Pampered Memories

  Te llicherry was a trading hub  for spices in the western coast of India from the time immemorial . Many wars were fought by the Kings and the invaders for control of spice trade  in this area, and in the 17th century British established  their first settlement on the Malabar Coast at Tellicherry . Tellicherry was a land of renaissance and progressive ideas . From there came many revolutionaries who changed society .Tellicherry was  the birthplace of Communist movement in India. It was on the hills of Parapuram at Pinarayi , the communists had their first party congress . There were people who changed the course of the history through their determination  and vision . In the early 20th century ,people like CK Revathi and Kunhi Mayen changed the perception of the people through their actions and thoughts . Their life  story is much a story of the times. CK Revathi was the daughter of Karayi Damayanthi Amma , a lady with progres...

Jambo... Hello!  January 2019   Travelling from Kannur  to Kenya,  the Jomo Kenyatta Airport at Nairobi looks p unsophisticated  . Affrica  in my mind was a hot and humid , surprisingly the weather is fine  at around 25deg max and 15 deg min and we're told it's summer  now.  It's more or less  little like Wynad winter  climate without air conditioners anywhere on..  .  People were friendly and always wish as we pass them, but we were told by our friends there to be careful about the pickpockets and snatchers which were rampant .  Roads are wide and in vehicles seat belts are a must for all passengers .  Honking is akin to insulting and the discipline in driving and overtaking is worth learning  for malayalees .  All women have very fancy hairdo and they smile a lot . Kenyans speak very good English but the accent needs getting used to. Swahili sounds like hindi and is said to have descended from Hindi. ...

49 years routine of accompanying my father to his  ancestral house at Cherukunnu on Eid day had a break this year because of social distancing and stay at home protocols of  covid pandemic . As I lay in bed after a sumptuous eid lunch , a lot of vivid memories about Cherukunnu and its people  came to my mind. The place  has an innocuous charm like the people residing there. Over the years Cherukunnu has transformed from a simple village  to a bustling town with shopping complexes, banks and schools and most notably larger and bigger houses. During our school vacations we used to go to Cherukunnu to stay at the ancestral house situated at the convent road. The convent road with paddy fields on both the sides  terminates at the famous Christian missionary Martin de porous hospital. As a town born confused desi, walking through the  lush green fields all around with paddy cultivation to visit the relatives was a truly enchanting experience for me. Our sum...