm. Buffet, with a million choices. Hogged.

Then had a siesta…and off we went to the beach. The greenest waters! It was beautiful!!

To the beach, crossing the lake by boat, the next evening

Views around the resort

Those little brown spots beyond the lake...that's the resort And that's the boat that took us to the beach!

That moment of 'Ponnumkudathinenthinaa pottu" And his T says "All men make mistakes. But married men find out about them sooner."

Came back by 6.15, mostly covered in mud and salt water Took a bath and went off to satisfy the growling tummy.
Dinner was yummm. Buffet, with a million choices. Hogged.

The pool beckoned by 5.30 the next day…and we had a good hour and half, floating about. They had just 3 floaters, and we were just 3 people. Wished we knew swimming. Resolved to join for swimming classes the moment we came back to Blore

Floating around...

Got out when the stomach started growling. Had breakfast. Was was yummm. Buffet, with a million choices. Hogged.
Then again, went off straight to the beach…and had a totally awesome time there. Aaaah. How I love the beach!!

:)

Enveloped by the waves...the sea...and the sun

And then, back in our rooms, freshened up, packed, had another yummy lunch and set off home: to my home A vacation that ended in the perfect way. The in-laws left us n hour later…and we left Trivandrum by 8—after having 4 hours of quality time with my folks

.

Have come back to Bangalore (duh!). Have  fallen back into the monotony of home-work-home (bah!). Have resolved to travel every month from now on, at least a 2-day thingy (fingers crossed). Have registered for swimming classes (yey!). Have decided to put up more travellogues (past and future!). Have had a much-needed break (and become addicted to it now).

Can’t wait till the next trip!!

Complete pics here at: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/scorpria/A9DayLongVacationCoorgThodupuzhaPalaPoovar?authkey=Gv1sRgCMaE5tv8ktSlkAE# 

Travellogue: a week-long holiday – part 2

So, that was Coorg. Was fun, was peaceful, was yummm.

By 12 on Sunday, we boarded a bus back to Bangalore and bid goodbye to Coorg. Reached Bangalore by 7, came home, dropped off the laundry, freed the cam’s disk space, watered all my plants (my official water’er’ had been Verby, till lil’ H came along . so this time, had to beg the maid to come and do it everyday; she was only too pleased: no work, but no sal cut either.)

In the 9 o’ clock bus, we again set off to Thrissur, Kerala. We reached there in the morning, about 7 and went straight off to his aunt’s house.

Now, visiting relatives is a little tricky, when you have married a person from a family of a different faith. I’ve never met these people after my wedding a year and half ago (and have only spoken to them twice: once on Christmas, and then on Easter!! ) And what’s worse? The aunt and cousin had just come back from a week-long retreat: the time when religion is first and fresh in mind And here I am, married to a Christian for a year and half and can’t even complete “Our Father in Heaven” without stumbling a million times (I knew it better when I was in Std 2, Holy Angels’ Convent )

Anyway, we piled into the house with our bags and were received most warmly. I gelled instantly with the aunt and the cousin. Only the uncle was reason for my apprehension. Suraj was wondering how he’ll avoid my getting bored. But the next 8 hours we spent there was fun! The uncle turns out to be pro-Christ and anti-church. Oh, the discussions we had were hilarious! The aunt could only smile and pretend to gently reprimand the uncle for ‘teaching the kids all the wrong things’. “They’re not kids; they are grown ups who can think!” was his answer every time They were all real dears! And it was such fun.

But well, from Thrissur is when the food stuffing began First visit after wedding is always a big thing in our country! Since it was my first time there, there was a real feast. Breakfast of idiyappam (my fav!!) and veg stew (for me) and chicken curry for the rest. Lunch of fried rice and gobi manchiruan and veg stew (again) and chicken curry and pickle. Desserts of payasam and ice cream and cakes.

Stuffed to the extend of being unable to lift ourselves off the seat, we slouched for a while and yap-yapped for an hour more. By about 3, we left for the railway station and chugged away to Kochi. Reached home, chat with (his) parents for a while and quickly went into the bedroom to switch on the AC.

Let me take a moment off here to thank the dear Mr Willis Haviland Carrier for giving us a brilliant thing called Air Conditioner! If it not were for the AC there, I wouldn’t be blogging about this now. The heat in Kochi, I cant even begin to think of it! Anyway, early the next morning, we left to Thodupuzha + Pala, the mother-in-law’s sister’s house and her family home, respectively.

Now, while in Coorg, every third minute, the husband kept saying “Pala and all is so like this…” and I told him to shut up. Thodupuzha and Pala are not just “so like” Coorg…they’re all much better!!

We reached Thodupuzha by about 8.30 – 9.00 a.m.

That’s the long winding path to the house…set right in the middle of acres of rubber plantations. It’s unbelievably beautiful See the car yonder? The house it set above, with a flight of some 20 steps leading to it!! Right in the centre of 12 acres of greenery!

A random view of their backyard...it goes up and up towards infinity

Look at those greens! From where I'm standing with the cam, I cannot even spot the house!! That's my dad-in-law there...and the uncle and cousin ahead of him.

“Rock-on” after one lap of the trekking. Fancy having one’s own huge rock and everything!! Plus a huge well atop the land (so water fills the tanks without need for a motor) and a pond at the bottom. Sigh!

On the way back after a tiresome trek! This 4-member family who stays here are all equally slim. Guess daily trekking pays

  “]

Post-trek lunch: of rice and sambar and avial and salad and kovakkai (ivy gourd that's grown right there: in fact, i plucked it for the aunt there!!) and chicken curry and beef fry and fish fry and fish curry and meat cutlets and curds. Burp [I clicked this pic before everything was set.

“]

A pseudo siesta on the verandah. That dish antenna took to my fancy. It's taller than me!! [as if I'm very tall, huh?

The view down from the porch And then all of us piled into the car and went off to Pala. Sadly, there was no more space in the cam...so, no pics. But it was much more beautiful than Thodupuzha; a pretty old house set in 2 acres.

The entire family (mom-in-law’s) had come to Pala…and the house was teeming with people. For someone who hadn’t met any of these people till then, I was being bombared with questions and kids and aunts The heat was tiring us out, the travel had worn us out and we were waiting for bedtime. But for the first time in life, I didn’t care about either.We slept by about 1 and it was such glorious fun till then.

But well, the laughter waned when i reached my room. I counted 6 spiders of various sizes positioned randomly on the walls. I freaked out. I can’t stand spiders. Well, can’t blame them. A group of boisterous people had invaded their quiet home for a night. Quite reasonable they’d express distress. Well, i refused to re-enter the room until the husband actually showed me the deadbodies

Woke up early next morning and set off to Kottayam, to yet another uncle’s place. I was excited to bits. We were on the way to a houseboat. Yey!

The road to the houseboat I found no such roads in Coorg Ok Ok. I'll stop digging at the Scotland of India

Just 4 days prior to my travel, I’d told a collegue I’d lived in Kerala all my life, but had never been on a houseboat. I reached home that day to hear my mom-in-law tell the husband his uncle’d booked a night for us all on a houseboat. Yipppeeee! I was so excited, I couldn’t contain myself Armed with a fully charged handicam, normal cam and the husband’s mobile cam, I was silently urging the dad-in-law to drive faster…

I have this thing for water. Be it a shower, a pool, a river, lake or sea, once I’m in, it takes immense will power to come away My average bathing time is an hour: the typical “neeraattu” When we started off from Kottayam, we allthought it was someplace close. Finally, we felt we’ll reach Kochi soon! But well, we finally reached Swamikkal Boat Jetty, where was docked SBT’s own houseboat!!!

Taken from our boat; but ours was identical; as beautiful

I’ve never been on one before…and it was pure delight! The houseboat is a huge affair! Spacious, airy, well-lit and cosy! And when docked, one doesn’t even feel one’s on water!

High on sweet toddy I'm a tee totaler I don't even drink wine; so, for me, it was yuck But yes, now I can say "I've had madhura kallu"

The normal rates for an overnight stay in a houseboat averages Rs 4500 – Rs 5000. But, since the husband’s uncle works in SBT and had booked this under his employee-facility, we got the entire place to ourselves for Rs 65 or so per person But well, all that special food (which included sweet toddy, karimeen pollichathu, karimeen fry, chicken 65 and kappa ‘n’ meen curry for 8 people) bought the cost up to about 5k !!

There! Rice and sambar and curds and cabbage and pappad and pickle and karimeen pollichathu and karimeen fry and chicken 65. Again, clicked before the entire thing was set {Food kaanumbo aakraanthamaa}

The rooms, and the kitchen, beyond.

The traffic

The Pathiramanal Island we were headed for. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathiramanal)

Our official marine radars The boat's bow seemed to constantly attract crows! While we were docked in the middle of the lake, close to the Pathiramanal Island It was a treat to see the anchor go down.

“]

An Oberoi resort cottage, with its own white boat! Naah...traditional houseboats are much better [no vimmuuu, not the typical akkare-pacha case

Ahem! Artistic evening shot of the bow and the helm!

:D Artist at the bow and helm! It's damn easy to steer a boat. Only, if you don't know the waters well, you'll never know what you'll hit! And so, I steered us all back.

Then, by about 7 at night we docked back. To lie on the deck and stare at the starry sky for about an hour was pure bliss…with the gentle lap-lap of the waves against the hull, the gentle breeze, the small talk, the mosquitoes.. er er…yeah. That was the only trouble. Anyway, had a good night’s sleep in the AC room [:D] and woke up early next day and drove back to Kochi. And that was it. Another tick on my “to-do” list

Spent the day there doing laundry and sweating out all the added calories By about 7, we went to meet the friend who had absconded from Calicut , spent an hour or so there and went on to meet my best friend who’s a new mommy! Spent about an hour and half there and reached back home by 11.30.

Avoided direct eye contact with a pissed-off mom-in-law and kukly quickly went off to sleep.

Phase 3, the Poovar journey, was the next morning: and we had to leave at 5.30. I’ve never seen those times of the day before. There was MUCH sleep pending…and the dark circles where threatening to make such deep pools that could drown my eyes!