It was the first time ever that both me and my younger brother watching such a vast experience of water in such a serene environment. And we were in happiness that knew no bounds watching such a sight. When mom said that Kerala was the God’s Own Country, all of us thought that she has got biased opinions for her native place. But once we had reached that beautiful destination, we realized that what she was saying was indeed true. Although she is a Bhojpuri, she was born and brought up in Kochi, as our Naana used to work there during those years. She has always got boundless words when appreciating about the aesthetic beauty of Kerala.
So when we thought of a perfect place for our tour in puja holidays, it was she who suggested Kerala. Moreover, my younger brother Chotu was having asthma issues so we could not choose any cold hill stations. Once the main location was confirmed, both I and dad were busy searching about the possible tourist sites in the place, where we could visit on our vacation. We got to know about the tour packages offered by a popular travel firm of Kerala called Dream Holidays as they had good ratings and attention-grabbing ads on the web. They had one of the best ratings among all other companies. Moreover, they had the packages to varied locations such as those based in hill stations, backwaters, beaches and whatnot. Quite surprisingly, most of them were at the cheapest rates.
So on the very next day after Chootu’s school exams, we were at the airport in Delhi. I was also having semester break at my college and I never had to worry about the number of days that would take for our trip. Dad had also taken his weeklong leave from the office. From the Indira Gandhi International Airport on the scheduled date and time, all of us boarded a flight and reached the Trivandrum International Airport within a flying time of 3 hours and 20 minutes. Since we had boarded an early morning flight, we were not feeling much hungry but were thirsty. The moment when we were moving out of the main building, we saw somebody standing with a placard showing ‘Gupta and family.’ Dad went up to him and confirmed that it was our tour guide. His name was Somadev.
As per the instructions given by him, we had to travel for around 2 and a half-hour of the journey. After moving some distance, we saw a roadside vendor selling tender coconuts. We pulled over the car and all of us sipped the natural drink. It was truly refreshing. Later in the journey when we had covered the urban spaces of Kollam city, we crossed over numerous bridges and sights on both sides were indeed scenic. I didn’t know whether that was a lake or river, anyways there were just too many water bodies whichever directions we turned our heads at. The next striking factor that I noted was that the greenery here can be seen nowhere else in the country! Chootu missed all of this, as he had slept after sipping that natural drink. Finally, we arrived at our resort where we to stay for our holiday in Kerala.
There were many smiling faces around us. All of them seemed friendly right from the very first moment. The staffs there welcomed all four of us with a flower garland and adorned with a pinch of Kumkum on our foreheads. Quite strangely, Chootu was getting intimidated at this friendly gesture for which all of us burst out laughing. As the resort was on the banks of the lakeside, it already had natural landscaping. Chootu was with dad when they went for checking-in, meanwhile, both I and mom took many selfies. Our guide was back to us when we were settling in. Later he informed was what we were badly waiting for. The houseboat ride across the Ashtamudi Lake!
The boat that we were to cruise was already moored at their private jetty. It looked classy and elegant. They were owned and maintained by the same resort that we had relied on our tour. We quickly rushed into the massive houseboat. Just then I got realized that we were provided with a boat with all the facilities that a suite room of a hotel is comprised. It had a living area, two bedrooms, one kitchen and a balcony. Everything was set beautifully and was spacious. The materials from which they were made were even more exciting. Out of curiosity, I enquired this to the guide. He said that they were made in traditional Kerala architecture with natural materials such as coir, bamboo and woods of coconut and areca nut trees.
Our houseboat started moving slowly. The sun was scorching then, but we were not at all feeling warm, as a cool breeze was hitting us from the lake waters. Coconut palms were lined all across the banks of the lake as most of them were seen slanting towards the water. A staff was there to help us with the cooking in the kitchen. After moving some distance it was halted and to our surprise, we saw him fishing with a traditional net. And for the first time ever, both I and my brother saw live fishes. Our guide later announced that those were pearl spots and large lake shrimps. Meanwhile, we saw various country boats and most of them were paddled manually. I thought for a moment that, the oarsmen would be healthy and the process would be fruitful during fuel price up.
According to our packages, the caught fishes will be cooked live and served to us. Those tempting aromas from the Kitchen made us hungrier. Within no time, the delicacies were at the table. They were ‘Karimeen Pollichathu’ and ’Konju Roast,’ which had to be savoured along with rice. They were supposed to be eaten with bare hands. Expect mother, all of us had a tough time in the venture. However, the distinctive taste of the spicy recipes made us forget all such difficulties. Once satisfying our tummies, we dozed off for some time. Our tour guide already informed us, the sunset viewed from these parts of the lake will be beautiful. He was right, they were indeed enticing. Witnessing the beauty of the lake, my mom revealed that it was her long lost wish to arrange my destination wedding on the beaches of Kerala! I was dumbstruck for her words. Anyways thank you Dream Holidays for making this trip beautiful and memorable and at the end of the confusing!
It was nearly 6.30 pm. Usually, on Friday evenings I used to take rest as Saturdays and Sundays used to be off for me and my husband. But on that day I was in a hurry burry to finish my household chores. I was a little bit tensed as on Saturday we had planned a fantastic trip to explore the hilly regions in Tamil Nadu. As I was sweeping the floor suddenly my phone ranged it was my husband. He asked me to carry some woolen clothes for the exploration tour. I kept my broomstick there and went to search for the woolen dresses. While searching for the same something fall on my leg I guessed it might be the accounts book. I switched on the lights and inquired what it was. It was an album that carried a few lovely and romantic pictures of our honeymoon. For a moment my mind traveled to our old sweet days. I was then 20 years and my hubby was 27 years. Soon after our marriage, we started to plan for our fabulous honeymoon trip. Many places came into our minds. It was my husband who wanted to celebrate our special days away from our home town, Madurai. 2 months passed and still, we did not plan our honeymoon. I got angry at him. After a couple of weeks, he approached me with a few white sheets on his hand. I inquired what it was. He handed those papers to me and asked to read it. The papers were actually tour packages for our most-waiting honeymoon trip and that too to Andaman. To be very frank at first I did not like the destination. In my concept, the island was encircled with thickly populated forests and crystal waters. I begged him to change the destination. It is not possible said to me by him.
