________________
________________
Picture taken in Palace Road, Fort Cochin
A Shared Solution
2 Replies
Category Archives: friends
Looking At You
Picture taken on the summit of Doddabetta, 8,650 ft above sea-level, in The Blue Mountains of Tamil Nadu.
________________
________________
An Adieu
The twilight tryst:
The separation.
“I must climb alone, dear friend:
Yours is a different path to fly.”
The nervous embrace of new, and separate, adventures:
The wry acceptance of an awkward au revoir.
________________
________________
Picture taken on the seafront, Fort Cochin.
“I guess that’s why they call it the blues..”
Picture taken in Fort Cochin, while experimenting with my camera’s recently downloaded “partial colour” firmware.
________________
________________
(Title borrowed from Elton John)
Punting With Poise
Our lazy afternoon drift along the backwaters showcased various schools of punting:
Power, comedy and effortless grace.
________________
________________
Pictures of Jaimon, Anu and Robin, punting on the Chellanam backwaters, Kerala.
Carnival Crowds
While the New Year’s Eve beach celebrations had been attended, almost only, by men,
our New Year’s Day’s Carnival in Fort Cochin was enjoyed by everyone.
Among those watching this spectacle were Anu, and Shaji & Dalila with their youngest son, Fabian.
________________
A Transition
As an old and weary year makes way for something new, Fort Cochin celebrates on the beach.
Happy crowds assemble.
Police, in high-profile but good humour, watch over events.
Fireworks, friendship, cameras, laughter, singing, and even space-restricted dancing, all play their parts.
The previous year’s “Santa Claus” is set alight:
a custom I have seen nowhere else!
Then, as the final fireworks die, an excited but tired crowd quietly fades,
like ghosts of the recently departed year.
This celebration of memories, hopes and dreams is over.
Happy New Year!
________________
________________
Pictures taken on Fort Cochin Beach at midnight, New Year’s Eve.
A Cruise For Christmas
or
Four Men In A Boat
Christmas Day was spent with friends.
Robin invited Anu and I to join his family’s celebrations.
The fun started immediately:
Robin and his brother, Jolly, took us in one of their fishing canoes through the canals and lakes which back onto the family home.
Beautiful scenery, gentle warm breezes, just a few bottles of cool beer, and a lot of laughter.
All served with the companionship of kind friends.
It’s the perfect recipe for a very happy Christmas.
________________
________________
Pictures taken in Chellanam, on Christmas afternoon.
Looking For An Answer
________________
________________
________________
Pictures of Robin – my kind helper, travel companion and friend – taken in Rumtek Buddhist Monastery, Sikkim.
Care In The Community
________________
________________
Pictures taken in Rumtek Tibetan Buddhist Monastery, Sikkim.
Teatime Treats
Something To Celebrate
________________
Shaji, with Dalila his wife, and Anu the houseboy, take good care of my home,
And of me.
Yesterday, Shaji’s birthday provided an opportunity for us all to celebrate,
And for me to express my gratitude.
Shaji and Dalila have kept me in comfort, and my home in good order, since I bought the house, two and a half years ago.
They respond to my idiosyncrasies, bizarre European ways, and occasional health glitch, with patient kindness.
Happy Birthday Shaji!
And a heart-felt
Thank You.
________________
Final picture shows Shaji, with his wife Dalila, and youngest son Stefan, in their home.
The Journey Is The Destination: Part 12
________________
“But let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.”
Khalil Gibran
________________
Picture taken in Hampi
The Day-Trip
________________
Since January we have had a fairly constant stream of guests staying.
I suspect my regular cast enjoy the excitement. Taking care of “Sir” must, at times, seem relatively humdrum.
They have always been cheerful
But they have worked hard.
________________
Yesterday, as a small token of thanks, I took them away for the day:
A “works-outing” to Nelliampathi.
________________
An SUV was hired to transport us.
We were a party of eight, plus driver:
Shaji, Dalila and their two sons; Anu; Robin and his nephew; and myself.
The destination had been Robin’s idea
And he carried a list of suitable eating places.
Setting out shortly after dawn, we broke our journey for breakfast, then continued until reaching the Pothundi Dam and its gardens.
The day was already quite warm.
We stopped for tender-coconut water before reaching the relative cool of Nelliampathi Hills’ tea plantations.
Here, we took a walk
Before lunch.
Then a stroll through the forest trail and across ancient lava flows brought us to the dam again, this time, thousands of feet beneath us.
Finally, the journey home.
________________
Our driver had been safe and friendly.
The car held its own along the often challenging roads.
The only mishap: a short-lived episode of travel sickness in the youngest member of our party.
By now conversation had quietened, our legs were tired and the children were sleeping.
It was a splendid day, full of laughter and gentle excitement.
Looking back, it seems already a dream…
________________
Sunset Sailings
________________
Farewell To A Queen
________________
I watch and wait.
Watching as the sun slips down
Past the fishing nets
Into gently lapping golden waves.
Waiting for a queen of royal lineage.
The crowd quietens,
Then breaks into cheers.
She has appeared.
The Queen sails majestically out of harbour,
Into sunset.
And with her,
My friends…
________________
_________________
Photographs taken as my friends left Fort Cochin on the Queen Elizabeth yesterday and sailed off into the Arabian Sea.
The Timepiece
Amongst the many gifts I was kindly given this Christmas, one is particularly cherished:
An old pendulum wall clock.
It puts me in mind of the clocks I saw as a boy, in the offices of railway ticket clerks and bank tellers.
A good friend remembered my commenting on such a clock in an old-fashioned Fort Cochin restaurant, as we sat eating Sunday breakfast. He secretly searched Cochin for something similar – but none were to be found. Months later, he came across one for sale in Palakkad and quietly bought it as a surprise for me on Christmas Day .
The clock-face reveals it to be an old “Seth Thomas” timepiece, made in the USA.
Quite how this clock, manufactured in America during the 1930′s or 1940′s, arrived in rural Kerala will probably always be a mystery.
The Seth Thomas company was a well-known clock maker. Their most famous clock is probably this one:
In Grand Central Terminus, New York.
The dimensions of my newly acquired Seth Thomas are more modest.
I realise it is not a priceless antique. But it has simple elegance and character, plus an intriguing provenance.
Serendipitously, Seth and Thomas are names that span four generations in my family. One was my father’s name and is held by my house today.
Add the fact that a dear friend spent so much time and effort to find this clock for me, and it gains value beyond rupees.
Now, when I sit reading and musing, my treasured clock will gently chime the hours past.
________________
“..I may look back on every sorrow past,
And meet life’s peaceful evening with a smile:
As some lone bird, at day’s departing hour,
Sings in the sun beam, of the transient shower..”
William Leslie Bowles
________________
________________
Fun And Games
________________
There are many ways to celebrate this festival.
One of the most touching is when friends, having heard that your plans for a family Christmas collapsed,
Invite you as “Guest of Honour” to share Christmas evening with their family.
________________
________________
Then enchant you with the innocent entertainment of song, dance, party games and laughter,
All served with warm affection.
________________
________________
Aspects Of Love
Fast Food at Café Krishna
It is Sunday.
I have no cook and four mouths to feed for breakfast.
__________
__________
We set out by motorbike
and by auto.
__________
Sri Krishna Café is always busy.
The waiter, despite his unnerving tremor, is friendly and helpful.
We choose
Masala Dosa
And Onion Oothappams.
Then greedily, we all follow our meals with Vada
And, of course, chai (tea).
__________
The food is delicious.
__________
__________
The bill is totalled up:
Four two-course breakfasts have amounted to 130 Rupees (less than £2 or $3)
Money well spent!
__________
__________
In Tandem
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
“In the confusion we stay with each other, happy to be together, speaking without uttering a single word.”
__________
