Anavandi Trip

I am Writing this enroute to Kochi International Airport. I and my wife are heading to Delhi to meet our old friends. This time we chose to ride the Kerala Government owned Anavandi bus service to the Airport. The Airport is two plus hours ride away from my hometown Pattambi. The bus originates from Perinthalmanna, anther town about 40 Kilometers north of  Pattambi. The pick up at Pattambi was at 5:20AM, so we left home around 4:50AM. Amma (my mother) woke up and prepared black coffee for us. Amma is 87 years old. She maintains her belief that it is inauspicious to leave the home empty stomach , no matter what the time of the day it is. We enjoyed the coffee and after seeking her blessings left the home. 

My home is in Kodumunda under the hills, surrounded by paddy fields , plantations and two temples atop the hills scenic, serene and picturesque which is 6 kilometers west of Pattambi. The commute to Pattambi is 10 minutes under normal traffic but we were cautioned about the railroad crossing and the possible delay. My younger brother dropped us at the bus stop in Pattambi. The bus arrived on time which was a bit of surprise to me as I still carry my 22 year old experience of KSRTC.  It was stated to be a luxury bus with place to keep your luggage etc. but it turned out to be just a low floor air conditioned bus. There was some space on the floor where you can keep your luggage. The luggage space was occupied by the passengers boarded from earlier stops. I moved those luggages and created space for my suite cases. The boarding process was completed after the routine  check by the lady conductor. Our seats were occupied by some unreserved passengers. The conductor instructed them to vacate and we got settled in our reserved seats. During the whole boarding process, the conductor did not welcome the passengers nor smiled. After all, the driver and conductor are Government employees and the SOP does not require them to greet the passengers or smile. After all why should they, all these greetings and smiles etc. are western culture. They are doing their duty in itself is a big obligation.

The bus ride was smooth and on time. Thought of catching up with my lost sleep but could not. The bus was brightly lit with no provisions for dimming. Switching off, the conductor said, is unlawful because there are women copassengers.

With the plan to sleep gutted, I started writing and suddenly my attention caught on Saleem , the passenger in the seat in front of my seat . Saleem is a young man of his late thirties. His face was gloomy and looked tired. I broke the ice and asked about his home and family. Saleem is returning to UAE where he works. His wife, two small kids and his mother lives in Kerala, the neighboring village of mine. Saleem said, he was on a short visit to see his family here in His village. Saleem is in Gulf countries earning and supporting his family back home. He visits his family once every year. Said that he cannot continue in Gulf longer leaving the family behind. Saleem wants to come back once his house under construction is completed. He said the face of children when he was leaving after the vacation tells him enough is enough the life separated from home and family. 

Kerala is full of Saleems. My younger brother did the same for 18 years and my nephew is wearing the same boot. Employment situation here compels young boys and girls to migrate to other parts of India and Gulf countries. People vote for politicians in the hope to see developments and employment opportunities and are disappointed. Parliamentarians and legislators are not shy of washing away entire house sessions. New elections, new promises and new government will come and go but the system will compel more and more Saleems to leave their newly wed spouse, elderly mother and younger children behind in search of livelihood.

American Presidential Election 2016 and the Voters Dilemma

The Presidential primaries and the conventions are over. Unlike in the past, this year two major political parties, especially the Republican Party failed to present a clear choice. The nominees of both parties do not have the leadership that the country is looking for at this critical juncture. The voters are left in a dilemma and compelled to choose between the best out of the worst. Let us analyze some of their distinct personalities, why Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton are the worst Presidential nominees, American voters were presented with in the recent past.

Donald Trump: The Republican Party voters were presented with 17 Presidential hopefuls. The voters choose Donald Trump rejecting the other 16 seasoned professional politicians. Donald Trump secured this victory despite a series of effort by the party establishment to block him. Trump did not offer a manifesto except picking up some sensitive topic like religion based ban on immigration and the often repeated illegal immigrant issue.  Trump did not have a solid economic agenda and a credible foreign policy. His speeches weren't polished, nor were close to diplomatic norms. Trump kept on making crude statements. Trump was ridiculed by the neighboring countries, the national & international press, political pundits all over the world and some of the stalwarts within his own party establishment. Trump continued his rhetoric unmindful of all the ridicule and scoff. Trump gave enough postures which made good caricature of him. The press and TV had a good harvest of titillating news material every day.

The Republican Party did all in its power to block Trump from becoming the nominee of the party. The party engaged the media, fielded a host of seniors, leaders of faith and others to dissuade the voters from choosing Trump. The GOP establishment worried about the candidature of Donald Trump. The party could not make out what Donald Trump stands for. The party could not make out whether Donald Trump is conservative, liberal, both or nothing. If at all Trump stands for something, the party did not know whether his position on those issues will be stable at least until the election in November.

The voters knew that Trump can't deliver what he is promising, be it the ban on religion based immigration, deportation of illegal immigrants or building the replica of Berlin type wall on the border with Mexico. Despite all these, the primary voters continued to rally behind Donald Trump and placed him the front runner of the Republican Party presidential hopeful.  The voters credited him for speaking without political correctness. Donald Trump finally secured the Republican nomination against all the odds.

The GOP worry was genuine and continues to be so. It is the worry of all ordinary Americans. Americans do not see Donald Trump as a credible and reliable person to be entrusted with the World’s most powerful political position, the Presidency of the United States of America. Some even suspect Trump’s understanding of the American Constitution and his ability to make the right decisions when confronted with critical national and international issues.

The Republican Party, however, failed to introspect why and how the party brought itself into this pathetic situation. The party failed to own the responsibility for the situation, instead continued to offer choices which the people already had, but rejected. The party failed to accept that the voters did not vote for Donald Trump for his manifesto or political agenda. The voters did not vote Donald Trump for his personality or leadership style. The voters did not vote Trump for his record as a successful business man. The voters did not vote Trump for his national security stand. The voters did not vote Trump for his family values. The voters did not vote Trump for any conservative values. On the other hand, the voters preferred Donald Trump over the rest of the 16 Republican hopeful as Trump was the only person in that lot who was not a practicing professional politician, the lot they think betrayed their trust over the years.

Why do the people choose someone who has no record of Public Service, never been part of the administration, never served in the military nor was a law maker? The answer is simple. The American people are fed up with the politicking and logjam in Washington. The American people are frustrated with the partisan politics in the Congress and between the Congress and the White House.  The American people are fed up with the repeated threat of Government shutdown every now and then. The American people are fed up with the Gun violence targeting innocent school children and law abiding ordinary citizens and the Congress and President doing nothing to stop it. The American people are fed up with the increasing divide on race and religion and the crimes associated with it. The American people are fed up with young boys and girls crowd prisons when they should be in schools. The American people are fed up with the excesses by law enforcing agencies and the retaliation thereof. The American people are fed up wasting its tax-payer money fighting insensible wars abroad, destruction of humanity and then spending their money for the reconstruction of the devastation caused by the war in which they see no improvement to their life. The American people are not willing to accept that America follow the world, instead want it to lead from the front. The American middle class is concerned about the lowering wages. The American people therefore are frustrated, if not hate, with professional politicians. The voter sees all politicians insensitive, unmindful and incapable of addressing their concerns and live up to their hope and aspirations. The voters see the politicians as a bunch of self-serving individuals, no matter which party they belong to. 

Hilary Clinton: Hilary Clinton comes with her own baggage. The Democratic Party voters had already rejected Hillary’s ideas in 2008. In 2008, Hillary's ideas were considered second to that of Obama. The party choose Obama over Hillary in 2008 because Obama had a much more progressive agenda and enthused a large number of young and independent voters. Hillary Clinton continues to stand for the same what she stood for in 2008 and offers the same ideas. This means two things for the voters:

1.    The Democratic Party has nothing better or new to offer than the second choice which they had eight years ago.

2.    Obama failed to deliver what he promised and Democratic party did not choose the right candidate in 2008.

It will be suicidal for the Democratic Party to accept either position. Instead, the party is painstakingly explaining that Hillary will be a continuation of Obama’s eight years in power. The voters are aware that both the above are true. Neither Obama delivered what he promised nor the Democratic party has anything new to offer. Hillary’s refurbished image is not able to enthuse the voters. This was clearly evident from the support that her primary opponent, Bernie Sanders was receiving. Hillary is unlikely to draw large number independent and young voters towards her despite the effort by Bernie Sanders to project a united Democratic Party. Moreover, it is a conversation in every American household that Hillary is very low on trust factor, which was one of the major reason she was rejected in 2008 by the people. On top of all this, the e-mail controversy and the Clinton foundation is definitely going to be used against her by the Republicans. People do feel that the verdict on this would have been different if it was not the Clintons.

With all the negatives, there are two major items helping Hillary Clinton:

1.    The History that she may make by being the first Women President

2.    The extreme unpredictability of her opponent Donald Trump

Let us examine each of these one-by-one and see whether it will make any positive impact in the American People’s life:

Women President: Hillary Clinton is not one of the most respected women among American Women. A significant section of American women, especially the conservative women, considers Hillary as an opportunist, a power hungry, self-serving politician. Hillary, they think can compromise on any values when she finds it disadvantageous for her personal agenda. With all this, Hillary may get a few additional women votes more because some voters may not want to lose an opportunity for a Women President, which America was waiting for long. The voters like creating history. America made history in 2008 by electing a black President. But will creating history alone enough for a country as important as America in the world. The question also remains, did it the History created in 2008 anyway change the life of ordinary Americans? Similarly, will a Women President make any significant changes in the life of Women? There is no record of a Women President or Prime Minister improved the conditions of Women in the countries where women had the opportunity to lead for decades, India, Sri Lanka, Great Britain to name a few. But it is definitely an emotional issue with some Women and will work in Hillary’s favor.

Donald Trump the opponent: The significant item favoring Hillary as of today is her opponent. Trump is doing more damage to himself than to his opponent and indirectly benefitting Hillary Clinton. The GOP is further aiding in this mess by working against their own chosen Presidential Candidate.

When comes to the Interest of America, both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are far below the stature of the American President that the people of USA would like to see in their leader. The Democratic camp is euphoric on the recent surge in poll numbers. These poll numbers suspicious and appears to be tactically driven by vested interests to be able to bargain with Trump and bring him to sing the conventional tune of the party line. Trump on the other hand knows very well that the moment he starts speaking the party line, his core support base will erode further. Trump is therefore trying his level best to be the original himself, speaking the voice of the sections who have been betrayed by professional politicians over the years and the one speaking without political correctness. After all, why should Donald Trump change his style? To benefit those party politicians who worked closed doors to deny him the nomination? His trusted advisers must be telling him that he should not change and stay the real Donald Trump. The establishment Republicans ultimately will have no option but to come in line with Donald Trump and support him. The alternative of supporting or voting for Hillary will be suicidal for the Republicans as this may even lead to a loss of majority in House and Senate at the same time. Many republicans seeking reelection is fearing that the continued standoff between the party and the top ticket (Presidential Nominee), will be counterproductive. Republicans therefore has no option but support Donald Trump at the end. This realization is likely to close the gap in polls between Trump and Hillary over the months to come.

So the common question everyone ask is whether Donald Trump is the answer. Will Trump be different from the professional self-serving politicians? The voters are still unclear of that answer. What the voters know and decided is that they want to punish the professional politicians for the years of breach of trust. A vote in the primary therefore was a punitive vote, neither in favor of Trump nor a vote for change. The voters clearly know that Trump is incapable of leading the change they want. Trump is strengthening the voters point of view with all his ill-advised choices and sound bites. Trumps family members are further providing fodder to that belief by their over enthusiastic interference. The entire convention was a family drama with no policy statement nor any statesman like speech. The subsequent Trump events also added fuel to the fire. Though, a large number of people will still vote for Donald Trump, a good number of them are still evaluating the risk of a Trump Presidency.  It appears to be advantage Hillary Clinton at this time. The dilemma of the voter continues at the moment. 

Second term for Modi

UPA II win was completely because of the BJP overstatement of the "weak PM" reference to Dr Manmohan Singh. The more than required repetition of this phrase by LKA forced Sonia Gandhi to openly endorse Dr. Manmohan Singh's continuance as PM if UPA wins. This scuttled Sonia's strategy to insert RG post election.  Had LKA focussed on the misgovernance of UPA and achievements of NDA rather than the weakness of Dr Manmohan Singh, the results would have been in BJPs favor. Whatever said and done Dr. Manmohan Singh's image of an honest and well read individual still resonated with some voters. The other factor went against LKA was his own manipulative politics within BJP when Atalji was in power. LKAs shift from a hardcore Sang Parivar flag bearer to a Secular image through his comment on Jinnah also demotivated the grassroot workers.

Modi's task in 2019 will be tougher than 2014. If in 2014, Modi had the baggage of 2002 and a lack of national experience, 2019 will be completely on his promised delivery of 60 years worth development in 60 months. I was talking to a friend recently returned from a vacation to India. Though there is talk about so many things, things haven't started touching the ordinary people's life. Corruption at local level is still the same,  price of essential commodities is a matter of concern. Employment generation to the youth is still to be happening. The Go Slow approach on black money and action against corrupt politicians and officials of previous regime is being seen as a suspect of Modi Governments intentions in these areas. Legislation on black money and benami laws are significantly diluted with too many exemptions. On top of this, the survival instinct will unite the opposition parties. The only way Modi can win 2019 is going rural and substantially increasing the BJP vote share. Ignore the netas, get close to the people, touch the ordinary people's life then people will remember in the polling booth

Cooking Sambaar

Sambaar

Ingredients

Set1 Daal

Set2 - white melon (Kumbalangha), pumpkin (Mathangha), Green Beans, carrot, Green Plantain with skin (Nendhrkaya), Green chilli. Drumstick(Murinjhakaya - optional).

Set3 - Tomato

Set4 - Okra (Vendaka), Onion (Savala).

Spices1 - Red Chillies (Chuvanna mulaku), Corriander seeds (Malli), Fenugreek (Uluva), 

Spices2 - Asafoetida cake  (Kayam).

Others1 - Coconut flakes

Others2 -Turmeric Powder (Manjal podi), Salt.

Others3 - Tamrind juice

Preparation - 

Take a pan and fry spices2 until it becomes crispy. Add spices1 and roast it until golden brown. Grind spices1 and spices2 in a mixer to a fine paste.

Take Others1 and roast golden brown. Grind in a mixer and keep separate.

Cook Set1 ingredient to medium level. The water and daal should stay separate, should not become a paste. Cut Set2 ingredients in even sized pieces and add to the half cooked Set1. Add Others2.  Cook but ensure the vegetable pieces do not become a paste. 

In a pan, add a little of your favorite cooking oil and saute the set4 ingredients. Add Set3 and Set4 to the cooked set 1 and Set2 and continue to cook. When all the above are well coked, add Others3 and allow to boil well.

Add Spices1 and Spices2 paste and allow to boil again. Then add Others1 and allow foam to generate, do not boil.

Fry mustard seeds, curry leaves and red Chillies in one spoon oil and garnish. Your Sambaar is ready to serve with Idly, Dosa, Vada or boiled rice.

Sabarimala and Menstruating Women Pilgrims

The controversy over religious beliefs and traditions is not new in the modern society and India and Sabarimala temple is not an exception. The proponents of the tradition will contend that faith is unquestionable and may even go to the extent of questioning the locus standi of those challenging the tradition. The opponents of the tradition on the other hand will rely on the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution. The strategy adopted by the Courts in crucial matters like faith and religion is to either prolong the cases and give it a natural death or take a status quoits approach mostly driven by the perceived desire to maintain law and order and social harmony. A glaring example of this is the Ram Janmabhoomi case. If it is a legal, civil or criminal matter, there is no justification for the case to be pending over half a century. Therefore, somewhere there is an inherent dilemma for the presiding judges when an issue relating to faith and tradition is brought before his/her bench for adjudication.

Coming to the subject, should Women in the menstruating age group be allowed entry in the Sabarimala temple, broadly there are six questions that needs to be addressed.

1. Will permitting women pilgrims in their menstruating age go against the basic tenets of the prathishta of the presiding deity Lord Ayyappa in Sabarimala, which is Bramacharya?

2.  Will female pilgrims breach the "Bramacharya" of the accompanying male pilgrims?

3. Will allowing pilgrims of both sexes in all ages lose the sanctity of pilgrimage to Sabarimala as a pious religious tradition of which the foundation is Bramacharya or will it get converted into a hiking or picnic trip?

4.  Is it the notion that the trekking through the difficult mountains and terrains to reach Sabarimala is difficult to women the reason for the restriction?

5.  Is safety and security of Women the reason why women were not traditionally venturing in the Sabarimala pilgrimage?

6. Is the notion that women during menstruation are impure and cannot complete the mandatory vratham (fast) as the menstruation cycle is shorter than the 41 days Mandala Vratham prescribed and observing fast and conducting rituals are not practiced during menstruation period?

Let us examine all of them one by one:

1.      The Prathishta of Lord Ayyappa is of a Bhramachari. Ayyappan wants to remain a Bhramachari that is why Ayyappan is said to have set a difficult condition on the proposal of marriage with Malikappuram, the lady Deity (bride in waiting) in Sabarimala. The condition believed to have set is that Ayyappan will stop the observance of Bramacharya the day a new pilgrim (Kanniswamy) stop coming to Sabarimala and marry Malikappuram. The pilgrims offer darshan and pooja to Malikappuram on their trip. The presence of Malikappuram is therefore not a distraction to the Bhramachari status of the Lord. Nor does Lord Ayyappan restrain his devotees paying darshan to Malikappuram. Therefore, there appears to be no restrictions to the presence of women at Sabarimala in concept.

2.       This if true is not the problem of women pilgrims. If the fear is of that men breaching their Bhramacharya because of the mere presence of women pilgrims around, I would say that those men are unfit to pass the Bhramachari test and are the candidates qualifying the ban. It is unfair to ban the women pilgrims because of the men who cannot control themselves. 

3.       Yes, this is a potential consequence. We have seen this happening in many other places of worship as well. But this is not a men and women issue. It is degeneration of societal norms. The answer to this is the true belief and strict observance of Bhramacharya. Bhramacharya need not be a male specific phenomenon. The women pilgrims must also observe Bhramacharya in line with the tradition of Sabarimala pilgrimage. You can call them Bhramachari or Bhramacharini, whatever way you like. Moreover, it is a known fact that women observes the norms of the fast stricter than men.

4.       This could be argued as a reason in the past. The trekking from Erumeli through Karimala, Neelimala all the way to Ponnambalam is indeed hard. Is it still the same way? The Erumeli route is much improved. There are several other routes to reach Sabarimala now. Transportation has improved. The threat of wild animals is substantially low in these days. Above all, women have conquered more difficult terrains and is no more considered less competent and courageous as compared to men.

5.       Safety of women pilgrims is an issue. It is currently an issue for the child, women over 50 ages and the older pilgrims as well. I and my son was caught in a stampede in the Marakkootam area in 2007 Mandalavilakku time, which was life threatening. My brother-in-law lost his “Irumudi kettu” and several of our group members got separated. The sea of humanity that flow to Sabarimala during the Mandala Vilakku and Makara Vilakku is difficult to manage with the available infrastructure. The policemen managing the crowd are not adequately trained to manage huge crowds like this. Women pilgrims in the contentious age group can be highly vulnerable in this atmosphere. With all the crimes that is committed against women, the criminals in the garb of pilgrims can exploit the situation and can cause a major law and order problem. The question, however is whether ban on women pilgrims of a particular age group is the answer? I think the right answer to this is to build infrastructure to support the needs of the pilgrims.

6.       There are two aspects in this, the length of the fasting period and the auspiciousness of doing rituals when menstruating. Let us discuss each of them separately.

·         The Mandala Vratham is prescribed to be of 41 days or more. The pilgrims used to follow this in the past. Does all pilgrims observe 41 days of fast now? The answer is that there were aberration to the duration of fasting period recently. There are pilgrims I know who do not observe the mandatory 41 day fast and still get to go to Sabarimala. If some pilgrims can go with less days of fast, it is not a big deal if the fast observance period is adjusted to fit the menstruation cycle. 

·         The purity is an issue of faith and I will leave it to those who are authority on religious rituals and tradition to make the call. When I talk about the authority, it is not men alone but include religious scholars, repeat "religious scholars" of the affected group, in this case the women.  It is a tradition followed by the women not to participate in religious rituals during the menstruation period. I have seen this practiced by my mother and sisters in my house, the women in the villages, towns, Cities across India and Indians abroad. Some say it a prohibition but it is in reality a practice observed voluntarily by the women. I can say this as voluntary practice for all the women I came into contact. I have not seen any male members putting any kind of pressure in this regard. 

In conclusion, the society should discontinue on imposing ban in the name of tradition. Nor should we allow forces who have no direct interest or intention in the observance of the faith and tradition to create divisions in the community. We will be better served if we leave such matters to the affected segment of the society and allow them to reform their practices as required by the time. 

Odds in odd even policy

Indian TV channels are completely occupied by the cloud burst announcement of Kejriwal led Delhi government on combating pollution. A dictat is issued, the citizen can take their cars only on the government approved dates. The dictat is baptized as the "Odd-Even" Delhi driving policy by the media. The publicity hungry Chief Minister is delighted with the kind of media coverage he is getting. Arvind Kejriwal himself and his party men are hopping TV studios claiming the thought leadership that they have offered in solving the health concerns of Delhites because of pollution. For the media, it is a gift by  Kejriwal  as they were struggling to glue the sensation seeking viewers after the dismal failure of the Intollerance news bite.  The permanent panel members, most of them pretend to be experts in everything under the sky are also busy peeling the beans.

The question which in the public mind and not debated is the root cause for Pollution in Delhi and who is perpetuating it. Is cars, which will be the subject of the odd-even dictat the problem? Is trucks coming to Delhi the problem? Is auto rickshaws that run with petrol adulterated with kerosene the problem? Is burning of waste the problem? Is the thermal power plants emitting smoke the problem? No, none of these are the root cause for Delhi's pollution. Most middle class car owners do not drive their vehicles to office everyday. They either take public or chartered buses or train. Then what is the real root cause for Delhi's pollution?

The first real problem for Delhi's pollution is population. Delhi population is growing uncontrollably. Delhi's environment balance is abused by the growing population beyond repair. Why is the population in Delhi growing beyond the normal limit? Here comes the second real problem, faulty government policy. The over centralization of power with the central government post independence and the need to lobby with government machinery to get anything done forced people and business to locate in and around Delhi. Most businesses established their offices in Delhi. Politicians once elected to parliament never returned to their constituency after their term. Income of people in Delhi increased which generated job for skilled and unskilled labor. This labor came from far off places and established temporary settlements. Construction activity increased and more concrete structures replaced the green belt. Real estate boomed. Black money thrived. Purchasing power increased which added more automobiles on the roads. Sale of automobile was promoted without even considering parking places, not to speak of good roads. All these happened under the watch of the same politicians.

In the given circumstances, will restricting vehicles on the road any solution? No, the policy announced by Kejriwal government is fundamentally flawed. People are going to feel this as an infringement on their movement and will find ways to circumvent it. New agencies will mushroom who will facilitate violation of the restrictions with immunity like any other license raj. So what can help any city, Delhi in particular, from challenges like growing populations and resulting issues like pollution? The politicians and policy planners must be visionary and think ahead. Here are some suggestions:

1. Decentralize the government. Keep only skeletal staff of  critical ministries in Delhi. Move others to smaller cities across the country. This will generate employment across the country and less incentive for job seekers coming to Delhi and big cities. This will also automatically reduce incentive for businesses to locate in Delhi. Moving to smaller cities will be less expensive and save lot of money.
2. Ensure politicians who are not current members of parliament return to their constituencies and encourage them to be with the people they represent.
3. Make owing personal vehicles more expensive by mandating private parking space for every vehicle owned.
4. Make vehicle owners to pay for parking. Introduce metered parking spots on road side.
5. Remove subsidy on kerosine to avoid adulteration of petrol
6. Remove subsidy on diesel.
7. Improve public transportation

Mohan

Hot White Sand

Born in a farmers family in a remote village, land and nature was our sole means of livelihood. The farmers in the village relied mostly on paddy farming. The main source of irrigation was wells and the beautiful river Nila, also known as 'Bharatha puza'. To me Nila is much more memorable because as a teen I crossed this river by walk at least once every month on my routine visit to my mother's home. The distance between my father's home village and mother's home village is approximately six kilometers. It is a good walk from under the foothills of the small mountains in Kodumunda(my father's village) through the relatively less mountaneous Mezhathur(my mother's village). In between the two village flows the beautiful river Nila. Nila is beautiful because of the lush green little mountains all through its course. Nila is beautiful because of the crystal clean water that flow all the way to the Arabian Sea.  Nila was beautiful because of the fertile paddy fields on its both banks. The paddy fields in Akkara had the benefit of canal water and some farmers grew three crops in a year. The golden colored paddy, almost ready to harvest, is a scenery that never fades from my memory. Nila was beautiful because of its white sand. Nila attains unique beauty by the time it reaches our village. It gets wider than any of its course in east or west of us. I would think it is almost a mile wider. During monsoon, it's like an ocean, one can hardly see the other bank(called akkara in local dialect). During summer, the flow will be reduced to a thin stream, mostly in the middle. However, there were years, the river shifts side. The rest on both sides will be full of white sand. I have never seen such a wide and clean sandy river beach anywhere else. 

The nearest bridge used to be six kilometers away and distance to my maternal village by bus is 13 kilometers.  Also there wasn't enough bus service in this route in those days. Therefore, most often villagers crossed the river by foot or boat.  During summer the water level will be low and one can cross the river by walk. All other times, we crossed the river by boat. The place where we board the boat is called Kadavu, a local name for the boat jetty. There was only one country snake boat at service and one boatman in all the seasons. The boatman used to be very friendly to the passengers and very honest. I don't remember his name, I only know that he was a Muslim from a nearby village. Getting seated on the edges of the boat is a boon as one can play with the river water. Looking back, I wonder how unsafe were those boat rides when the river used to be full and strong in current. However, I have never heard of a boat mishap in our village. The boat only operates between sunrise and sunset. The fare used to be ten paise and return on the same day was free. I vaguely remember the fare going up double during monsoon, genuinely because of the effort for the boatman is much more. I remember so many trips we rushed back on same day to get the free return boat ride.

Journey during summer used to be more thrilling for children. The bare foot walk in the mile long stretch of sand and the opportunity to play with sand was a lot of fun. Swimming in the clean water with light current and watching the small fishes used to be a bonus attraction. Summer walk, however, posed another challenge. One has to plan the trip either early in the morning or late evenings otherwise the sand gets very hot in the sun. You can't use slippers, sandle or shoes on dry sand. If for any reason you get late, it will be a nightmare reaching the other side. 

I left my home village 39 years ago but returned at least once almost every year. A visit to Nila, Bharatha puzha is how it is known mostly, and a bath in it used to be one item in our itinerary even in the shortest of trips. It reminded me of the daily bath before sunrise and at sunset during the Mandalam (Sabarimala pilgrimage) season, the trip to my Dad's Guru's Ashram, the bathe to clean the mud on us and our Bulls after ploughing the wet paddy fields in the sowing season, the summer trips to bathe our cattle when the nearby village ponds dry down, watching the elephant taking the bathe and the memorable trips to my maternal home. 

The Nila I discussed is not there anymore. There are no more sand in the river bed. White sand is replaced by slit and wild grass. The grass and bushes are infested by snakes and makes it unsafe to walk.  The golden paddy fields are replaced by big concrete mansions.  No one crosses the river any more.  The boat and the boatman is gone.  There are more roads and public transport which made the commute easy and faster. There is development and urbanization. The overflowing beauty of Nila is shrunk and now lives in the memories of a few.