Homeward bound.

A family Trip to our village home planned well in advance for a function, got us all together. A large group of 13 set out on 12th may 2013.. When a large family or a group gets together every place feels like home, be it the crowded CST railway station or the claustrophobic trains. Good Company dissolves the discomforts.

Revisiting the trip through pictures.These photos are nothing but an effort to live eternally, giving clarity to memories, refreshing them and also a way to share those captured moments with your loved ones, so they see what you saw even as they missed being there with you. 

“You're an interesting species. An interesting mix. You're capable of such beautiful dreams, and such horrible nightmares. You feel so lost, so cut off, so alone, only you're not. See, in all our searching, the only thing we've found that makes the emptiness bearable, is each other.” 
― Carl Sagan, Contact

The Destination soon arrived only for the journey to begin.

       

And who wouldn't want to stay here??? Dreamlike.

Views from the house above 

soaring high towards the sun.....

The ambitious coconut tree, growing in its might and glory, thirsty for the touch of sunlight. 

 After sunrise, I saw a heart in the sky. Oh! it's the sun sending the warmth of it's love from behind the clouds.

Good Morning!!!!!

Solar Power: harnessing Solar energy

Twilight, and the sun says good-bye leaving us the nature's silhouette. 

Vegetables grown in the backyard.

Growing together, Naturally!!! children of Earth and light grow in delight.

NEXT DAY, LIVING IN THE WOODS.... A house in Shankarpura.

 Collecting Firewood 

The entrance from inside

OLD IS GOLD

This old house, once was full of chirping inmates of my mother's lore. Now it is visited once a year and the entire family helps make it habitable again by driving away the present inmates, 'the bat's lore'

Caught on a cot  in a pensive mood 

One of the simple joys of a village life includes resting on such cots after the days work. I was worried about the heat, but to my surprise this house surrounded by forest and mountains was cooler than expected. In fact early in the morning we woke up shivering only to switch off the fanss.



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The Kitchen is Alive again

It was after a very long time that I saw food being cooked this way. The amount of effort put by the ladies in the kitchen is remarkable. In this kitchen grand meals were made, My favorite being Kori-rotti.

Fuel For Fire

In a village hardly anything goes waste. Plastics are rarely used. These woods and coconut remains  are used to keep the fire burning. There are dogs and cats that clear off the wasted food. As most waste are biodegradable, the dustbin is the pit around the coconut tree. We city dwellers brought in the plastic waste and even after throwing them in the dustbin, I wonder how many of them get recycled or get disposed without really causing any environmental hazard.

Combined Effort

To live in the middle of the forest, without any amenities but the basic ones, isn't a one man show. No wonder we had joint-families more in the past. I realized how only when all the people of the family work together in harmony can one actually enjoy living in the forest. It's the combined effort of all that makes work a play. These little chores involve a lot of hard-work and no work is less important than another. Men and Women play equal roles. If men work hard outside, women work equally hard inside the house. If both had always respected and valued each-other's work and opinion, today women would not have to fight for her rights to be equal to men. Both are different, the difference helps the role they play, and the roles are equally important. This harmony reflects even in the health of the people in the villages.

Surrounding the House....

“And still, after all this time, the Sun has never said to the Earth,
"You owe me."
Look what happens with love like that.
It lights up the sky.” ........................................................... And it fills the earth.
― Rumi

"Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity..." 
— John Muir

The neighboring villages and forest.....

"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." — John Muir

"Going to the woods is going home." 
— John Muir

Well!! Well!!.....

“We never know the worth of water till the well is dry. ” 
― Thomas Fuller

Beauty in the beast......

“I think I could turn and live with the animals, they are so placid and self contained;
I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition;
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins;
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God;
Not one is dissatisfied-not one is demented with the mania of owning things;
Not one kneels to another, nor his kind that lived thousands of years ago;
Not one is responsible or industrious over the whole earth.” 
― Walt Whitman

The Burnt Forest....

The wrongs done to trees, wrongs of every sort, are done in the darkness of ignorance and unbelief, for when the light comes, the heart of the people is always right." 
— John Muir

A New Beginning.... 

Mitti ki parton ko nanhe se ankur bhi cheerein, dheere dheere
even the small sapling breaks into the earth, slowly slowly. an just like the sapling that breaks through the hard earth so can we break through the obstacles and achieve great heights. 

The way,,,,

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing                                          
and rightdoing there is a field.
I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about.” 
― Rumi

into the woods there is a place called home... 

RELIEF FROM THE SUN.....

to sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon the verdure is the most perfect refreshment 

-JANE AUSTEN

The Temple run....

But first wash your feet clean..

together we visited the creations of the created to worship the creator....

 Prayers to feel the coolness within and ice-creams to taste the coolness. The most ideal ice-cream to have is Gadbad, a sweet delight in mangalore. If gadbad doesn't satisfy one's sweet tooth, then the best place to visit is Ideal ice cream Parlor in Mangalore. From Gadbad to Dilkush something will surely win your heart. My favorite is Chocolate Dad. 

Soon the trip would end, the date of our return was close. It was time to get back home. We were back again to where we had started, back to the station of our arrival, Surathkal. This wasn't a goodbye. It was just meant to be an interval before the next hello. 

GOING PAST BY

JAI HIND!!