Weekend Get-Away to Matheran!!!

Finally, a pending post:)

We as the slaves of time, always look forward to take a break and feel free for once. I mean free to do what we like rather than being enclosed in the 4 walls of office or home. All we do is start with a sloppy Monday and all through the week wait for Friday. Interestingly, we all are so used to this Monday-Friday and Friday-Sunday cycle that our lives are just around these days.

Few crazy days at work, few hectic weekends and that all it takes for you to realize that's it!!! I really need some break to spend some time away from the twin cities and office. After a lot of yes and no sessions, I decided we have to go out.....doesn't matter what the place is like we will just go.

We packed our bags, got into the car and we started our adventure ride to Matheran. Thanks to Google maps for saving our time and energy in figuring out the way. Life has become so easy and dependable at the same time with technology. It was a wonderful drive via NH4. The road was surprisingly good with picturesque but when we hit a rough patch we realized we are still in India. The final 7-8km to the car parking area known as Dasturi was fun and scary at the same time. The dangerously steep slopes were scary; at every curve my heart almost skipped a beat. You just couldn't see the next curve or the road or any vehicle coming ahead which was a scary feeling but thankful we reached safely. Finally we made it to Dasturi, relieved and shocked at the same time; relieved obviously because we reached safely and shocked because we saw a sea of cars parked and being parked there. It's hard to believe that people would just come to Matheran for a day or so…….I guess desperation to go out does that to everyone.

Interestingly, Matheran is a no-automobile zone so after Dasturi other than the slowest train possible the only option left is a “horse”...... Yeah you heard it right. We had booked a place in the Neemrana group's "The Verandha in the forest" popularly known as the Barr House. It is at the extreme end of Matheran just near the lake. We got onto the horses and started our journey to our home stay. We see people, people and more people, felt as if the whole of Mumbai is there. Commercialization has hit this place big time, hotels big and small everything is there in this small place. As soon as we reached Neemrana, we knew we were in good hands; it's so aptly named Verandha in the forest..... Middle of nowhere just us and a window that overlooks a forest, chirping of birds some songs that I had never heard..... Monkeys all over the place and the best of all no phone, no Internet and no tv...... What more can you ask for :)

We were so tired of those 45 mins of horse ride that we just ate and crashed. Got up by the tea time and decided to go to the lake. There is something special about Matheran that worth mentioning.... The red sandy soil....... It will spoil your shoes, your clothes, your hair and your skin for sure. We decided to walk up to the Charlotte Lake and mannnn so many Gujjus, as if the whole of Gujarat was here....but why? Nonetheless all that mattered was we had come to take a break and we weren't very keen to explore the place. All we wanted to do was rest and relax.

Next day, we decided to go to the market in the evening and walk back which wasn't a very good idea in the night. There were lights but the way back was scary. It was just a vast forest with a sandy soil and all we had was a torch and we were walking close to each other as there were a lot of dogs that could come out of nowhere. Man... That walk was a scary but awesome with so much rush of adrenaline. I was amazed at my inherent human senses as I was able to hear even the slightest rustle of the leaves, could see some animal crossing our way even with limited visibility. I felt so alert and alive that I was so ready to attack anything that comes my way. I guess I have never felt such a strong survival instinct before.

I personally love the idea of using a heritage property and converting it to a "non hotel" hotel. The best part is that since the property is expensive, you will surely have a decent crowd and the best of services.We met this interesting Chef Mahesh, a super enthu guy who has been to most of the Neemrana properties and had learned cooking from the best Indian and continental chefs. And believe me this guy was good....his Indian was good but continental was awesome. And the dessert he made “apple pie" was to die for. Yummy is the word.

It felt like a complete British holiday, have breakfast, read a book, have lunch, take a nap, go for a walk, have dinner, read a book and sleep whenever you want and getup whenever you want. This holiday had the best Monday we both have ever had in the last one year. No Sunday blues, no getting up early, no running after the bus, racing to office, whole day running around in office to get work done and finally home....... Exhausted..........

Traveling has always been my passion; I just love to explore new places, culture, what forms the basis of their civilization. Here, in Matheran there is not much to explore if you have travelled. Similar points as that of any hill station...... Sunset point, sunrise point, echo point, a lame lake....... Popular sites in India are surely overrated.

It's an amazing feeling, when even after a decade of knowing each other, you still look forward to spend some time together. And I feel it's very important to take time off work and enjoy life for a while. Otherwise, stress and frustration would drive you crazy.

It is surely a place for a weekend getaway for Mumbai-Punekars as it offers a break from crazy traffic and you feel closer to nature. A short trip to rediscover, refresh and recharge yourself.

I am Scared...... Because I am a Woman!!!!

With the most heinous rape incident last year, all papers/news channels were spilling blood and hatred all over the place. It's so difficult to live a normal life as you see, read or hear people talking about it all the time. I didn't want to talk, comment, discuss or even write about it but I am so disturbed and shattered, that mere words can't express. Thinking about it gives me those goosebumps that I can’t hide and my heart cries for the unfortunate girl, her poor friend and family. I am so . I don't know what to hate more “the rapist" or my existence?


I must say this event definitely saw a commendable spirit shown by Delhiites..... Finally. Thank you all for the support you guys showed and didn't let this issue go by. Those processions and questions raised really helped us to prove our point. Even if that girl is not with us anymore, I really don't want this issue to settle down. Even if we all know, even if we claim we have freedom, but the bitter truth is that we are still not safe…. ..Not at home and definitely not outside. I sincerely feel we need to combat such terrorism at home first............


I am sure “Nirbhaya” as people popularly call her, thought it would be safer to get on the bus or something before she is shot (I would rather say hunted) by some goons or a political party workers. She would have thought it would be alright and she is safe as she is with a guy and not alone. But I guess little did she know about her fate that this will be worse. I don't know what to conclude from all this that I am not safe? It’s not safe to step out of my house even when I am accompanied by my parents, my husband, my brother and my friends. Does this incident also imply that I am a threat to them as well? So now when I step out in Delhi, should I be worried about my safety or theirs. It all sounds like I have finally become a burden to my family and friends. Does that also mean we should all say yes to female infanticide, as we refuse to take responsibility? I guess it will be easier for that innocent child to die in a day than die worrying every time she steps out all her life…….


Every daughter is special to her parents as she is their joy and pride. A mentor and a friend to her brother, a companion and a support pillar to her husband, a mother (everything) to her children. Then why is all this happening? Believe me I am going crazy looking for answers but I just can't find any. Even if I think the rapists involved had some psychological issue, were emotionally unstable or mentally derailed, even then how could all the 7 people traveling in that bus think alike? What is it that made them so inhuman that they thought it could be a fun activity? How could they sleep at night, had they turned in to some stone monsters as they couldn’t hear her pleads, her screams, and see her tears……...



How will they ever look into the eyes of their mother who gave them this life, their wives who confided and believed in them, their sons for whom they are the role models, and last but not the least their daughters???? What will they tell them, stay away from me because I can't stop myself or I will kill you because there are many people like me out there? When I think about all these questions, my mind goes insane..... I can't think of one good reason to do what they did.........


It was a jolly time for our dear politicians, religious leaders and everyone who can speak because our dear media with surely pick it up even if its crap. You qualification or degree doesn't matter, as they will talk rubbish anyways. They have to say something just for the sake of commenting or to strike a controversy. Oh yes! It’s only to get back in limelight, because everything is always about limelight.

And obviously there is a blame game and the list is endless, influence of western culture, intolerance levels, no respect for life, Bollywood,........ Oh yeah! I said Bollywood, you might not agree but that is a major source of influence in India. Thanks to Bollywood for the “objectification” of women....... So all men see is a “Munni” or “Sheela” in every woman they see. They have treated women with anything but respect. All the jaw dropping sequences with nothing left to imagination, I am sure men would see every female around them like that. It reminds me of the movie "Madagascar", when Alex sees everyone around as a piece of meat...... Yes that is what we wo-men have become - a piece of meat.

We all talk about equality but still talk about special treatment, why? Why is it that we still have to prove ourselves at every point that we want equality not specialty? What is it that when a female is doing well in her career, we say "must be sleeping with the boss" and when she cannot perform we say "women cannot concentrate because they constantly think about home and family"? Even if we all received the same education, same principles, but we still choose to make such silly comments. Why????



I could pour all my heart out and write endlessly about all the reasons and solutions but there is no point. All I want to do is to make a sincere request to all men out there. Please stop all this if not for me, stop it for your mother, wife and daughters, because it’s only up to you to make this place a better place for your loved ones. So that women like me don't have to be scared just because “I am a woman”. And to all the women out there, please learn to stand up for yourself. Be strong and say no to abuse, whether it is at home, your workplace, out on the road, or anywhere else. I am really looking forward to a rape-free India; I hope it happens in my lifetime, so that I can die peacefully without worrying constantly for future generations to come.


Hope is all I have.......

2012 - A Year of Wedding!!!!

As we welcome the New Year, it’s time for a recap. The year began with loads and loads of shopping, planning and more shopping for my upcoming wedding in April. I was going crazy with all the shopping. Shopping all week, weekend, in Mumbai, in Pune and everywhere I went. And the to-do list went on and on, actually felt as if the things to buy will never end. I am crazy about sarees, but still how many can you buy. Its so tricky, because you want the right color, a perfect pattern and style. Believe me its very tiresome and getting these things ready is the next ordeal as the innumerous visits to the tailor will make you insane. And if your luck is bad enough then he will for sure ruin the best buy you have. Being a control freak and super-organized, I had picked colors and patterns for all the wedding occasions. I wanted a magenta bandhani (lehariya) for my first pre-wedding function (Devgon as we call it), perfect temple bordered southern silk in green for my mehendi (Menziraat) and obviously that perfect traditional red for my wedding. I know it sounds crazy, but I was so sure about the colors and patterns that I had a tough time looking for all these. And obviously you can imagine what all did the people with whom I shopped went through. Phewwwww!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you everyone for all the help and support during the shopping spree and the pre-wedding jitters I had. Believe me it’s a stressful time for the bride….. There is something about wedding that makes you go crazy and all you want to do is splurge, you want to buy everything that you have always or never wanted to buy; from super-glittery to that perfect red and golden that it’s super obsessive. I am sure guys will not understand, but it is the truth. I spend one whole day looking for a golden sandal and my poor brother was like “it’s just golden???? How many shades of golden exist?” Well, there are many :P

My Big Fat Kashmiri Wedding is an event that i will remember for the rest of my life. So it had to be just perfect and splendid. Mom and dad’s super organizing skills always amaze me. They had taken care of each and everything. It doesn’t matter whether you have finished your shopping a day or moths before the wedding. Everything goes well at the end. Amidst of all the happiness (halla-gulla), there was something that I was missing. A warm smile on that wrinkled face, a touch that makes you feel blessed…. obviously missed my grandmothers. Both of them were so looking forward to see me as a bride. If I could turn back time and do one thing right it would be to bring her back. Even with all the blessings I got from everyone at home I still wanted her blessings. I wanted to look into her eyes and hold on to her tightly and tell her that I will miss my childhood, my home, my parents, crazy days with my brother but I will miss you the most.

With these thoughts I left, didn’t know how things will go from there on. A rush of mixed feelings of being happy and sad at the same time, but that is life and I was ready to begin the next phase of life. Next on the list was obviously “Honeymoon” – our dream destination was set. We so wanted to spend our honeymoon in the most romantic cities of Paris, Venice and Rome, and Vivek did everything possible to get it they way we wanted to. He left no stone unturned to get us the visa (with all the last minute dramas), and I am so thankful to him for not giving up. As it was surely the time of our lives, perfect weather, perfect place and the perfect us.

Beginning of a new relationship has an exquisiteness of its own. Even if you know someone for eternity, marriage definitely brings in a new feeling of love and respect towards each other. It’s a feeling that you belong to each other and the world around you turns perfect. As you take your first steps as a married couple, you want to make this relationship so beautiful as if the world will end tomorrow. It’s those little things that you do for each other, just to see those twinkly eyes and that 100 watt smile, makes this relationship so special. The first’s in everything after marriage like your first birthday, all the festivals, functions and all the trips home. It’s a superb feeling of being complete.

We belong to different cultures and obviously follow different traditions but its fun to spice things up, taking in all the good and fun things from each others traditions. So we have all the functions with our twist of traditions. This was our first Diwali at home as a married couple so it had to be special. It was a new tradition for me, so everything was new and different from what I have been doing. But there is nothing like spending time with your family. If you are among the lucky ones, your new family will make you feel so welcome, that you don’t even feel as if you weren’t a part of this family. I know it sounds strange but thats how exactly how I felt. It’s interesting to see how we adopt new traditions and make a foundation for our future generations that are yet to come.

What else? hmmm.... yeah, how can I miss writing about work? Work wise, I was crazily busy with one of the biggest projects of my career. So you can imagine, days and nights in the meeting room, unending discussions and late nights in office. Those silly discussions over the choice of words, ego clashes between team members, different perspectives of all the people you work with and so many other things. Working with foreign clients can be difficult, just communicating what exactly we did sometimes makes you go crazy........... as we believe in complicating things and they believe in keeping things simple. Its purely a matter of perception. Those heated arguments within your team when you actually feel like hitting someone but finally agree to disagree and work on everyone’s feedback. Those endless discussions about what is the perfect way to go about the whole project? But whatever it is, on the day of final delivery when all goes well… it gives you a sense of accomplishment and proud that you have done a good job.The good thing about such projects is that you realise 'patience is the key' and you have to let go of certain things. Don't let anybody walk away with your wall of fame and never get upset when idiots who don't do anything are applauded....... Because they are definitely not worth thinking about.

This year has a special place in my heart, not only because I married the one I love but also because it was the year when most of my best friends got married. It seemed like a wild fire of weddings coming through as if I was a holding on to something and once I got married I cleared the way for so many people in my life. Starting with my best friends Saurabh and Amit…… the fire went on to Deepti, Suman and now next year Christeena’s wedding. Can you believe that? Lucky Me ;)

This year we also started a tadition of road trips. Two wonderful road trips with friends. One to Kaas - The Valley of Flowers" with Saurabh and Bhakti and the other one.... back to "Sawantwadi" with Ritu and Yogesh. A wonderful time with friends and I sincerely hope we have more fun times like these this year.

Life is good but its not always rosy. We have our share of worries and challenges all along. Balancing so many things to get that perfect balance of work and family. Questions at every step, decisions that you have never taken before. But with your spouse by your side, no matter how tough life gets, no matter how things go wrong…… you will surely bounce back. Just the way we promise each other in our wedding vows. I am so looking forward to see what lies for us in this year and many more years to come..

Happy New Year 2013!!!!

A Tale of Two Cities............

I am sure the title reminds you of the famous story by Charles Dickens. But it’s not what you are thinking; it is the story of my life. Well, it’s not even a story…. It is actually my life. A life of living across twin cities of Pune and Mumbai……..sounds crazy right???? Surprisingly, I am not the only one. Here is a telltale of a regular Mumbai-Pune traveler.

I wonder about it every Friday when I am on my way to Mumbai and every Monday morning when I have to get up early to take the bus back to Pune. And the same thoughts come to my mind the next Friday and Monday and then the following. I know these are not just my thoughts but the thoughts of every weekend traveler. There are so many familiar faces I see every weekend, travelling from Pune to Mumbai and vice-versa. I know some people who have been doing it for over 3 years now and are still running this mad affair. You must be wondering “why do people do it and how can they do it every weekend?”

Well, we do it not out of choice but circumstances…… “the tragedy of being employed.” It’s ironic to see that you will never get the kind of job you want and there are always options available for things you don’t want. With both the spouses working nowadays and to make matters worse “job” is not the main driving force here. It’s the type of work, future career growth, location and many such parameters that run your life. The matrix of these parameters, their variability and dependence is devastating at times. So the trick is to find a perfect job and location otherwise it’s obvious that you will be struck in the “job-location” matrix. Everyone talks about the work-life balance but I guess this job-location matrix is trickier. It’s beyond a regular human brain to imagine how exactly it feels. But feel free to ask any of the migratory us, and we will tell you how exactly it feels.

I just started this trend and I am already tired of living like this. Believe me, it’s not just tiring, it’s draining…… mentally, emotionally and physically. It’s very difficult to deal with the guilt of staying away from your loved one and live two lives. Two lives that actually make you go crazy. I literally am living out of a suitcase in two places, managing two houses, and dealing with work, responsibilities, career and personal commitments. And most of the time, I keep wondering where did I keep ‘this and that’ of things? Well, if this is called multi tasking then I am the ‘Queen of Multi-tasking’.

I know you guys will think and judge “us” that we all do it because we love our “freedom”. But think about it “is it really freedom?” Well I don’t think so. …………. I don’t think I am going through all this because I want freedom………

Yes, as it seems the easiest and logical solution would be to end this madness…………… Obviously I know that. But even that is not an easy option. I have worked so hard to get where I am. I love the urge to get up in the morning and look forward to a day full of challenges. I know we will survive this temporary phase and start living soon.

This blog is dedicated to all the Pune-Mumbai weekend travelers; I admire your courage and compassion to do all this. And a big ‘Thank you’ to all the spouses for understanding and making our lives wonderful, without your support we won’t have survived.

Cheers!!!

Angels Day Out In Mumbai!!!!!!!!!!!

Life without friends would be so colorless, lifeless and soooooooooo boring. Every friend has like a special place in our lives……….some cannot stop talking, some don’t talk but listen very patiently, some cannot stop eating and some can’t eat, some love dancing no matter where, and some can peacefully sit back and be your DJ….. smile when you are going crazy dancing, some love cooking, some don’t enjoy cooking but they love you pampering them, some can be very outright, some diplomatic, some emotional, some practical, some just trying to irritate you till you go crazy, some super witty, some super dumb, some will sit with you all night to get your work done, some will take care of you when you are sick, some will scold you when you get a little too adventurous……. I am sure we all have some crazy friends that we get very close to. But even with all that craziness and no matter what happens we still love them Truly, Deeply and Madly :)

This is what Charlie’s and the Angels (as we are popularly known as) are about… just fun, fun, and more fun. Life goes on and obviously we all will move on, but I still want to capture this part of my life; when we 4 crazy people got together and gave fun and friendship a new definition.

So the adventure begins a week before and I (The Planner) plan the trip for meeting Charlie alias Rahul (well Charlie………. is just Charlie) in Mumbai. Deepti (our crazy little girl) left for Mumbai in the morning as she had to meet some of her friends. I and Christeena (The Cool Manager) decided to leave post lunch and meet Deepti and Charlie directly for dinner. I had so many things to do with the wedding coming up and shifting and God knows what all and completely venerable. Thanks to the Cool Manager Chris, she comforted me and did an awesome project plan for all the tasks I had to do. She cooked an awesome meal of sambhar and steamed rice for lunch.

Now, we were all set to go with our backs packed, big smiles and all excited, hunting for a rickshaw in the blazing Pune sun and we couldn’t find any. Finally, we got one and went to the Neeta Bus stop. Aaaahhhh!!!! Neeta Bus strike??????????? What????? And the smiles dropped :((((((((((( but we definitely couldn’t give up. So we waited for a while and the guy tells us I can arrange a non-a.c. bus. Chris & I just exchanged looks and got adventurous……. And next thing we know was that we were getting baked in the bus. Even then it didn’t prevent us from having fun, we talked and talked. We were almost near Vashi and the stupid bus driver pulled over a km or so from our bus stop. Damm!!! We crossed and walked and same issue……..no autos here as well……what’s happening man? Bad luck again? Auto strike in Vashi, can you believe that? We took a taxi home, where our driver was waiting. Ohh, I didn’t tell you about the driver (we had to meet Charlie for dinner in Andheri , so we had called for a driver).

In the record time of 10 mins., me & Chris got ready and got in the car for our final destination. Finally, relaxed after getting in the car….. making calls about where to meet, how to reach and obviously getting struck in the great Mumbai traffic. Finally, we meet Charlie and Deepti……… our next destination was Charlie’s favorite place “Koyla”. With bad luck again, their roof top was under renovation so we went down to their banquet where they still served dinner. We were super tired and hungry, so we sat down in what looked like my 3rd year birthday party amidst of balloons but thankfully minus kids :P

We sat down with a sigh of relief that all the efforts paid off and the plan was well executed. And here we were back again giggling, gossiping, bullying each other and lost in our world. The Food was served and hungry “us” just went Slurpppppppppp!!! With starters over and “critical me” with Deepti were bugging Charlie about the place and “Chris” supporting him. It was so much fun to see Charlie disappointed a bit and you could see that there was something going on in his head?????????? What???? Obviously a place for Desserttttttttttt (Gujju hai na!!!! )

We got out hunting for a good Dessert place and just to be on a safer side I suggested Baskin Robbins, and for some reason Charlie says………..nahhhh let go to this place called “Cocoberry’s” , they serve frozen yogurt. Our eyes popped out….. “Cocoberry”…..” frozen yogurt”……..sounds yummyyyyyyyyyy. As soon as we got in and looked at the menu it felt as if we were born again. I was so excited to see the variety of flavors and combos they offered. We ordered “Nuttings gone change my love”, “Banana Safari” and “Blueberry Blush” and mannnn it was lip-smacking and so yummy with those fresh fruits and topping that it just made our day. Thanks Charlie :)

It was time for goodbye and we had to go a long way back. Reaching home all exhausted we all slept like babies. Morning had a beauty of its own; we were fresh and rejuvenated after a hectic Saturday. Me & Chris got up early had the special “Mango Tea” with a pesto sandwich. Believe me, there is nothing like a girl’s day out. We gossiped and gossiped till we realized that we should go shopping…. obviously ;)

Finally after an hour or two we were out in the Inorbit mall sipping coffee at Costa Coffee to refuel ourselves before the shopping. Shopping with Deepti is obviously fun because we both are crazy shoppers. :P We can do a day in – day out shopping and won’t complain or get tired. Chris got out of the shopping that’s why we obviously lost track of what all we were buying and how much we were spending. When Chris came back she is like ‘hey let go back… enough of shopping’ and we realized we hadn’t had lunch: P what????????? Yeahhhhhhhhh I know we kind of forgot about lunch.

We stuffed some sandwiches and left for Pune. Here again, Neeta bus strike :((((((((( But we just got lucky when a Mysore bus stopped and he couldn’t say no. Yipeeeeeeeeeeeee we got the bus and with Deepti sleeping all the way like a baby and me & Chris talking non-stop about our experiences with travelling just make the ride more fun and enjoyable.

This trip was just not a trip, it made our relations stronger. No matter what happens between friends we all still stick together…. For friends’ distances, arguments, grudges don’t matter because whenever you get together you will pick up from where you left.
Cheers!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 2: Exploring Kochi Contd.....

Next on the list was Vasco House, which is believed to be Vasco Da Gama’s residence. The architecture gives the impression of being very European. Kartik showed us the point where Vasco Da Gama was cremated and we were surprised to see that he was a very short man. Interestingly some years back, his remains were moved to Lisbon. Strange right, it seems foreigners want to take everything back, what is theirs and what is ours.

Other places that we saw were Koder House, Thakur House, Bastion Bungalow, Cochin Club, the Dutch and Jewish cemetery and some more. We were getting hungry by now so we decided to have lunch at the very old “Old Harbour Hotel” in Fort Kochi. Beautiful ambience and well-mannered staff, we liked the place already. We decided to try something different and ordered a Chicken Tangerine with coriander, Kerela style pumpkin with lentils with steamed rice along with cucumber-mint and carrot-gooseberry ‘green’ drinks. The food had a subtle taste with no over-powering flavors.

After the lunch, we decided to go to the “Maritime Museum” to check some old Navy stuff. It was not very impressive, but a funny incident made the trip worth going. I was mistaken as a foreigner as soon as we went, and I couldn’t stop laughing at the security guy’s honest mistake. Anyways, we had out tickets booked for the Kathakali show in the evening so we had to rush back. On our way Kartik showed us the biggest “Pukalam” meaning the flower arrangement that was made for Kerela New Year (Onam) some days back. The sight of it was just splendid. It was the biggest flower arrangement I have ever seen with beautiful colors. Kartik told us about a 600 year old ‘Vitthal’ temple nearby and before we could say yes or anything he asked us “Are you Hindus? I am just asking because only Hindus can enter the temple.” We were shocked and I just couldn’t imagine why people will do that? The whole area around the temple had only Hindu population closer to it. So, as I understood all the three communities Hindus, Muslims and Christians preferred to stay in close communities without bothering each other….. hopefully. The temple was no doubt beautiful but the man-made rules didn’t agree with me so I couldn’t enjoy it too much.

As the sun was ready to set we decided to go back to the home stay to catch a breath, so that we could go to the Kathakali Show. As soon as we reached Beena reminded us that the show started at 5 and we had almost missed the make-up part of the play. I was like Oh God, and we literally ran to the Kathakali centre. We got our tickets from the counter along with a 1-pager in English about the play. As soon as we entered, an artist was still not finished with the make-up. You should see the dedication and how meticulous he was in applying the color with a brush. The color strokes were perfect nothing less and nothing more. He used rice and water paste to stick a paper card over his jaw line to give that crispness to his character. It was over an hour and he was still not done with his make-up and I was wondering wow what patience! Finally when the artist was almost done with his make-up, the main lead (I forgot his name) of the Kathalkali came over to make some rangolis, light the lamps and decorate with flowers. So the stage was all set for the main act. The main lead came over to the stage and explained to everyone about the importance and the history behind this rare form of art. It was so surprising to see that the audiences except us were all Europeans. He told us about the origin of colors, and to my surprise they all use natural colors. The main colors used in Kathakali are red for evil, yellow for females and green symbolizes someone who is has a neutral character (both aspects of good and evil) and that is mostly used for the heroes in the play. When I saw all the colors in the beginning I was wondering what all dyes/ chemicals would have been used to synthesize the colors so wild and fresh. I was surprised to hear that all the colors are ‘organic’ as we call them and are hand-grated on a flat stone with some coconut oil. And then it made sense to me that that’s why the colors look fresh, natural and extremely lustrous. The performance started with the introduction of different mudras and expressions in Kathakali that were very well portrayed. There are like 24 main mudras and 9 major expressions like Sringaram (love), Hasayam (Humor), Bhayam (fear), Adbhudam (wonder), Karuna (pity), Shantam (peace) etc. I was surprised to know that Kerela has special courses in Kathakali for minimum 6 years. The training can go on for 8-10 years and even then it’s difficult to master all of it.

The act began with the drummers starting the percussion instruments know as ‘chenda’ and ‘maddalam’, I could feel the music in me as I was rocking with it. In addition to this the main lead sang some old verses from the Hindu sacred book using ‘chengila’ (gong made of bell metal). It was such a phenomenal and spiritual performance that my mind, body and soul were in a state of trance that I have never experienced. I could feel the power of that music within me. I feel so short of words to tell you exactly how I felt as it is very hard to put that spiritual experience in simple words.
Finally we reached the part what we came for, the main ‘Kathakali’ performance and I was just speculating sitting there what else they will have now. The recital began with two lead characters of the play on the stage and the magic began. We were as much as mesmerized by their performance as we were by the elegance/finesse of their enactment (mudras and expressions together). The whole experience has left a poignant impact on my mind and soul so I can keep on writing about it…… but the blog is already so long.

After this soulful performance, we were still in the state of trance as we walked back to the homestay. Our hosts were waiting for us with an awesome dinner: fish mackrel fry, traditional Kerela style pineapple cooked in coconut milk that tasted so yummy (I will be trying it out soon), along with some other vegetables like raw bananas, yam, cabbage, beans with some rose matta rice and fresh fruits to follow. I was so stuffed so decided to go out for a walk,, talk about the day and plan for tomorrow as we were heading to Allepy in the morning to see Christeena. We were super excited about going there and meeting here grandparents. 

Day 2: Exploring Kochi

Sleeping peacefully after a long time I realized what is it to sleep without alarms and honking traffic. As I got up I saw a bright welcoming sunshine just outside my window. Enjoying the whole scene, I was just wondering what an awesome day and what will be for breakfast? I rushed to Beena's kitchen to see what’s cooking? And to my surprise Beena's husband was waiting for me to make the traditional "puttu" for breakfast because I had requested that I want to see how it is done. I just got my camera ready to capture everything as I was so excited to see the whole process. A very old and traditional bamboo cylindrical mould was mounted on a vessel with boiling water, so that it steam could be used for cooking. It amazes me as to how traditionally simple techniques people use for cooking, no worries about temperature and steam control, no question of overcooking or burning it. To begin with, our raw materials -wheat flour and freshly grated coconut were ready to be used. The mould is removed from the vessel and the wheat flour mixed with salt water and coconut was added in layers to get the perfect texture, taste and size; in just a few minutes our puttu was ready. The interesting part was removing the puttu from the mould, all you have to do is just remove it from the vessel and insert a long slender tail like thing at the end with a gentle push and it is in your plate. Our breakfast table was laid well with puttu, Kerela style channa curry, fresh and juicy fruits like pineapple and papaya and of course banana. So we tried puttu with the authentic channa curry and then with banana along with some honey. We were so full but just didn’t feel like stopping. What a breakfast?

We thought of renting a bike and taking a tour of Fort Kochi, but with the uncalled rains we didn’t want to take a chance. Keeping the rains and the thought that we didn’t even know the way around Kochi, Beena arranged for an auto rickshaw. The driver “Kartik” was very delightful and spoke good English and we started our exploration. We first went to Santa Cruz Balastic Church that was just 5 mins. from the home stay. A huge church with an impressive look, and as you enter you just feels so divine. As you walk down the aisle towards the grand altar just feels as if God is welcoming you with open arms. Crossing the beautifully carved wooden pillars on both sides as you go ahead, just one look at the ceiling will leave you mesmerized. The ceiling was full of pictures from Christ’s life and skillfully carved flowers for decorations, which had more of a Portuguese influence. I guess churches are the only places where you can get the calm you are looking for; it was so quite that I just felt so connected with God at that point. I have never felt so pure, so divine and blessed as I was feeling at that very moment.

Next was the Chinese fishing nets on the Malabar coast that is hard to miss. There were people mostly locals all over the place with giant fishing nets. It works on the principle of balance simple technique yet a bit tricky. There were like 2-3 men trying to place the net, with long three-legged poles constructed out of teakwood and bamboo. 5-6 men trying to balance the poles by adding/removing the weight attached to very thick ropes. It just looked like some pulley arrangement to me, but I was wondering why are they using such an ancient technique to catch fish….why don’t they use some new methods? May be sticking to the old ways is why kerela is called “God’s own country”…as they love keeping their surrounding as God intended it to be.

For obvious reasons they have a very big and popular fish market close by the fishing nets, and to my surprise it didn’t smell at all. Everything was fresh and well laid out that we were very impressed. I looked at each and every type of fish they had from small fish like promfret, mackerel, kingfish to big fish like red snapper and the giant tiger fish. They even had all sizes of prawns and crabs that you could fathom. We also saw the cow ray fish that seemed very elegant. Other things that we checked out along the coast were a giant anchor, some old boilers used in the ships. I definitely shopped for some stone and shell necklaces as there were a hell lot of options and you can imagine how hard it was to shop. ;)

To be continued.....