Wednesday, August 1, 2012

In Wild Heaven - Kerala in pictures




It has been exactly one year since I visited Kerala.  Yesterday I was browsing through my computer and found these pictures that I took on my trip to Kerala last year.  Many would like to call it God's Own Country, but after experiencing the stunning beauty of Kerala firsthand, I would prefer to call it the Emerald State.  So last year around August we packed our bags to attend one of our Nair's wedding in Kozhikode (pronounced koi-koh-de).


Crossing the TN border into Kerala.



Our train journey was mostly comfortable.  At midnight we traversed through Tamilnadu and we just entered the Kerala as the sun was about to rise.  The landscape changes dramatically from a semi-arid flat landscape to verdant hills touching the clouds; we knew we arrived in Kerala.



Green grows the rushes.


Our friend's place is a little village some 50 kilometers from Kozhikode.  When we finally arrived at his place, we were treated to the typical Nair hospitality. Each of us were given a large glass of tea.  I took my camera and explored the backyard.



My friend's backyard.


In this village and mostly across Kerala, the houses are not cramped together tightly like in the cities, they are separated by a considerable gap allowing one house to have a luxury of a garden.  The weather is cool but damp.  Everywhere I look there is greenery, even the walls are covered with moss.  We drank plenty of tea and were waiting for a typical Malayali breakfast.



The moss covers everything.


A blue tent was set up in front of the house and the lady of the house got our breakfast.  This is "puttu", which is made from rice, coconut, few pulses and cereals.  It is delicious as it looks and has an offbeat taste.


Puttu, a breakfast dish.


Because of the dense moisture-laden air, the light takes on a magical quality.  It was like we walked into a Mani Ratnam movie.  After we had our bellies full, we decided to hit the beach.


Getting ready to hit the beach.


The beach was a 2-3 hour drive from the village and it was mostly deserted.  We had all the beach to ourselves.  While some of us entered the blue waters, others decided to chill out beneath the coconut tree shades.


An isolated beach.


After our day at the beach, we went home weary but satisfied and preparing for the wedding the next day.  This trip was particularly satisfying to me as with this trip I completed my journey of all the Southern States.  I cannot recommend Kerala highly enough, the people, the place and the food are all beautiful.  If you do get a chance, do not miss out on exploring Kerala.


A dash of pink in a sea of green.











35 comments:

  1. your photographs are truly inviting. i loved the one of the leave with water on it the most.

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  2. awesome pics... hope you had a good time at the wedding too :)

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    1. Thank you Abu, yes I had a great time at the wedding. We had a great spread of authentic Malayali dishes.

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    2. mouth's already watering ;) (cravings are harder when you are fasting)

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  3. Awesome. Kerala is a heavenly green place.

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    1. Thank you. Yes you have to visit it more than once as there are lots of places to see.

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  4. Emerald State- perfect name! Stunning photos. Loved the one with the wet leaf on the moss.

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    1. Thank you Juggler. Yes you can imagine my delight when I was surrounding by nothing but greens. It is a heaven for shutter bug.

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  5. Amazing captures! I am definitely waiting for my chance to explore Kerela, hope to get it sometime soon!

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    1. Thanks. Make sure you spend a good bit of time exploring and best of luck.

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  6. Beautiful shots.

    http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in

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  7. Some nice images you have clicked in the Kerala trip. Scenic place. I guess you clicked the second image from the train? The coconut trees in black and white looks good.

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    1. Thank you sir. Yes the second shot I took from the train, the shadow on the bottom left makes it a little too obvious, but couldn't resist taking the pic of a cloud-covered hills.

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  8. Amazing pics...lovely description:) Thank you Sandeep:)

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  9. Emerald State sounds apt. The God's-own-country-(tourism-)promotion-tagline is getting old. :) I love that picture of the hill with low clouds in the foreground. Beautiful.
    Isolated beach. Now, that's almost a luxury. :)
    Sounds like it was a very interesting trip for you. When I read about the gap between houses, I got reminded of home. When you find some time, read this, ok - http://dnambiar11.blogspot.com/2012/03/growing-up-in-natures-playground.html

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    1. Thank you. I took the pic of the hill from a moving train. The train ride from TN to Kerala is one of the best I had in years. It was an unforgettable trip.

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  10. kerala is one of my dream destination..wonderful shots

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    1. Yes its one of the beautiful places I had been to; the people are lovely too.

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  11. So much greenery,, warmed my heart :)

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  12. Sandeep, This is a lovely write up on Kerala. And I would accuse you of being miserly, you could have posted some more of your beautiful captures.
    However, thanks a lot for the visual treats.

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  13. Lovely captures of a beautiful state.
    Hope you will fish out some more good pictures and share.

    Thanks.

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    1. Thank you, yes I do have a lot of pics of Kerala but it has people in them, do not know how those people respond when they see themselves in the blog, so I played safe.

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  14. Amazing place...far away from the madding crowd :)

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  15. This is again an excellent photo essay!!! I love that it is not an "touristy exotic" but humble beautiful Kerala you portray! Loved the moss photograph the best, closely followed by your flower photograph. I do like your other photos too--but what to do I am partial..-:)

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