Calicut Part-II

Another day in Calicut...
We were woken up early by my friend's parents as there was a day-trip planned out for us and the car that was to take us around had already arrived. We quickly got ready and left for Kappad beach. With a few stops here and there, we reached the beach. It was gorgeous in the true meaning of the word. No excreta, perfectly jagged rocks(with danger signs painted on it!), perfect clean beach, shore line filled with coconut trees, amazing breeze. All of them added to creating a perfect postcard picture. After rock climbing in a salwar kurta(!) and taking some nice and some very stupid photographs, we got back into the car and headed for a boat ride. Her cousin knew some one who had a house boat and he had arranged a ride for us. Just as we stepped into the boat, it started raining which only made the scene more beautiful. Lots of coconut trees, a meandering coastline, scenes of women making ropes from fibres from coconut peels, coupled with rain made my day.
After the boat ride, we rushed back to the house to leave for the bride's house. Quick freshening up followed by a cup of coffee and we were out of the house.
The drive to the bride's house was about an hour long. Tired from rock climbing, I slept through the journey, the Malayalam conversation providing the perfect lullaby. The next few hours went by in a blur. We reached, walked about aimlessly in the bride's house for a while, shifting from room to room until finally we got a glimpse of the beautifully adorned bride, had a great photo session with lots of light and flashes until the bride was positively bored and even a tad bit irritated. Then came the actual mehndi ceremony in which every member of the bride and groom's family would contribute a little to the beauty of the bride's hands decorated with exquisite mehndi patterns.
During the ceremony there was a live example of Modernism in front of us. The bride had already gotten mehndi put on her hands by a professional before the ceremony and the family members would only come and touch the tip of a cone to her hand and pose for a photograph. Talk about forgetting our traditions!
After clicking photographs and sneaking in a few tid-bits of conversation, we moved out for dinner. Biryani with fried chicken, eaten in the typical desi way by our hands, was all we needed to satiate our appetites. Since there were no elders who had accompanied us from the groom's side as a tradition, there were very few pleasantries exchanged and soon enough we headed back to the groom's house for another karaoke session. Too tired to show any enthusiasm, we headed straight to a bedroom and sat and talked until it was time to leave. While leaving, my friend made sure that she kept no secret of the fact that I had told her that I would write about my trip on my blog. While my friend bore my weight as I sat on her lap during the ride home, we talked and laughed and I enjoyed my last night in Calicut. Upon reaching home, we were greeted by her grandmom who smiled sweetly at me and asked "Coffee?". With a huge grin on my face, I quickly replied, "Yes, please!"
After that I only remember waking up the next day. We quickly got ready and I packed my bags, dreading the nauseating 6-hour flight back. As the rest of the family was heading out to the marriage house, I said my good-byes. After a last mug of coffee, we headed out to the airport. We spoke little on the way there because it was too much for us to bear that we were departing again. It had hardly set in that we were actually seeing us together, and it was already time for us to part ways again.
Sad and heavy hearted I said good bye, hugged her as tightly as I could with all the energy that I was left with after she squeezed me with all her might, and left. The ride back was uneventful.
Overall, the trip was a perfect one. In one weekend, I managed to see both the nature and the culture of Kerala, and I mean it in the literal sense!
If nothing else, I am sure my friend's family will carry the memory of my coffee to their graves...