As I packed my bags and configured my out of office message, a strange elation took control.. a feeling that I last felt last year when I packed my bags for a vacation.
The excitement of a vacation is difficult to capture in words…it’s the same feeling when you say good bye to friends one day from summer holidays…. when you journey from hostel to home! Its a refreshing breeze which takes you on a light hearted free flowing ride!
Our first day was at good old Bangalore…a sweet and short ride in the Metro followed by Christmas shopping in Commercial street…small little pleasures that add up to the experience called freedom. It’s a strange ‘sadistic’ feel when you walk down MG Road without the burdens of a laptop and official duties screeching in your mind.
The official launch of vacation 2011 commenced in the train to Kerala…its always a familiar green welcome from Gods Own Country as one chugs into the familiar ground…the first few days zipped past with weddings and gatherings where chatter and laughter flowed unabated. Our next stop was the historic Bekal fort….our cousin jing bang bundled into the car and squeezed and joked our way to the destination. The fort stood at its mighty best on that bright December afternoon…flexing its hulky muscles at us…..the sun scorching and glistening its boundaries..its might and beauty teased and complemented simultaneously by the ocean that surrounds it! Waves breaking at its feet..daring it to fight the might of the ocean! The fort also has its share of a string of ‘movie’ scenes shot at that ‘holy’ ground….! We were exhausted with our own ‘photo shoot’ and escapades under the relentless rays of the sun and almost collapsed at the lunch table. After a sumptuous meal, we headed to the long scenic beach next to the fort…after printing and reprinting our names on the sands and building our castles, we took respite in the cool blue waters…an innings of splashes and screams in the water, a ricketing ride on the horse cart and an evening meal by the backwaters and the day drew to a close…we returned tanned and content in different measures!
The next few days were lost in the travel between families, between homes and drowned in the company of near and dear…ecstasy found different meanings as I lay on a cozy sofa at home sipping ‘amma’s coffee…as I watched movies without a deadline to worry me… as I laughed and dived into ‘leg pulling’ with cousins, aunts and uncles….as I breathed in the greenery and serenity of Kerala…!
The last leg as we launched ourselves into the new year was Wayanad….a precious district tucked away from the big bad world…blessed with all good things….sugar (maybe not) and spices quite literally…………we found paradise in the little wooden cottage, waking up to the gurgling sounds of the stream, walking through the woods, dipping in the little pool, witnessing the misty morning amongst the tea, coffee plantations and wilderness and finally sleeping after a rejuvenating ‘spa’ experience! A boat ride in Pookkot lake and a few moments observing the Wayanad valley..creased out all the stress and fault lines within….!
As they say all good things must come to an end, we left our little paradise behind and boarded the bus as unwilling little kids..the heavens blurring behind us as the bus accelerated its way into Bangalore!
