Why go to Kerala?
The soft cool beach winds running through your hair make all your problems look insignificant, doesn’t it?
What is living if you are not able to see a picturesque sunset every evening? Everyone around you is working hard to earn money. They say Money buys you Freedom. And Freedom is a privilege. I wanted to use some of the privileges that I had accumulated to truly enjoy life.
I like to travel and take a vacation. They may be a break from the everyday routine but I do not live for vacations. For me, they are a time period to reflect and go back to my everyday life with a new prism through which I can see the world.
I chose Kerala because it offers everything I wanted to experience.
I longed for beaches, backwaters, boathouses, and banana chips; I got a lot more.
I traveled to Alleppey. It offers a rich culture for you to explore. Ancient temples and European Churches. It offers healing Ayurvedic massages to heal your mind and body. I had the Shirodhara treatment which literally means head (shiro) and flow (dhara) where they poured a steady stream of an oil-based concoction on my forehead. The experience was surreal and I would like to think its effects are benefitting me.
I traveled further south to Varkala. The place had a different vibe. It was sort of what Goa was decades ago. Majestic cliffs line the beautiful beaches of Varkala. The local people are friendly. I met a lot of people from outside of Kerala who had settled here. The beach is called Papanasham, a dip in the waters is believed to cleanse your sins (papam). The sunsets here are majestic. For adventure junkies, there is a range of water sports activities available including surfing lessons that you can take and plunge into the sea.
I thought Kerala will offer me a unique experience and boy did it deliver!
Now that I am back, a part of Kerala lives inside me.
The best part of any place is its people. I was lucky to meet and talk to people with a wide gamut of backgrounds and experiences. It offered me a different perspective of life. It was a vacation after many months. Covid-19 has upturned the lives of countless people and its aftershocks are far from over. I heard uplifting stories of how people who went through personal losses are now recuperating. Personal finances which were in shambles are now on the road to recovery.
It has lit a spark in me and made me think about what I want to do in the future.
Kerala has inspired me. I will be ready to be surprised again in my next visit to God’s own country.
I hope you found this piece interesting. Maybe you learned something new about Kerala with me.
