Raining Thoughts

I've always been fond of certain words, though I've never been able to explain why. Certain words like elusive... insane... perhaps…reason…poignant…absurd…tranquil…twist…. TWIST!...  Let me stop and breathe for a moment… A recent turn of events on a bygone evening certainly seems to have caused a few tectonic shifts in my perspective of words. Looking back it seems that I've always loved certain words very much, as they have always maintained a safe distance from my life. Tranquil, Absurd, Poignant & co. are all welcome for tea at my table, provided they have the tea, samosas, chit-chat and leave my table to never come back, unless I request them to return. But this guy…Twist… Well, he came for tea, uninvited, ate up all the samosas too and never left. A minor road accident which involved zero vehicles, but ‘n’number of loose gravel on a busy road-side and who else, but the miserable me. Wish I could just rewind and delete off that ill-fated minute from my li...

Alleppey had us at ‘hello’. The pristine morning sunshine rippling upon her backwaters and the most delectable breakfast on her platter…steaming hot idi appams & what I would forever call the yummiest, tangiest & spiciest fish curry on earth had us excitedly looking forward to the longest backwater cruise in Kerala.  The boat-ride from Allepey to Quilon (Alappuzha to Kollam, for us Malayalis) was packed with 8 hours of soul-melting rendezvous with nature. The ride took us through 3 of the major backwater lagoons in Kerala, the Vembanad, Kayamkulam & Ashtamudi lakes intertwined with scores of water channel systems to form the most beautiful water world of God’s own country. With an array of passengers from different geographies across the world on board, our boat was no less than a microcosm of diverse senses and perceptions that collectively lapped up the sinuous sounds and verdant visions that enveloped us from all around. Rest of the tale…in pictures. ...