Globetrotter

An entertaining and fun-filled trip to Kumbaratty falls

2014-04-18T07:55:00.001-07:00

Despite my unstable economic conditions, I manage to make single trip each month to rejuvenate myself from the monotonous lifestyle. This time, my trip was intertwined with my home visit, as I live far away from my home. My cousins and I decided to visit Kumbaratty falls, also known as Achankovil, is located in Kerala.

Lying between the borders of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Achankovil is 30km away from Tenkasi. Riding on the bike through the zigzag mountains, we were engulfed by the cacophony of deafening outcry of the wild insects. Throughout the way, we feasted our eyes to the lush green gigantic trees and beautiful mountains. As we rode on, cold air filled our body and relieved us from the sultry weather. After passing through eleven hair bin bends, we reached the main spot and availed our tickets to enter into the falls.

Main spot to avail the tickets

It’s half a mile walk from the counter, and on our way we witnessed a small snake lying on a rock and red squirrels on the trees. The falls was nowhere to be seen and after a few minutes, we spotted a portion of water getting accumulated in a ditch. As we stepped further, there she appeared gleaming against the bright sunlight. It was a breathtaking view and we stood still there for a moment and admired its beauty.

Magnificent View of Kumbaratty Falls

The water from the river fell into a cave like rock and there on it cascaded down the rock to the bottom. We stripped off our clothes and threw ourselves into the cold water. As there was lot of space on the top, we relaxed ourselves lying on the water, which was only a knee deep. We had great fun sliding down the rock and there was no one else in the falls except us.

As the season is slim, the water is very less now. But, we had great fun sliding down on this rock.

After a few hours, we departed from the place with a heavy heart, as we would miss this fun for a long time. We returned to our home in Agarakattu to a sweltering heat. The following day the sun was partly cloudy and it was beginning to rain in the evening. We spotted white stones falling everywhere from the sky. To our surprise, it was raining hailstone and some of us hastily picked up the hailstones unmindful of the rain.

Hailstone

I enjoyed every moment of my time in this holiday. But, it is time to return to Chennai to earn my daily bread.

On An Enthralling Boat Ride in Pichavaram Mangrove Forest

2014-03-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

I packed my bag to an one day trip to Pichavaram mangrove forest from Chennai. Travelling along the East Coast Road, on a windy morning with the view of Bay-of –Bengal until Pondicherry and the green carpeted paddy fields with the pleasant smell emanating from the crops along Chidambaram road was a delight on the journey. From then on, it was a jostling ride until reaching Pichavaram, along a narrow road through the countryside.

As I was traveling alone, I paid three hundred rupees for two hours of boat ride. A frail looking boatman, Suresh, ushered me into his boat and soon we embarked on a fascinating journey. Spread around three thousand acres, the mangrove forest is a natural wonder, which protects this coastal region from any kind of sea calamities. With more than twenty types of woody trees and shrubs, the entire region is filled with numerous narrow canals.

Suresh demanded me a tip to venture into those narrow canals, without which the trip would have been worthless. I agreed to it, as I am always eager to explore new things. Soon, we were paddling through sun flecked canals, where knotty branches formed a cave like structure over us. It was a thrilling experience as the place was still and silent with only the occasional sound of the birds and paddling of the oars.

What made this trip more memorable to me was I got a chance to paddle for the first time. Suresh taught me, how to swing the oars and push the water to keep the boat moving. Though I stumbled in the beginning to keep up the flow, later it came handy and flawless. As I was getting more acquainted with the boatman, he was narrating various interesting stories in his work. Feeling happy to have visited this place, I bade goodbye to him and headed for the bumpy ride.

Doubting Thomas to St. Thomas in India

2014-03-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

Statue of St.Thomas at the entrance

Welcoming with the historical arch built by Armenians, St. Thomas Shrine is above the hill top, which is also the martyrdom place of St. Thomas, the disciple of Jesus Christ. Snaking its way up through the zigzag steps, the entire mountain is dotted with numerous neem trees. As we climb up, we pass through Stations of the Cross until reaching the top of the hill.

The monumental church built by Europeans, during the 15^th century stood as the converging point for all the Europeans during the colonial era. The chapel consists of invaluable paintings of each disciple of Jesus Christ, which also describes the execution of each of them in a different fashion.

With possession of various relics, the centre of the altar is adorned with a stone cross chiselled by St. Luke. Right behind the church, we can witness an age old banyan tree, with several branches penetrated into the ground. Several religious orders, convents and an orphanage function in the mount to continue the good work of their master.

As we walk around the church, we can get the bird’s view of the whole city. With the spectacular view of the airport, the entire place is filled with perpetual rumbling sound of the flights’ landing and taking off.

Church on the Hillock

Over the years the place has lost its charm, as part of the mountain is scratched up for erecting buildings and the concrete floor filling up the entire holy ground.

My Friend’s Interstate, Caste and Religious Marriage

2014-03-10T08:31:00.001-07:00

Marriage is one of the most defining moments of our life. I was attending my friend’s wedding in Ongole, Andhra Pradesh. Being an interstate, religious and caste marriage, it was not an ordinary wedding. The bride’s family from Tamil Nadu had to stay in Ongole for the occasion, as the bridegroom’s family played the role of host. It was interesting to watch both the families using gestures to convey their needs. Though communication seemed a barrier, it never diminished the charm and enthusiasm of the event. The rituals were alien to the bride’s family, but they were all performed with utmost important. My friend acted as the mediator and translator between them and oversaw all the activities. I realized that it takes so much of courage to marry someone entirely from another state, religion and caste. I am proud of my friend, who stands as the perfect example in breaking all barriers in

our society.

My Friend's Wedding in Progress

Falling in Love with the ‘Venice of the East’

2014-01-20T21:07:00.000-08:00

Soaking in the beauty of Back Waters:

With the kind hospitality of my friends, it was a golden opportunity to visit one of my most dreamed tourist locations, Back Waters in Azhapuzha. The endless waterways connecting all the villages in the district are the main attraction for the tourists.

Cruising on the river, you can witness the ceaseless beauty of the countryside. Myriad paddy fields, simple but elegant houses lining up the banks of the river, locals ferrying goods in their canoes and children learning to swim and paddle in front of their houses are the vivid images of the place that will ever last in your mind.

The entire lake is dotted with boats ranging from gigantic house boats to small canoes. If you are a lone traveler, it is best for you to travel in the public boat service provided by the Kerala government, which is economical and it gives you the chance to experience the local flavor of the place.

Tasting toddy (Coconut Wine) is another entertaining activity on the trip(only for adults). With the mouth watering fish fry, the sour liquid gets you high.

It’s amazing to see; people use only boats and canoes to commute from one place to another place, which takes you to medieval era of our history. The people are warm and polite and always happy to assist you.

One cannot fail to fall in love with this beautiful place and I am sure to come back again.

Looking for an Adventure in the valley of Western Ghats

2013-10-19T21:47:00.001-07:00

A Trip to Kannupulimettu

Kundaru Dam

My cousin and I were on a trip to a waterfall in Kannupulimettu, a place near my home town. The place is surrounded with lush green mountains, numerous waterfalls across the rivers and a dam (Kundaru Dam) that collects the water from the hills. We have been visiting this place for the past four years, and to make this trip extraordinary we set out to look for a new waterfall in the region.

Journey Through the Valley

We began to climb up the streaming valley. The journey was treacherous as the path was filled with huge rocks and skewed waterways. After passing through a kilometre, we were stopped by the erected barbed wire across the valley. It seemed to have built to keep off the perpetrators. We stood there for a moment and starred at each other whether to cross over or return to the falls which is easily accessible.

We spotted a passage beside the barbed wire and it encouraged us to go forward. With a renewed strength, we crossed the hurdles and continued walking. All of a sudden, my cousin cried in panic on seeing a skull in the bushes. I examined the skull closely, and it was an animal skull. We crossed several gigantic rocks and waded through stream of water, yet the sight of the falls was not appearing.

Waterfall owned by a Local Politician

After climbing on a huge rock, my heart soared high on seeing a beautiful waterfall in front of me. It was a calm and tranquil place where nature bestows its gift to mankind. We took off our shirts and threw ourselves into the cool and clean water.

After few minutes, out of nowhere a stranger came running towards us with a sickle. He was well built with a piercing eyes filled with anger. We started trembling at the sight of the sudden stranger. He screamed at us in abusive words. He claimed that it is a private waterfall and strangers are not allowed to come here. As he was in possession of a weapon, we could not argue and set out to leave the place.

After a while, another man came, who seemed to the in charge of the place. He inquired about us and how we entered here. I narrated the whole journey and apologized to him for breaching the border. He seemed to be kind and allowed us to enjoy the shower for a while. We were overwhelmed by his kind gesture and spent some more time in the waterfall and left the place.

As we came down, I inquired to a local man about the waterfall. He said that it belongs to a local politician. I was wondering, how come rivers and mountains can be owned by someone, especially the one we choose to serve us.

My Granny And The Peacocks

2013-07-11T22:39:00.000-07:00

My Granny and the peacocks

I visited my hometown recently during my holidays. I went to my grandma’s field to pamper myself with the nature. It was a calm and quite place surrounded with lush green trees. At 2’o clock my granny took out some food and kept outside. There was obviously no one except the two of us. I asked her whom she had brought the food out. She said that two peacocks would come to eat it. We were waiting for them. They have not yet turned up.

After a while one of them, with a long beautiful feather came fumbling through the plantain field. He was afraid to come closer to the food due to my presence as I was a stranger to him. He waited for a longtime, ten meter away from us. My granny took the food and kept it closer to him. Now he began to peck the food very quickly.

After some time another one arrived to get his share of food. They both now began to fight over the food not allowing the other to eat it. It was an amazing scene to watch two big birds fight with each other just in front of me.

My granny said that the peacocks would follow her like innocent kids when she walks around the field.

Gone With The WInd

2013-05-29T21:16:00.000-07:00

Unsurpassed and Unparalleled

Margret Mitchell

Gone with the wind by the author Margret Mitchell is the one novel that was published in her entire life. Yet it is the masterpiece of her. It is one of the ten best fictions of all time. What makes this book so special?

The vivid depictions of the Civil war of America and the portrayal of each and every characters and places with subtle differences are unparalleled by any author until today. This book takes the readers to relive the times of golden era in the American History. The elaboration of outcome of the wars among the people mingles with the lifestyle of the people and the transformation of the people’s behavior and attitude towards the society.

I am amazed by the author’s knowledge of coherent flow of storytelling. Every moment of reading this book is a sheer pleasure that last forever in your mind. I recently watched the movie adopted from the book by the same name. But, I would say that it was only a tip of an iceberg to the narration of the author.

It is no wonder that Gone with the wind is Unsurpassed by any author until today.

Tirunelveli

2013-05-27T22:28:00.000-07:00

Everlasting Pride……

My cousin and I were on a trip to Tirunelveli on a purpose. It was summer; the scorching heat was quite unbearable. We had to wait until noon to get our work done. Hence we had to look for a shady place to rest for a while. We seated ourselves on a cement platform, under a Neem tree, in front of a house. Of course there were so many houses lined up in the area. After a while, a man came in a scooter and alighted to enter into his house. He gave us a sinister look as if we were there to loot his house. He disappeared into his house, locking his gate tightly behind him. I told my cousin that even our land has lost its kindness and hospitality towards strangers over the years. We were sharing our nostalgia of good old days where love centered human life and money was only part of it.

Suddenly, I heard opening of the gate from another house, and a frail old lady clad in blue cotton saree, with sunken face came towards us. She asked with a pleasing voice whether we would like to have some water. I was dumbfounded by her kind gesture and it brought Goosebumps in my body.

Finally I am proud that I am born in this beautiful land.

Beautiful Girl

2013-05-24T03:52:00.001-07:00

A Moment to remember in my life....

Standing in the blazing sun light for hours and hours wore me out,

Waiting for my turn in the passport office rumbled my stomach out of hunger,

Suddenly her face appeared to me out of the blue,

A serene and refreshing look on her face that injected me with the adrenaline I needed at the hour,

An intimidating smile that took my breath away,

A Thousand volts of power from her eyes that charged my entire being in the room,

I was under her spell entirely,

Time seemed not enough to spend with her presence,

I was brought to senses by the ring of my cell phone,

By the time I opened the phone,

It said, 65 missed calls.

Tiny Monsters

2012-09-19T01:25:00.002-07:00

Tiny Monsters:

(My First Ever Short Story)

I was in the middle of a swimming pool unbelievably with a white girl, who was in her bikini. She was splashing water on me playfully. I pulled out her bra naughtily and she giggled at me and the play went on for a while. Then I pulled her up closer and hugged her. She became calm and moved closer to me and soon our lips were locked. It was as if our bodies were set on a raging fire even though surrounded with cold water. Suddenly a voice screamed in between CUT CUT. It was my friend cum director who was shooting this scene on the swimming pool for a movie. Annoyed by his awkward interruption I went and asked him hey buddy! Wat s wrong? He said , “ a tiny rocket interrupted on the scene dude”.

A tiny rocket! I asked shockingly. Ya it was right over my head. It looked like an iron rocket of 10 cm length and it could transform itself into any shape like a missile, square, arrow, round or whatever it could. Horrified by the appearance of this unknown, weird creature I was running frantically here and there. The whole shooting crew started running after me and we finally crushed it with a hammer.

Now after a while we got back to our shooting. we repeated the same scene and once again we were interrupted by the same tiny object. Now there was not one but plenty of them hovering around us with screeching sound. My friend became curious of this sudden visit of this tiny objects ran after them with his camera. But I was boiling in anger as my romantic scene with the white beauty was spoiled by these weird objects. Now there were multitudes of them occupying the empty space on the earth. It looked as if our earth was taken over by the aliens. No one could understand the purpose of these objects visit and it was all around us. Lot of heavy crushers was used to destroy them but they could remake themselves and came alive again. The whole world plunged into the researches to annihilate these tiny devils. But no solution could be reached until long time. The prime minister of the country asked the people to stay at their house closed as long as these tiny objects vanish from the earth. The prime minister appealed to the people to come up with a remedy and announced rewards for the one who can eliminate these devils.

I was having breakfast in my apartment watching the prime minister speaking on the television. Then I went near the door and checked whether it is properly closed or not. I could see that one rocket could sneak into my house. It was just hanging on the door unable to move itself from that position. I was watching it curiously at the tiny rocket and I found out I was caught up the magnet of the door lock.

I jumped in excitement as found a way to arrest these entire weirdo’s. I prepared my proposal and caught some tiny rockets with a magnet and met the prime minister. Then there were heavy magnetic machines were made and somehow the whole scene came to an end.

The next day the prime minister honored me in front of a huge crowd and hailed as the valiant savior of the world. I could see many people wearing my image imprinted on their t shirts and hear them singing slogans praising my name. “Hail selvam the savior of the world”.

And I could hear the sounds of crows and cuckoo birds close by. It was 7 am in the morning and there was a not a huge crowd in front of me but a crumbling ceiling.

subramani

2011-09-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

Subramani, a True Sannyasi

In times, when the spiritual gurus the so called Sannyasis capitalize on their skills and teachings, there are some exceptional ones who live amidst us. They neither possess any material wealth nor have any people to support them in their life.

Subramani is an eighty three year old man, but apparently looks much younger than his age. With a white beard that stretches up to his stomach, he is clad in a saffron loin cloth around his waist. A Neem tree in the compound of Public Welfare Department, in chepauk serves him as a shelter.

Having been born and brought up in Pondicherry, Subramani is fluent in French and Tamil. He worked until 1954 as a police officer in Pondicherry. He fell in love with a French girl and married her with the consent of both their families. But the sudden demise of his wife, took his life to an unexpected dramatic turn. He was asked to marry his wife’s sister, but he loved his wife so much that his conscience would not let him consider the same.

The family members of his wife separated his son from him and took him with them feeling that he needed a motherly care. Being singled out; the sannyasi gave up his job and left his hometown to seek a new path. He did not take anything with him except a few clothes. He travelled on foot to many temples; He walked miles and miles to receive the blessings of the spiritual gurus residing in Himalaya hills.

In his journey, he covered Pakistan, Sri Lanka and most of the places in India; for the past five years he is living under a tree in Chepauk near MA Chidambaram Cricket Stadium. Asked whether his son and relatives knew his whereabouts, he said, “They know I am here, but I don’t wish to meet them and they too do not come here to see me. I consider everyone in the world is my relative.

He knew that his son got married to a French girl and presently well settled in France earning six lakhs, a month. He had not seen his son since 20 years, he says, “I am destined to live as an ascetic; who renounces everything in his life to seek god”. Subramani never disturbs anyone for food but accepts the food offered by anyone in utter humility.Some of the government officials driving in their car stop by to say hello to him. Sitting under the tree, Subramani offers help to people seeking his services with his knowledge of astrology. As a man who has traveled all over the world he is fully aware of the global happening and the news around him.

PALLVA NAGAR SLUM VISIT

2011-09-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

Pallavan Nagar Slum visit

On thirty first of July we travelled to Pallavan Nagar situated in Chindadripet. The focus of our trip was to visit the area and meet the people. I have read that great civilizations like Indus Valley, Sumerian have flourished on the river bed. Ironically, in the urbanized city, the Pallaven Nagar situated adjacent to the Buckingham water way is not a significant place in the town. The people live here are not corporates, government laborers, nor any other officials earning monthly wages. We call this place as a slum area, the haven for many poor people to stay cheap in the city.

Often slums are recognized with faulty alignment of streets and houses. On contrary to that fact Pallavan Nagar has single main road where the houses are closely packed on both sides of the road. The road stretches up to half a kilometer. But most of the houses are in dilapidated state as they are built using the wooden sheets. They look as if pasted by patches of wooden sheets. Only very few houses are built using brick and cement.

The slum contains about 950 houses and the density of population is very higher in a small area. There are people on the road all the time and the place is very alive. The children play on the road side with bare body. We can always hear the sounds of children screaming joyfully on the road street.

There are corporation water pipes placed across every fifty feet on the road. The water flows unceasingly from 3 am to 12 pm. Some of the pipes have no regulator to open and close, hence resulting ceaseless flow of water and it simply runs on the road as waste.

There is one common toilet for the whole slum people built in the midst of the area and it is poorly maintained by the people. They complain that there is always water shortage in the toilet water tank and creating inconvenient for our urgent need. I asked them, “Will it not be fine if you direct the water wasted on the road to the tank?” they replied that we informed the municipal authorities on that but never turn up to listen our grievances. It’s quite paradoxical that there is so much of water being wasted and shortage of water at the same place.

The people live here are of all religions as we could see a temple, a chapel and a mosque in the same slum. And there are no communal problems reported so far. Though the economic background of each family is very poor, each house has a digital dish for television. They said that they bought them only after the issuing of free television during the regime of former government. Though they have a free television they ought to pay an amount for viewing every month.

Most of the men and women are self-employed; they sell fruits, flowers and eatables on the roadsides of the nearby areas. The hard earned money go unutilized as it is spent on liquors most of the time. The youngsters go as manual laborers in nearby areas and their salary ranges from 10000 to 15000 per month. There are only 15 young students doing their under graduation.

The councilor of the area, Ellumalai residing at Elliots road hardly turned up to listen to their grievances. “He appears only during the election to gain votes”, said Sugumaran a college student.

The overcrowded slum is overlooking the giant building of newly constructed secretariat during the tenure of former government. The slum is a tiny place when compared to the huge building which is being unused during the present government. The density of the populations is day by day increasing due to the proliferation of migrant laborers.