“I want to roam and wander. I want to go to Orissa from here and then I will go to Kerala. The moment I finish learning Gujarati here, I would want to learn another language. That’s what I want to do with my career.” I rambled on the phone as I spoke to my friend and mentor Radzee.

Jude my room partner heard this and jumped out of his bed. “Whoa! So I will have the room all to myself?” Jude was excited beyond words and his glee made me grimace with irritation. I knew he didn’t mean it.

As we entered the canteen, Shyamal our colleague came panting like a dog totally out of breath. “Guess what Rohit? Guess where we have landed our internship?” I told him to take a deep breath or two and then asked him to repeat what he said. I could hardly understand what he said.

“Arrey Rohit Bhai, we are going to God’s own country! Kerala!” yelled Shyamal. I just stood there dumbfounded and looked at Jude. Jude pranced about “Yippee! My room to myself! ”

We were posted at Kasargod, a small town in Kerala. We had wanted Kochi, but Kasargod also had its share of natural surroundings. Our project needed just that.

We had been given a month to plan our trip and schedule for the two month internship. So after a month we found ourselves in the train on our way to Kasargod, Kerala. One thing about travelling from Ahmedabad to Kerala is the difference in landscape. As we traverse the dry arid zone of the Gujarat region, we see how the country varies in land terrains from state to state. The difference of the landscape was noticeable as I took the photos of the scenery outside. As Kerala approached, the whole frame started changing. Slowly the deciduous forests got replaced by lovely tall coconut trees and the swaying leaves of the palm trees in the background added to the beauty. AS we entered Kasargod, the scenery was doubled with the blue sky lapping up the backwaters of the entire region. We had landed at the Kasargod Backwaters.

We were housed at our office guest house which was situated in the northernmost district of Kerala; Kasargod Backwaters is a small region of beautiful landscape and vegetation. The Arabian Sea lies to its west and the Western Ghats to the north and the east. This is a pleasure zone. But we had come on work, and I told you, I wanted to mix business with pleasure. So when Shyamal and I stepped out of the train, the whiff of fresh air just set the mood to enjoy the place and work as well.

The atmosphere had the pleasant perfume of sandalwood maybe due to the fact that all people in Kerala apply it on the forehead. We took a rickshaw to the guesthouse and were pleasantly surprised to see the driver talking to us in English. Yes, Kerala is a 100% literate state and they speak only Malayalam. If you don’t speak their language they try English. But Hindi is not something they are comfortable with.

After settling down in our rooms, I missed Jude. He would have messed up the whole place by now. Shyamal and I decided to rest for the day and then decide what to do the following morning. The next morning saw us up very early as we had slept early the previous night. We asked the manager of the guest house about the tours available in the place. He introduced us to a tour guide who agreed to show the place around.

We had breakfast and then booked for a houseboat tour. As we walked around to board the houseboat, we saw the beautiful paradise that Kerala is. With the greenery forming the background, the hot sun didn’t seem to bother us as the atmosphere was so pleasant and the surroundings so much like a backdrop for a canvas painting. There is something about Kerala that is mystical and this is why it is god’s own country. We first went to Chandragiri, which is supposed to be a popular and famous tourist spot. Located around 4 kms from the Kasargod Backwaters, the fort here has been built in the 17th century. As we went around, the ambience was so bewitching that I wished the video camera came alive. The experience was so idyllic. There were these knot boats called the kettuvallam, which were unique and a different experience altogether. The boats are held together with coir. There were tourists who were going on vintage boats, and they were really enjoying. The crystal blue waters of the sea shone in the sunlight and we were enjoying the ride.

As we reached the Chandaragiri Fort, the view of the river was enthralling. The tall coconut groves along with the Arabian Sea in the background were a perfect setting for us to enjoy our tour. The River Chandragiri flowing by its side enhanced the ruins of the huge fort belonging to the 17th century. There were students who had come from the archaeological stream as this fort provided them a lot to know about the archaeological value of this place.

“I should tell Aniruddh to come here. He is a history student.” I said with a lot of conviction about this place.

We were quite taken in by this fort and the idyllic surroundings mesmerized us. The dense vegetation and the absolute clear atmosphere calmed or tired nerves. We went to Valiyaparamba next. An extremely exotic place, this place as we approached seemed to welcome us with a lot of warmth. The delights of the scenes around were so beautiful that it remained in our memories forever.

If you ever want to experience the exotic, then these boat rides on Kasargod backwaters are the best way to do it. These houseboats are so famous worldwide due to their unique construction of not having a single nail in the entire boat.

“Sir, you can get yourself a houseboat. It will have all the facilities of a modern hotel. It would have modern toilets, and the rooms are so cozy. The balconies offer the best views and the whole area looked like a paradise on earth.

“It really looks like God is sheltering this place,” I said clicking away to glory. “Look at how the sea is gurgling by”.

With lovely sights that we saw and beauty at its best we just were completely taken in by the entire scenic splendor of the place. We came back to the guest house and went around Kasargod, the lovely little town in God’s own country.

The next morning we went to Valiyaparamba. The entire place looked like a beautiful paradise. All the bounty of nature was stored here. The Valiyaparamba backwater harbor has an island and is drained by many rivers. This picturesque backwater ambience fed by four rivers brought about these small islands here. The boat cruise was so memorable that even now when I am writing about it, I can find myself moving through the clear waters. This seemed to be a very popular tourist spot as there were many like us who had come here.

After this exhilarating experience we went to the Bekal Fort. With its historical background and magnificent construction this fort enthralled us and we were quite struck by the Bekal beach. The golden sands of the beach beckoned us to spend more time there.

A hangover of the Bekal beach existed as we edged towards the Pallikere Beach which was another lovely backwater spot to visit. The same was the case when we reached the Kappil Beach. This is one of the most familiar beaches around. Here life seemed to come to a stop to enjoy the beauty around. This seemed to be a major picnic spot as there were picnickers around. We sat on the beach waters and waited for the waves to lash at us. We made friends in the beach as we were seated and just loved getting drenched there. The hectic climb up Bekal fort had tired us and this beach just gave the right need to relax. So the drive of 6 km from Bekal fort was worth it. It was 25 acres of ecstatic fantasy here.

We then went to the Kodi cliff which gave a terrific view of the Arabian Sea. The adventurous climb up the cliff was beautiful and we couldn’t just digest how a place could be so beautiful.

As we looked at the pictures we had taken, the Kasargod Backwaters seemed to be like slice out of fantasy. The flora and fauna that had been captured on camera were like a dream paradise.

Parting Thought: The Kasargod Backwaters – An incentive to work.

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