Althought I had heard alot about the beauty of Kerala, I hadn't actually been able to see it myself until a few weeks back. Going down to Calicut to see an old friend who I hadn't seen for the past 3 years just for a weekend didn't seem like a very bright idea, considering that the air ticket cost me almost as much as a trip to Dubai and back. I really wanted to see her and didn't really know when else I would get the opporunity to since she lives all the way in Aberdeen, Scotland, so I mustered up enough guts to ask my Dad if I could go down to visit her. After a lot of convincing that Calicut is not a gangster city (I really don't know where he got that idea from!), he finally agreed.
I had my part of the trip planned which included getting on the flight to Calicut and from Calicut, the rest was left upto my dear friend.
Since she was in India for a cousin's marriage scheduled for the same weekend that I was visiting for, she made it very clear in her guilt laden voice that she wouldn't be able to show me around much because we had to attend a few marriage ceremonies. Being too overwhelmed with the fact that I was actually going to see her, I didn't pay much attention. So, eager and very bewildered, I took a train to Delhi and then finally boarded the plane to Calicut which finally brought me to Calicut after 6 whole hours of nauseating air travel including 3 take-offs and 3 landings at Mumbai, Coimbatore and Calicut.
I exited the small airport fast enough to find no car waiting for me outside. After making a few calls, I finally got through to my friend and got to know that she was just 5 minutes away (which actually meant 20 minutes). The view from the airport was spectacular- green hills and valleys with lush vegetation, clouds lying close to the land and people strolling by wearing shirts and lungis. Cracking up at the very sight of men walking around with just one piece of white cloth wrapped around their waists(no offence intended, it was just very new to me!), I tried not to make it too obvious and waited. Finally she came, and thus started my tour of Calicut and the experience of a lifetime(I actually mean that).
Being a South Indian Muslim, her family members had to stop at a mosque on the way to her house to recite their Friday afternoon prayers. We couldn't stop talking! There was so much to actually talk about. Neither of us could actually believe that we were actually seeing each other! We reached home, to be greeted by her entire family standing at the doorstep just to welcome me! Feeling very special and a little overwhelmed and shy, we said goodbye to her family who left for a marriage function and went inside. Being an architecture student by heart, the first thing I noticed was the house and ofcourse wanted a tour of it but since both of us couldn't stop asking each other questions, that topic quickly went unnoticed.
Tired from all the air sickness I asked her if I could make myself a cup of coffee. Ofcourse we couldn't afford to stop talking for a second, so we skipped to the kitchen together. Her grandmom had stayed back to make sure I was comfortable. While my friend provided me with coffee and sugar and a whole lot of "thank you for coming here just to meet me"s, I mixed the coffee and sugar with a bit of water and starting mixing it to make a consistent paste, the North Indian way. This fascinated both my friend and her grandmom to such an extent that they kept peeking into my mug after every few second to see what I was trying to do!
Anyways, after that followed a bit of freshening up and some chicken biryani which came garnished with gasps of "You are going to eat only that much!". Ignoring that, we took out plates to the swing in her garden and continued our chat. We sat there for quite long discussing my now non-existent love life. After that was time for the beach.
I had been warned against the orthodox views of the Muslim community in Calicut and been instructed to wear only salwar suits or at the risk of exposing, kurtas with jeans. I discovered that Calicut was the last few cities in which we did not have to haggle with auto rickshaw walas and paid by the meter. Just as we reached the beach I was warned that it was famous for it's excreta enriched sand. Making sure we walked as carefully as possible, we very casually ignored the beach, the sea and the sand and had eyes only for each other (I know that sounds horrible but that is actually what happened, we just couldn't stop talking!). After a lot of careful walking, we got picked up by her parents and drove around the city market a bit to pick up a few things that they needed. I thought she was kidding when she said that she always bumped into someone no matter where she went, which is why she always had to behave herself in public and not be too loud or preposterous, but we actually did bump into no less than 2 families within a time span of close to an hour!
Everything was going well, I still could not actually come to believe that I was seeing her, we couldn't stop talking, I was enjoying myself, but there was just one glitch which was probably the only thing that I didn't like about the trip-Malayalam. I didn't understand it. Everybody spoke to me in Malayalam and looked at me waiting for me to answer, but ofcourse all I could do was shrug my shoulders and reply with an "I am sorry I don't understand what you are saying!"
Done with shopping, we had some ice cream and headed home and got ready to go to the grooms house for a family get together with karaoke and dinner. Excited to meet her family but a little sceptical about all the Malayalam I would have to listen to, we left home.
On reaching, I was introduced to a whole lot of people, and listened to a lot of Malayalam comments about me(nice ones ofcourse!) which had to be translated to English for me. Even in the grooms house, we couldn't stop talking. After a lot of talking, we went outside to listen to the karaoke. Surprisingly, I heard all the latest Bollywood songs being sung. Enjoying the loudness of the music which gave us an opportunity to continue our girly secret conversation, we sat there for a while.
Then came dinner time, (Safa, I still haven't forgiven you for this!). Since it was tradition that the ladies eat after the gents, we politely declined all the invitations to dinner while the gents were eating. After they finished, all family members immediately came to me and forced me to eat. Just then, my friend very conveniently left me alone because she could not eat until the ladies had started, which was infuriating because the ladies had started! Angry and feeling out of place for the first time, I quietly ate my dinner, shortly after which we left for her house. By the time we reached I was tired and irritated with her. After making myself another cup of coffee I decided to get my revenge. I had told her that I would put henna on her hands for the wedding. By the time we got home, she was so tired that she couldn't care less. Finding the perfect
opportunity for my revenge, I emotionally blackmailed her and made her sit for another hour with henna on her hands and then when I was satisfied with the punishment, we went to bed.
To be continued...
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