Weddings,relatives and gardens

January saw us going for yet another wedding.The husband and I seem to get invited to weddings of extended families.I am not sure why we get invited but we do go if time and circumstances permit.This time around the wedding was in Kerala in a town called trichur.We decided to go for the wedding until the invitation came along and then changed our minds.Here was an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.We decided to ditch the wedding and attend the reception instead.This was a few days later in the capital Trivandrum.The husband,good planner that he is,decided that a holiday was in order.Calls to some well connected relatives saw us getting a room in a hotel in Kovalam...a sea side resort near trivandrum much sort out by foreigners in India.Jan is a season where its next to impossible to get rooms but connections make all the difference in India so before we knew it there it was ...confirmation of a room with a view.

We set off to kerala and as luck would have it it was hot and humid.On our drive out of the airport the cab driver told us what a dangerous place this was for woman until he realised I speak the language,then all conversation stoped.Finally we arrived at our destination and had a good home cooked meal,and planned out next day.

If one visits a city where relatives live yards of each other,chances are that before we know it they know we are in town.We decided to visit the ones we like.Much family politics would erupt from our choices but we couldn't care less so the next day saw us visiting relatives.The beauty of kerala is that its a lush green and fertile land.Despite being a capital city trivandrum is more like a village with quaint houses,some apartments but most of all,gardens.With the average malayalee gardening is a passion and most of them will vie with each other to make their gardens look good.As with all visits to cousins,my first port of call is their garden.The first one had a garden full of the most luscious fruit,jack fruit,nutmegs,limes,and what have you.While the husband made polite conversation I checked out every plant and tree.Its not just home gardens,even the roads are small and narrow and on either side there are banana plants all in full bloom,various varieties of fruits and flowers,one can easily forget that this is a city.Its that beautiful though I cant say the same about the people.The bus drivers of trivandrum like elsewhere in India are a law to themselves.They take great pleasure in almost running down a lady driver and god forbid its someone like me who gives a damn about the kerala alpha male.Utter confusion.I decided that a bid of madras brashness was in order so like our much hated auto driver I took to the streets in full flow.Racing down the small back lanes and hurling choice abuses at the young men who dare to cross my path ensured I got home safe and sound,sometimes one just discovers survival skill when thrown at the deep end.it was another matter altogether that none of the relatives wanted to be with me in the car if I was driving.By the end of the day I had been introduced to the joys of orchid growing and its pains,the wonders of a kitchen garden and all manner of plant and soil fertilizers.Feeling like a novice I soaked in all that i could with ambitious plans of growing them back in hot and sunny madras....that much learnt and that much wiser we (the husband who had been following ,me around like a lamb) settled in to sleep away our first day in kerala

Vellore

A month is a long time in cyberspace so its not surprising that I found it difficult to get started,lots of things change ,more features are added on and the long and short of it is that I am confused....but that aside here are some memories of a holiday or two.

The season at our home starts in October and ends sometime in end January or February.That's to say that the house will be full of sisters and their families or cousins or visiting extended family.Its a few months of overeating,overcooking and  of general excess after which one is a few kilos heavier and have undone all the good that one achieved in the months before.But its also a time when the husband and i get to run away on holiday and leave the house in the capable hands of sisters and mother.For a few days we don't have to worry about running the house,all we need to do is find a nice getaway.

This year in December our first getaway albeit a day,was to vellore a small town near madras famous for its one big achievement,a christian medical college.Some 25 years ago I spent two blissful months in this town as a student and can easily say that those were the best days of my life.Since then our connections to vellore has increased.We went for a wedding this time after a gap of some eight years.The husband and i drove all the way,and we left early.The roads have improved and the driving was stress less,and as to vellore,it has transformed from a one horse town to a little bustling city.

The wedding for me was a time to check out of old friends were around but strangely i couldn't recognise my old institute nor did I come across any of the old friends until well after lunch.I was washing my hands and looking a bit disappointed when a man came over to wash his hands.Something about his face rang a bell and before I could stoped myself ,I had called out a name.His startled look was quickly replaced by a whoop of recognition and much to the consternation of the husband,there I was being hugged by this man who had been a good friend years and years ago.The sheer joy to seeing someone from so long ago is hard to explain.It brings back memories of sing songs,movies,late night chats,home cooked food and a host of others.His sisters house was our haunt every weekend.Like all students we were hungry always and after church on Sunday she gathered some hungry souls and fed us well.She was also there and was so happy to see me.It makes me want to go back for a longer stay ,loaf around our usual hangouts and take that one way ticket on the town bus and see the sights.What a happy way it was ending 2012 in a town that has me going all nostalgic.