This post is dedicated to Sudaththa – who reminded me of the joy of dedications and long blog posts – and Lisa – with whom I first discovered the joy of Kerala.

I need to upload the picture in order to justify my title but I seem to be little too lazy for that sort of madness. But just some insight into my ring theory. So, I acquire a ring from most places I visit. One was a gift from the lovely Nepali girls. But the others are pretty much acquired from places I’ve visited or hand-me-downs.

So I visited Kerala this weekend – again. bliss. – and got another ring! Yes, I do love that place.

I haven’t really understood as to why I fell in love with this place. The weather is amazing, – we are speaking specifically Cochin and Ernakulam – and reminded me of Colombo. Yes, I’m crazy to love humidity but that is one of the main reasons I love Colombo and Jaffna and uhm Galle 🙂 Also for those who think sweating is gross, let me remind you that it is also healthy. Much better than us jokers who don’t sweat in Bangalore and only burn in the cruel sun. No wonder people don’t like the sun.

The past three days was a getaway I badly needed. For reasons that even I cannot justify. It’s not as though I lead a hectic life. Hell, my Mama pays for everything. It’s the procrastination and sheer nonchalance on my end that I wanted to get away from. Yes, I was in that sense running away. Turns out I am pretty good at doing so too.

This visit to Kerala was made longer by the bus rides, especially my ride back where I wasn’t as tired and therefore did not fall asleep as much. So riding back in the some-twelve-hour-journey I begin to think of what I have achieved through my escape strategy. Yes, there was a need to quantify this and it stems from an overarching concept that we cannot seem to get away from.

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It was about letting go. Letting go of biases, prejudices, past experiences and you know, all that jazz. It was about reminiscing and dwelling in nostalgia and at the same time, accepting what once was and no longer, and discovering what will be and what ideally ought to be.

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It was about realising that I am not much as a city girl as I thought I initially was. It was about how I enjoyed the long bus ride with bumpy roads made bumpier and a roller-coaster ride by the rain water that had made pot holes on the road as opposed to the well-paved out roads of Coimbatore and Bangalore. It was about how I smiled when we passed over a little bridge like area that overlooked a paddy field and that glistened under the moonlight.

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It was all these that made me question my appreciation of what I once considered aesthetic. I began to realise that I might not necessarily enjoy the mainstream and actually look forward to getting away from it. Like Carrie Bradshaw once said, “The best thing about living in New York, is getting away from it.” Difference is, I’m no character in the glitzy Sex and the City (though secretly I do dig that idea!) and Bangalore and Colombo are mainstream enough in my little South Asian context.

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Finally, Kerala this time was about recalling my last visit here and of course being in bed with a half-naked white girl *wink* and traversing through the Cochin waters to reach the juncture with Kottayam, Alappuzha and Poothotta.