“Ecstasy is inland soul going to beach” is what Emily
Dickenson said, this blogger would add “ecstasy is cycling along the beach in
the monsoons!!”…O the feel of rain drenching the body, and soul. . It’s heaven.
Nothing can top it. It is one of the precious experiences in life.
I would like to thank Els here for wonderful inspiration on
cycling. She and her gang cycle across Europe regularly.
She was kind enough to mail me valuable inputs on cycling. You may visit her at http://bikesandbees.blogspot.in/. Thanks
to her I am going pro!!!
...and so we gathered at Cherai beach on the afternoon of June 5th, as part of World Environment Day, the event arranged by CMFRI and WWF (of course Mahindra Holidays). There were about hundred odd
people. We were given free umbrellas, and were asked to keep it open
and gather around an Octopus that was made from plastic waste. After some brief
speeches and oath 
taking on protection of environment (some celebrities were
present) i was introduced. I gave a brief speech, though i wanted speak in
Malayalam but as is the case when things get too formal i tend to forget
Malayalam and shift to English. I hated speaking in English, regretted it,
maybe i should have practised. Very soon i was flagged off by Director of WWF
Renjan Mathew. It was largely symbolic because i wasn’t cycling that afternoon,
i had postponed it to early morning next day. I asked Mathew whether i should
come back after taking a symbolic round. He said firmly “don’t come back. You
have left!!”. Symbolism had a rather brief and deft end.
Dr.K.M. Santhakumari is the
Principal, an affable person she has a ready smile. She took some time to
understand my intention, once she got the full significance she was went out of
the way to arrange things. Father Varghese, who dropped in mentioned about
vegetable garden and so on. A hall was arranged there were some 70 odd students
mostly girls. I presented the PPT provided to me by the WWF, and interjected
often to make it interesting. Quiz on environment was conducted and pens were
distributed to everyone who gave right answer. Overall it went on well. The
only hitch is i need to make myself comfortable in Malayalam. Malayalam has
always been too personal a language to me that i found awkward using in formal
situation.
Next
day morning i had an appointment at TB Sahib School Edakazhiyur that is about
7km from Guruvayur on the way to Ponnani. I was given a grand reception with
school children lining up with bouquet, some escorted me on their cycle into
the school premise. There was brief introductory speech by the Principal Ms
Raina Kochunni. Mr James NJ is the teach
er who is actively involved in
environment issues. The school has done tremendously well on this front. It was
heartening experience. I am so very honoured to be in this school. They have
done extremely well. There have formed Habitat
Haritha Sena, they have involved themselves in Olive Ridley Turtle
conservation, mangrove regeneration, tree plantation and so on. I met
the
manager Mr Siddique. Later I conducted quiz on environment and
distributed pen
as appreciation. I was asked to plant a guava tree in the premise. The
management promised to have regular meetings of nature club. I
suggested that students should be involved
in documentation of species in the school premise and surrounding as
part of
awareness creation
At Cherai beach
(This is a personal blog, all
comments are for my own pleasure and that of the readers. I will be writing all
that i fancy. Since the cycling trip is official i will be presenting an
official report devoid of anything personal, once it is over...thank you) ...and so we gathered at Cherai beach on the afternoon of June 5th, as part of World Environment Day, the event arranged by CMFRI and WWF (of course Mahindra Holidays). There were about hundred odd
people. We were given free umbrellas, and were asked to keep it open
and gather around an Octopus that was made from plastic waste. After some brief
speeches and oath 
taking on protection of environment (some celebrities were
present) i was introduced. I gave a brief speech, though i wanted speak in
Malayalam but as is the case when things get too formal i tend to forget
Malayalam and shift to English. I hated speaking in English, regretted it,
maybe i should have practised. Very soon i was flagged off by Director of WWF
Renjan Mathew. It was largely symbolic because i wasn’t cycling that afternoon,
i had postponed it to early morning next day. I asked Mathew whether i should
come back after taking a symbolic round. He said firmly “don’t come back. You
have left!!”. Symbolism had a rather brief and deft end.
Next morning by sharp 5.30 I was ready.
I shifted to beach route and was cruising parallel to the sea. Ah the ecstasy
of it. The morning monsoon breeze had a nip in it that stabbed deep in. The
ocean roared in a primal anger and thrashed its fury on to the beach. It was
the monsoon sea that frothed its white and lashed out at anyone who questioned
her primacy. She was as fierce as death could be. Mother Nature in its grandeur
was a terrifying reality. Any transgression was dealt with destruction, indeed
it was reported in the media the next day. We are so insignificant here, indeed
humans don’t count. The humbling realisation was accentuated by the sheer beauty
of it that was intoxicating. Common grass yellow butterflies flit around my
cycle wheel in gay abandon, coaculs calls reverberated from the nearby bush and
the coconut fronds jingled in the wind. The sky turned grey to black and exploded,
it poured as never before. It’s my conception of heaven, and i am right in
it.
Did you know that ancient Greeks referred
butterflies as Psyche that is “human soul”? Butterflies are little souls that
roam the earth, and i absolutely agree with that. Elderly Christian ladies are
charming to look at. The subtle cream colour embroidered shawl on starch white
sari gives them an alluring dignity. They look at you with so much contentment
that ‘peace be with you’ needn’t be spoken, it spreads. From Munambum i took a
ferry to Azhikod. Rehman a fisherman was my company. He gave me route details
that came quite handy. Apparently further down there was block on the road (at
Nattika), so i may have to shift to highway. Azhikod to Palapety beach was a quaint
path, there weren’t many vehicle (except occasional bike or so) on
the route for about 30 odd Km. The charm of it. From Triprayar I took a wrong
turn and was heading to Thrissur wherein i was supposed to be going Chavakad. Very
soon i found myself in Mullaserry. I was stopped by a man, he insisted that he
wanted to speak to me. I seemed to have no choice. He turned out to be a nice
fellow named Hassan, and he congratulated me on my effort, “we need motivated people like
you” he said. But i need to disagree
with him here. There is a construct (that surely has a market driven context)
that insists on human need to be ‘motivated’ ‘goal oriented’...so on. It’s been
spread with much viciousness, coated as it is in motivational talks (Abdul
Kalam is one of them...whom lots of youngsters find inspiration in). They make
market friendly robots out of otherwise humans with immense possibilities. They
shut down the world and make individuals incapable of seeing holistic nature of
life. They narrow and mutilate...
Let those who read this blog know that i am
never motivated (not that it matters but i have my say) and i really never had any goals. And i surely exist, and exist
in all its charm. We need to have a paradigm change and entirely fresh perspective.
Career is only qualitative addition to life; it should not be defining point that
takes away the beauty of experience. And
i insist on younger generation to reject this nonsense. Never ever have any
goals. Life is not a goal. There is no goal in life. Observe, watch,
understand, listen...and you will see something spectacular emerging. And that
will submerge everything you know into insignificance. It is also important to create a framework of excellence, always try to expose yourself to best in human endeavor (in Indian context it does become quite difficult, nevertheless strive)
Chavakad
doesn’t really have any proper lodging facility, furthermore enticing temple
town Guruvayur was nearby. So i anchored for the day at Guruvayur...
Talk at St. Joseph Training
College Pavarathy
I was supposed to have a talk at
St. Joseph Training College at Pavarathy, which is about five km from Guruvayur.
The talk was to start at 2.00pm but i was an hour early, and so went to the
century old church. There wasn’t anyone inside, such a charming place that i
could sit for a long time. I do love inside of churches, and St. Francis church at Fortkochi is
probably the place that i have spent more time than anywhere else. It’s almost
a home to me. The quaintness and calmness of the surrounding seeps deep into
one’s being. I love the ambience of temple towns, and Guruvayur tops my list.
Benaras, Rishkesh (not Haridwar), Madurai (in winter), Pushkar... are also my
favourite places. There is an ancient charm to these places that i can spend
hours and hours sitting and soaking the surrounding. Of course Ajmer Dargah has
always been my favourite place, as also Jama Masjid region of old Delhi. The
hustle and bustle, egalitarian nature of things is charming. That brings me to
Bodhgaya (as also Dharamshala) another of those charming places, it’s my
favourite place. The Buddhist monks are amiable set of people. The
reverberation of chants has something primal about it. It quietens and slows
everything around, without realising one tends to move towards stillness.
Dr.K.M. Santhakumari is the
Principal, an affable person she has a ready smile. She took some time to
understand my intention, once she got the full significance she was went out of
the way to arrange things. Father Varghese, who dropped in mentioned about
vegetable garden and so on. A hall was arranged there were some 70 odd students
mostly girls. I presented the PPT provided to me by the WWF, and interjected
often to make it interesting. Quiz on environment was conducted and pens were
distributed to everyone who gave right answer. Overall it went on well. The
only hitch is i need to make myself comfortable in Malayalam. Malayalam has
always been too personal a language to me that i found awkward using in formal
situation.
The following emerged out of the
talk with the students...
- It was agreed by the students that they need to activate the nature club and meet quite often
- The students and management agreed to declare the college premise plastic free zone. The Principal has promised to bring out the declaration at the earliest.
- Rain water harvesting is something the college is pursuing quite seriously.
At TB Sahib School Edakazhiyur
Chavakkad
Next
day morning i had an appointment at TB Sahib School Edakazhiyur that is about
7km from Guruvayur on the way to Ponnani. I was given a grand reception with
school children lining up with bouquet, some escorted me on their cycle into
the school premise. There was brief introductory speech by the Principal Ms
Raina Kochunni. Mr James NJ is the teach
er who is actively involved in
environment issues. The school has done tremendously well on this front. It was
heartening experience. I am so very honoured to be in this school. They have
done extremely well. There have formed Habitat
Haritha Sena, they have involved themselves in Olive Ridley Turtle
conservation, mangrove regeneration, tree plantation and so on. I met
the
manager Mr Siddique. Later I conducted quiz on environment and
distributed pen
as appreciation. I was asked to plant a guava tree in the premise. The
management promised to have regular meetings of nature club. I
suggested that students should be involved
in documentation of species in the school premise and surrounding as
part of
awareness creation 
