Complete life experience is social, spiritual, and moral. India checked all those boxes. We were rewarded with moral questions on equality of genders, compelled to look inward under the vast, free sky and endless creations of God – Earth. We met our families, and I wanted my children to remember the best about their roots, not the worst.
Our trip was hectic. We got the relaxation fix in Kumarakom. Hands down.
The strike was upon us. What I saw the next day was a first – closed shops, hardly anyone on the roads. In the car with all our bags and baggage, we stared out from our seats at the ghost town and if we saw a person, we wondered which side of the spectrum they were on—were they ensuring people were respecting the strike, or one of us, irritated that the strike was for inequality.
One of the hardest life lessons is to realize merit in adversity, that all wrong things happen for the right reasons and are a blessing in disguise. We reached our destination on the empty road where only the wind sang a melody, the mountains stood tall. Parking under the highest peak of the state, Anamudi, we were at the Eravikulam National Park, the busiest destination of the region with hardly any people. Blessing? We climbed atop an empty bus to take us up, up, and up the mountain. Here are photos from the national park.
The best restaurant we ate at Munnar was called Ali Baba and the 41 Dishes. Best dish? Butter Chicken which is spicy and textured unlike any creamy and sweet butter chicken served in American Indian restaurant.
After lunch, we left for Kumarakom. Empty roads. Before going too far from Munnar, we checked off the most recently added bucket list, of walking into one of the tea plantations.
As everyone slept, my eyes glued on the empty roads. I had read the news of violence in towns on our way. Every now and then, a shop would be open. Revolt (of the strike) was in the air. People did not want the strike. They wanted to live their life on their own terms, not fussing over some temple and its attendees.
Good two and a half hours away, when my littlest couldn’t hold it anymore, we reached a town with a restaurant in business. It had clean bathrooms, ginger tea for my recovering throat, and treats for everybody. So, the strike cleared the traffic, cut our commute time, and a shop was open when needed. We reached Kumarakom under the round, orange, setting sun with canals of waters and lush green grass. Lake Song resort welcomed us in style by putting a tilak on each of our foreheads under tens of candles.
Next day, only one item was on the agenda – relaxation.
What I mistook for ocean also known as backwaters of Kerala, was the largest lake in India, the Vembanad Lake. We rented a houseboat with two bedrooms and western toilets and an open living room for the day where the breeze of the lake frisked our hair as the boat traversed the lake, we bought fresh fish, and it was cooked to serve. The floating plant with purple flowers and the seagulls and the ducks glided alongside us. We sat there and did absolutely nothing. After lunch, we read, children did their homework, drawing and journaling Taj Mahal.
Docking the boat back on land to reality, my husband and I treated ourselves to an Ayurveda spa. I ordered the only thing on the menu that did not require me lying down in flat position because of my cough and got the head and neck massage.
Back at the hotel, we sailed the sunset Shikara tour. When I whispered to my husband that I miss music, a passenger rose who hadn’t heard our talk plugged his phone to the boat speakers and blasted off music. My husband complained I asked for music, I should have asked for something more valuable to have it be magically answered.
The last supper passed. So did the last night in Kerala, my little sliver of heaven. And effectively, with a blink of an eye, India had passed.
We came back to Bangalore and checked into the Palm Oasis, where the children played in the pool, did some more last-minute shopping, ate at Barbeque Nation where kabobs were grilled right on our tables. We wrapped up India and despite the sadness of an end, our hearts and soul looked forward to returning home. We returned fuller and complete.
