Kera, from the little Malyalam I know, means coconut. When I left Mumbai for Kerala, I expected my trip to be an endless mis-en-scene of coconut country - plantations of coconut, banana, tea, stretches of paddy fields, lotus ponds, verdant valleys and emerald - green pools. As I packed my bags, I hummed the vicarious lyrics of Hotel Keralafornia, felt curious about the pink- colored water served to drink there, hoped I could tank up on as much jackfruit subzi and rasam I could eat (and maybe carry home a few months' supply of jackfruit chips). I flipped through a copy of Lonely Planet. Yann Martel's Life of Pi had colored the hill - town of Munnar for me. I wondered if Munnar would turn out to be how I had imagined it to be. Most of all, I wondered if Kerala's picture postcard beauty was very different from that of Konkan and rural Maharashtra.

By the third day of my stay in Kerala I had learnt that jackfruit was not in season, that chukkupodi, which lent water its pink color, was not served in 3 and 4-star hotels and that nothing (not even Lonely Planet) could have prepared me for the enchantments of this place.

The only things that made my 28-hour train journey to Kerala bearable were the splendid display of nature outside and a helpful, gregarious, chatterbox of a fellow passenger inside. The Indian railways with their cries and sighs are a microcosm - an intangible, unfathomable entity. (But whoever runs the catering service for the railways needs to be made to eat their own food for a day. I gave away my lunch packet to a decrepit beggar only to discover he already had three.) A foreign tourist, amused by the sight of a mouse scurrying across the floor tried out many antics to capture the rodent on camera, even turning off the lights and waiting till the mouse came out of hiding. The train traversed across tunnels, rivers, fields, the terrain bucolic and rugged by turns, sporadic drizzles making it more fetching. The next morning I woke up in Kerala, to railway stations with polysyllabic names and houses painted in solid colors - bright pinks, reds, oranges, blues, purples - perhaps to break the green of the surroundings.

(Between Sept 21 and 28, I went to Cochin, Munnar and Thekkady. I spent the better part of my time in Cochin in Udyogmandal, the industrial zone in the city; so the Kerala chronicles would have to begin from my next stop, Munnar.)

Edit: Oct 9, 2009 My cam was damaged, most of the pictures were lost. Here are the few I have.
From the train

From the train, somewhere in Konkan


On my way to the hotel, Cochin

View from the balcony

View from the balcony

An emu at the hotel

Ducks in the hotel at Cochin

Labels: Kerala, travel

Turn on email auto-responder. Check.
Energy bars. Check.
Camera. Check.
Hand sanitiser. Check.
Toothbrush. Check.
Wanderlust. Check.

Labels: Kerala, travel

At the end of the two-month blogging holiday, I find my blogging mojo has run away. Can you, the reader, help me out? Leave a suggestion in the suggestions tab about a topic you would like to read about or just drop me a line.

Labels: Blogging, Blogging hiatus, readers' feedback

This photo reminded me of this.

Photo courtesy: Pratik Bhure.

Guess what I have in common with Bing Crosby, Niccolò Machiavelli, Uma Bharati, Golda Meir and Princess Haya of Jordan? Well, this.

Labels: Birthday, Personal

Having unexpectedly got a day off today I couldn't resist posting this meme from Terra Shield's page who in turn stole it from Sunday Stealing. It brought back loads of memories from the days I started my only blog ever.

1. How did you come up with your blog title OR what does it mean?

Google's English-to-Hindi translator calls it 'Pagal Razai'! I wanted it to be like a crazy quilt - colorful, variegated, whimsical yet harmonious. Crazy Quilts have a little of everything. They are at times haphazard, at times planned, sometimes embellished and sometimes unadorned. I guess it has turned out to be exactly like that.

A friend's girlfriend had started a blog and he sent me the URL. I visited it and realized I hadn't written a line in three years. (In a communication skills class we were once told to elaborate on the quote 'God was a mathematician'. My classmates scribbled entire pages on some concept or the other from religion, philosophy, metaphysics and what not. I wrote one sentence. 'Either God no longer exists or He is no longer a mathematician.' But that was all. There was no serious writing back then.) The idea of my own blog seemed liked a window waiting to be pushed open. Surely someone as opinionated and observant as me would have a lot to say. And thus was born Crazy Quilt.

2. What are your general goals for blogging?

I enjoy the journey, I have no set goals. But I'd say spreading blog love, making new bloggerfriends and keeping the old ones, if they count as goals.

3. Do people “in your real life” know that you blog and do they comment on your blog OR is it largely anonymous?
How often do you post (x per week)?

I guess about a dozen people who know me from offline have left comments or have just visited the blog. I don't think anyone of them reads it regularly. It's largely anonymous because I'm rabid about putting information about myself on the Internet.

A bloggerpal had once told me that writing a blog post for him was as spontaneous as a visit to the loo. You feel it coming and it's done. I too post only when I having something so say. On the other hand I sometimes save half - written posts in the drafts. I mull over them later. They are dropped if I think they aren't upto the mark. Only about 10 per cent of all wannabe posts in my mind must be making it to this blog.

4. How often do you read other blogs (x per week)?

I read all of them on a feed reader. I log in every weekend or sometimes every day.

5. How do you select blogs to read (do you prefer blogs that focus on certain topics or do you choose by tone or…?)

I read on pretty much every topic under the sun and that goes for blogs too. The blogs that appeal the most to me are the ones that flow freely. Anything loaded with pretense, sensationalism or frivolous drivel puts me off.

6. Do you have any plans to copy your blog entries in any other format, or do you think that one day, you’ll just delete it all?

This blog chronicles as many as three years of my life. Far too many memories lie in the archived posts and comments. I would never never ever delete it. It's for keeps.

7. What are the things you like best about blogging?

Not what, who. I like all my fellow bloggers. They are all amazing.

8. What are the things you don’t like about blogging?

It can get addictive. Very, very addictive. At one point of time, I felt I needed rehab.

9. How do you handle comments?

I reply to almost all of them and wish I had more.
I avoid posting anything that could be controversial, scandalising or could punch someone's buttons. All you can hope to see on this blog is stuff that you can read and ruminate over on Sunday afternoons. I did receive a few vicious comments and some colorful hatemail this year and I loved all of it.
I used to write on an anonymous social networking site. In addition I have done some ghost-writing which was by turns caustic and insidious. (I wonder if that lead to the ad-homimen attacks on me. Even when you are anonymous writing with an acid pen comes at a price.)

10. Do you have any burning thoughts to share on blog etiquette?

Pointless comments put me off. ("Nice blog. Do visit my blog.") Whether it's criticism or appreciation, I'd like to know what exactly you liked or disliked. Another thing that gets my goat is hyperlinks posted in the comments.

Whenever I use images I ensure that I attribute them or get permission from the owner in case they are under copyright. I don't see many bloggers sourcing the photos that make their pages lively.

11. Any desired blog features?

I'm happy with what Blogger offers. They have even introduced mobile posting.

12. Have you ever suffered blog addiction?

Refer #8.

Labels: Blogging, Meme

I may be gone for about two months. I'll try to slip in a blog post, though. Please keep your feed readers tuned. In the meanwhile, you may keep reading the Quilt by

• hitting the View Random Post button.
• heading over to the 'Best of Crazy Quilt' section in the left pane.

I love my little space in the Blogosphere but life is bigger.

So long. Stay wonderful.

Labels: Blogging hiatus