So it’s another year…somehow the beginning doesn’t seem as exciting as the ending of a year. Every November I start experiencing a year ending high, and when the new year dawns it’s back to normal life, back to routine. Family members who have come from afar go back to their countries, the holidays come to an end, the lights and the tree are taken down and the crib dismantled… after a month of magical excitement I wistfully go about packing everything up. But I am not complaining, this is how it should be, if everyday felt like the holiday season, then there wouldn’t be anything special to look forward to in December.
Anyway, while in college my friend Shilpa used to make a big deal about doing something special to make the end and the beginning of a year memorable. This habit caught on and now I make sure we (me and whoever happens to be at home) do something special to mark the beginning of a new year… a few years back we went to this pristine beach where there were hardly any folks around and then this group of boys showed up dragging a catamaran into the waters all the while screaming happy new year and waving at us, very soon they were one with the waves and you could still see them grinning and waving… they were an infectious bunch of youngsters riding the waves of their expansive blue backyard.
This year since Nam and Jude had come down I wanted to show them this beautiful river nearby…
Scenery along the way…
The river…
We went walking along this path and let the fishes nibble at our feet…
Gushing waters…
Flowing downstream…
We went walking along its banks…
This is a shallow clearing where the waters are calm and pleasant…
This is the banyan tree nearby with its vines extending out over the river…
We swung from vines hanging overhead…
Saw cribs constructed everywhere…
This one was quite elaborate and massive, built in the shape of a boat and Jesus and his parents are placed inside that circular structure…
Scenery on the way back…
A pond on the way…
ok…..where do you actually live? it looks like you live in everyone's dream vacation spot….i mean the kind of pics you post is the ones we normal mortals often see intrepid tourists share on facebook as "pics from my latest exotic vacation" and you casually drop in that its a few meters from your backyard…hmmppphhh….going crazy with envy
Happy new year!
Hi Karen, what beautiful pics you share. Thank you for stopping by and your kind comment. Happy New Year!
Celestina Marie
Good afternoon Karen! How lovely is this getaway so beautifully remembered. May a new year bring you more opportunity to travel and chronicle all of your impressions. Thank you so much for visiting earlier today, and I hope your blogging experiences will always be happy, as mine are! LOVE, Anita
Happy New Year Karen and I enjoyed seeing all your lovely photos.
Thanks for visiting me
hugs
Carolyn
Ganesh, a few minutes from the tip of the Indian peninsular… that's how most of the villages around this area are. I mean, it's so normal here… people don't talk about it, I found out about this river through a friend who lives there. While in college, we had to cross paddy fields like this everyday… I mean the route to college was beautiful, paddy fields and the western ghats looming over them. Never really paid attention back then, cause we saw it everyday… we would bunk classes and hang out at a pond or some stream nearby (no theaters near college). We could see waterfalls at a distance from our classroom windows, monkeys would enter our classroom and fiddle with lunchboxes and ink pens and the professor would try to chase them out… it was fun.
My God!!! Looks like a great place!!!!! I am from Kerala..so all this feels like home!