I never missed any excursion trips during my school days and college life. The memories of these trips still remains fresh in my mind. But, most of the trip locations were to nearby states rather than within Kerala(the state to which, I belong). And I rarely had any vaccation trip with my family(though this is something which I wish to change in future). These may be the reasons why I missed out one of the beautiful tourist spots in Kerala - the Athirapally waterfalls.

Since I had the liberty to plan for Jamie's(my friend from US) vaccation trip, the next spot which came to my mind was Athirapally waterfalls. Anyone wondering about the first spot - please read my previous blog about our visit to Kumarakam:). Some of my collegues from office - Sunil, Khajan and Rahanesh - also joined us for the Athirapally trip.


The first spot to stop by was Kodanad - a beatiful village near Perumbavoor, situated on the banks of Periyar River . Kodanad is famous for the 'Elephant Kraal' and is of the largest elephant training centres in Kerala. We reached there by 8am, which was the correct time for us to reach coz, elephants were taken to the river side for bathing. The visitors get an opportunity to pamper the small elephants.


The 1 year old elephant took the attention of all the tourist and there was a queue for taking snaps with her. I felt so happy to stand near her, but got little tensed when she tried to catch my camera:)). By around 9am, the elephants were moved back to their resting place, while one of them was taken for the elephant ride. All my friends, except myself had an elephant ride. I felt it would be more comfortable to have a ride with my family later some time, or, to be honest, i was afraid to have a ride alone:).


The next destination was Paniyely, a favourite destination for those who cherish nature and peace. Here, we could view the Periyar river flowing out after the journey through the densely forested areas. We had to walk for about 20 minutes to view the Paniyely river. This walk was awsome as it is surrounded by the bamboo groves and majestic ethnic trees. The vistas of the river and the forests and the distant mountains, the cool river breeze and the majestic silence of the environment makes it a favourite destination for nature lovers. Since we visited during the rainy season, the rock surfaces were slippery, which prevented us from having the full view of Periyar river. We relaxed there for some time, this place is really a beauty!

We later proceeded towards the final destination of the day - Athirapally waterfalls. We could hear the roaring sound of water even at the entrance of Athirapally. Athirapally is located at the entrance of Sholayar ranges. The water falls from a height of 80 feet is splashing into the rocks below. The powerful, misty waters falling down with the backdrop of thick green forest and rocky terrain gives a scintillating experience to the visitors. Unfortunately, we couldn't watch the beauty of the waterfall for long, as we were drenched in the monsoon after a few minutes. Though I couldn't enjoy the real beauty of the fall, I decided to visit these places with my family sooner. On the way back to home, I realised why Kerala is mentioned as the 'God's own Country'. I really felt, i am lucky to belong to this beautiful place.

Kumarakam - The Beauty of Kerala

It was my first day after my long leave. My mail box was filled with official mails of which I read only the important mails and left others to read it later. After having a chat with my colleagues in office, i logged on to messenger to see my online friends. I was surprised and happy to see the message of Jamie. Jamie was my colleague in my Orbitz office at Chicago where we were working together for a project.

After a short chat with Jamie, he told that he is in India for an official visit and would like to visit Kerala. I was really happy to hear that coz I never expected that I will be able to see Jamie again. I had one week time to arrange for the trip and my hubby made arrangements for a short trip during the weekend.

As planned, Jamie reached Cochin Airport by 7:30 am. We took him to our home for a small refreshment. He was very curious to see our house and our surroundings. We served him Pathiri and curry; he liked the food very much though i felt, it might have been little spicy food for him. After taking some snaps of our home, we started our journey for the day.


On the way, one of my close friend, Shami joined us for the trip. She was my roomate during my stay in US; very friendly and innocent girl. I should say I am lucky to get good friends in my life.

We first stopped at Fort Kochi to see the Kochi beech. Though it is considered as the major attraction in Kochi; honestly speaking, I didn't like the place as it was very untidy and has very stingy. The only attraction there was that we could see ' Cheena Vala' , the old method of fishing. I felt that Jamie was also not satisfied with the visit to that place.

Anyway, after that we proceeded to the Vasco De Gama Church and the famous churches near by. We had a small visit to the Dutch Museum where we could see the old ornaments, sculptures and painting of the Dutch Palace. Hmm.. I left really tired and hungry after the long walk in the sun for some time. We rushed into a restaurant and had a quick lunch as we were getting late to the trip to Kumarakkam.

It was almost one and a half hour journey to Kumarakam. Jamie was taking snaps of the road sides and the house constructions and even the posters of some of the Ads in the road. He was laughing at the Advertisement saying ‘Learn English’ written in English itself. Shami started sleeping on the way to Kumarakam. One of my friend, Jiji had made all the arrangements for the boat ride which made our boat trip very easy. He was waiting for us when we reached there. Soon, we proceeded towards the Boat Jetty to catch a comfortable boat. I was really excited when I entered the boat. The trip which was in my mind for a long time is about to happen now..


Jamie and myself took the front seat. The boat moved slowly through the neighborhood of the lake. Small houses on the side, kids waiving hands, ladies washing clothes on the lake side – everything gave a very homely feeling to me. Jiji started explaining about the tourist attractions in Kerala and about the house boat. On the way, we saw the expensive hotel set up for the tourists with all the facilities including swimming pools – swimming pools near the lake, just separated by a cement wallJ . Rows and rows of coconut trees bending towards the lake is the real beauty of this place. The violet flowers and the white bird flocks over the lake elevated the beauty of the lake.

The separation from the city traffic with the peaceful atmosphere around made me memorize the beautiful moments in my life. I felt really peaceful and happy within myself. I felt that the beauty of Kumarkam reached the peak when we viewed the sunset. We stopped the boat to see the sunset. Jamie was taking lot of snaps of Kumarakam at sunset. Three hours got over very quick. After having a small refreshment from the nearby restaurant, we started our return journey back to Kochi. To everyone who get a chance to visit Kerala - don't ever miss a trip to Kumarakam - the beauty of Kerala

I'm Back

After a short break I am back to my blogging..Why I took this break? Lack of time + lack of high speed internet service.


Let me introduce to my husband Raju and my daugther - Gowri. My husband is a busy Engineer traveling through out India. Though we get very little days together, we enjoy our life - sharing our thoughts, fighting each other and playing with Gowri.


And my Gowri started talking conveying her thoughts, which is really sweet to hear. But has to say that she is really naughty and will never stop running around. She is a busy kid and ofcourse fashion is her weakness:)

And me - mostly busy with my office activities and home duties. My life is going on with new changes and new adventures, which I really need to write down somehere.. Thats why I am back here;)

Roles in life

My schedule starts by 5am and ends by 10pm, a life completely engaged with family life and work. Sometimes i feel, its hard to find a balance between family life and work. But, i truely enjoy my various roles as mother, wife, daugther, daughter-in-law and technical lead.
Joining the Cochi branch of IBS(my company) was really exciting. Being back with my old friends and getting introduced to the new faces. My project(Orbitz) is having a strength of about 40 members, a team with very active and enthusiatic people. I was alloted to a sub-project(air) of 10 members with more responsibilities. Supervising all the activities in the team, requires me to grasp the business and technical aspects of the team. I was not alloted a day for studying the project, and was directly put into the pool of work.
The work schedule is keeping me engaged the whole day. Sometimes, i have to stay late at office or work at home to complete my pending work. But in between my work, i find time to have a small chat with my friend, Kadeeja. Me and Kadeeja did our Bachelor's degree together and she is one of my good friends. She joined IBS last year when I was abroad and i am soo happy that she is here with me. At times, when things gets crowded, its a relief to speak out and laugh loudly with a true friend. A short break with my friend, after that, again back to my schedules...

Let it glow, let it glow, let it glow

A house of our own was my dream and today I saw my home after the complete work. I dont know how to explain what I felt when I saw it - it was not just the happiness, it was the satisfaction of my dream-come-true. I felt overwhelmed with gratitude for all who made this happen.
We started the house construction on May 2004. It all started with Bhoomi Pooja (prayer for God Earth) and all our prayers. With our loans and our investments, we started thinking about the house plan. Drafted many versions of the plan, and finally got the approved version of the plan.
I remember each stage of my house from the basement to the concrete work, which was done with utmost care. My father devoted his time for managing the workers and co-ordinating these activities and I would say, the full credit for this house construction goes to him. We chose the house name as 'Poornima' which means 'The clear and bright Full Moon', and pray that this house will glow with glory and happiness always :))

Pakal Pooram

Finally, I am back with my family. I wanted to write about my family before, but was waiting to get back to them. I am lucky to be the mother of my lovely daughter-Gowri and to be the partner of my caring husband - Nithin. We are staying with his parents.

I am staying in Cochin(also known as Ernakulam) in the state of Kerala. To mention beriefly about my place - Kerala is one of the most prosperous state of India, in the Southern end of the country. Cochin can be regarded as the commercial and industrial capital of Kerala. Cochin is known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea/the Queen of the Adriatic and also as the Gateway of South India.
The festival season in Kerala has started again. Yesterday i was able to attend the utsavam(festival) - Pakalppooram of the famous Ernakulam Shiva Temple . Over 11 caparisoned elephants were lined up before the temple for Kudamattam(exchange of parasols). After the Pakalppooram, there was a fire works display of 1001 crackers. It was real beautiful display. There was a sequence of programs scheduled after that, for which we were waiting, but Gowri got scared by the massive firework sound and we had to leave as she was crying a lot.

One of my favourite spots in Chicago

If someone ask me about the place which I liked the most in Chicago - i would say its the neighbourhood of the Chicago Bahai temple - a place of natural beauty and peace.

Me and my colleagues visited this place on a fine saturday. The Bahai temple is located in Wilmette, in the northern suburbs of Chicago. It took about half a hour to reach this place from our home. The roads are surrounded by tall trees and shade-loving plants and the place is really calm.

After reaching Wilmette, we had to walk for about 15 minutes to the location. Finally, we got the glimpse of the white building - the Bahai temple. The Bahai temple does have a unique architectural sytle which allows light to stream into the building from every angle. This temple is open for everyone. The factor which attracted me in this temple is the calm atmosphere which allows to spend as much as time to meditate and stay peacefully. The ornamental patterns of the temple is really marvelous. The place reminded me of the Vivekananda temple at KanyaKumari in India. The Bahai temple is surrounded by by fountains and nine formal gardens with wide variety of beautiful flowers. Those violet flowers are still fresh in my memory. From one side of the garden, we could view the beauty of the Chicago River.

We proceeded towards the beach after having some snacks. The beach was really crowded that day. My friends got ready for swimming, well, i tried my virtual swimming along with them:). It was really fun and we spent the evening playing in the beach.

But we had to get back from the beach, as there was a thunderstorm alarm. From the beach, we started roaming around the neighbourhood. There is a golf court nearby and a small lake which elevates the natural beauty of this place. For nature lovers in Chicago, i highly recommend this location.