Cruising through Color: Three Days in Kerala
This weekend, Riya and I took a three day trip down to the 2nd southernmost state in India: Kerala. I’m beyond grateful to the Kalluvila family for an amazing trip– spending a jam-packed 96 hours in Anchal, Kerala was full of new memories to last me a lifetime. As soon as I stepped out of the airport, I could feel the humidity sink into my skin. Getting to spend time in different states has been so amazing to get a glimpse at the cultural diversity in India: the languages (Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, etc), religions (Churches, mosques, and temples scattered throughout), and even the foods (Homemade sambar and biryani have my heart). Everything about this weekend was full of color and love; hence, I’m going to go down the rainbow and share some memories with you today. :)
Indigo
Despite often being left out of the common rainbow, our trip started on indigo. Literally. Riya and I left Hyderabad at 8:15 pm on Friday by boarding an IndiGo plane to Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The flight only lasted approximately two hours, but it was followed by two more hours of driving from the city airport to where Riya’s grandparents live. Even though it was close to 10 pm, we were welcomed out of the airport by big hugs from her grandparents and beautiful flower garlands. Right away, I felt at home with the peacefulness of Kerala and the sweetness of our flowers. While driving, we shortly stopped the car for a view of the ocean! Having not smelled the salty ocean and its aromatic smell in so long, we stood for some time to watch the waves crash into the stone walkway before re-boarding and heading inland.
Blue
The next morning, we were up bright and early for a trip to one of the village’s medical camps. The camp, set up inside a primary school, was hosting a training session for the village’s residents, and we got to shortly speak with some family friends who Riya’s dad grew up with. The space came to light with the voices and chatter of school kids, parents, elderly, and doctors. Riya and I even made the Kerala News!
Afterwards, the color blue arrived when we drove 10 minutes out to Jatayu statue. Despite the overcast blue-gray day, I held my breath as we transcended the rain-fed landscape to the top of Jatayu mountain. Once at the top, we had a full 360 view of the fallen bird statue crafted out of rock at the mountain’s peak. As the biggest bird statue in the world, it sure did live up to the title; one wing could hold about a hundred people! Despite the rain, we enjoyed walking around the top of the mountain and taking in the misty forests below.
Green
After a relaxing afternoon at Riya’s grandparents house, we woke up early the next morning for church and a backwater boat trip. We drove the two hours into town and lazily left the coast onto the rivers.
After an hour of drifting down the tranquil river, we came to a halt on the rivers bank. From here, we rolled up our pants and jumped into a different boat towards a sand bank (photo, left). The sandbank was around 2 feet below the water’s surface, so we eventually gave up on trying to avoid the saltwater. All around the sandbank were short mangrove trees and snack vendors, so Riya and I were content while munching on ripe pineapple and mango.
Yellow
After a successful boat outing, we drove back towards Anchal and visited a handful of Riya’s family members. One of her grandmother’s brothers led us to a Hindu temple with a huge elephant! On the front of its face were some yellow painted markings.
All throughout last week, I was constantly joking with Riya saying that I wanted to see an elephant up close; I wasn’t expecting it to be SO close!!
Orange
On Saturday, before our boat outing, Riya and I joined her grandparents for an early morning church service. The old, Orthodox Christian church was painted beautifully against the blue sky with its orange and red tiles leading the way in. When we arrived, we could hear the chorus of singing voices drifting out into the misty morning.
Red
Love, love, and love. That is all that has filled my heart in the past few days. Despite the language barrier, getting to experience Kerala with locals, Riya, and her family has been an experience I will always look back on warmly. I truly don’t think my perspective of South India would have been the same had we not had the chance to experience Kerala. From each jam-packed day and memory we made, I learned that authentic connections can happen without spoken words. Instead, they come from true warmth, love, and kindness.
I hope to see you soon Kerala.
With love,
Zara
