The Kannur Kasargode Trip

I was planning to cancel the trip as I was still on the waiting list three hours before the train started. I wanted to go but didnt know if the Railways would be kind enough to give me at least an RAC ticket. As soon as I got out of the office, I saw that I had got an RAC. I could at least sit and go now.  After rushing back home in a superfast express and packing a small bag with whatever my hands could find at the time, I was ready. Unfortunately, my phone was not. It showed a 66 percent charged status and I became worried whether the battery would last the overnight journey.

However there was nothing I could do about it. Mom came to drop me at the railway station. I know that she still thinks of me as a kid. And I am sure my behaviour at home doesnt help.

The train journey was not enjoyable till the TTE confirmed that I had a berth to sleep on. I had supped at home; all I needed was a place to sleep and I got it.

The next morning, I woke up early and brushed my teeth. Now brushing the teeth in the train with tens of others is a fun activity. I recommend that everyone try it at least once. Went back and sat till the train  reached Payyanur railway station. I got into an auto and went to my aunt's home. My cousin and my aunt were at home when I reached there. My cousin had managed to twist her ankle and so she was effectively immobilised. It was unlike her to sit at any place for more than five minutes. I could make fun of her now that she couldn't come running to beat me up. Had a wonderful breakfast and started off to Cherupuzha in Kasargod. Kasargod is the northernmost district of Kerala. That is where my mother's parents and most of her relatives stay. They had settled in a place called Chittarikkal - my grandparents were teachers at a school there. Most of the settlers are actually from central Kerala. And old-timers still tell me of the tales of their hardship when they had first come to Kasargod.

I reached Cherupuzha and took an autorikshaw from there to my mother's home at Chittarikkal. The rubber trees had made the settlers reach and you could see the proof on the roads - all models of cars that you could find in Indian cities were passing my poor autorikshaw.

Everyone was worried I would lose my way. After all, I was going there after two years and much had changed. Fortunately, the auto driver took me home straight away. My grandmother and cousins were waiting for me. I went and met mt aunt who was staying nearby as she was leaving for Trivandrum. Then I had lunch and played a game of cards. It was fun to play the game again - reminded me of the days at Yarrows. We talked and had fun. Then I slept like a pig till it started raining. I was woken up by the sound of thunder all around me. We had our dinner after prayer. And then I slept again.

In the morning, grandmother and I went to the cemetery before attending the Mass. After the service we went to the house of my uncle and had another wonderful breakfast. We then got hold of my aunt and drove to the house where my mother was born - my mother's uncle's house. The people there were very happy to see that I had come to visit them. On my way back I met another aunt and the rest of my cousins who were at Kasargod.

After the lunch, I started travelling back to Payyanur. Went to my house but found it locked. All around me where new faces. I left the place in ten minutes and reached the railway station.

And thanks to a very dear friend of mine, I got a berth in the Maveli Express. Reached my home early in the morning at six and here I am, on the Malabar express, going to my office.

The past two days were extraordinary, and today is anything but. I am thinking now again about where my home is - I felt a strange pain in my heart when I saw the locked door at Payyanur. I felt incredibly happy when I saw the smiling faces of my family in Kollam. And I feel a sort of peace when I am at Trivandrum. Which place do I call home?

The old timers in Kasargod still talk of their nadu - the place where they originally came from - with an affection that comes from deep within. Circumstances had driven them here and they were settled here for life - for good or bad. Maybe, like them, I too will not find peace on earth as I know not where my home is.