A Kerala trip for us Non-resident-Kerala Malayali is always filled with visit to all relatives places.. and that is never ending as the list would include our favorite uncles and aunts from all sides – hubby’s and mine .. Travelling from one point to other in Kerala in our childhood times was by bus.. Looking back, waiting for the connecting bus at bus terminals or at bus stops carrying our baggage made us learn about Kerala. My husband though he cannot read/write Malyalam is very conversant about the directions and routes in Kerala. Those days we had to walk few kilometers thru the green paddy fields or kaccha roads which we totally hated but now actually I wish I had those times once more so to walk on those rugged “varambh” of the paddy fields or running through old and familiar ways to our ancestral homes but all that is a non entity these days….. (some one can cash in “walks thru varambh of paddy fields” event) Travel now is ofcourse by car or an auto.

This trip too we had a marriage to attend, visit our elders in the family from in-laws side, my side and a very important matter to attend to. My in-laws lived in Karumady, a small town in Alleppey, and were devotees of the Ambalapuzha Krishna Temple and mom-in-law had vowed a “Tulabharam” at this temple for both of our children. Tulabharam is a “mannat” in Kerala temples where we donate vowed material equal to our weight to the temple. My mom-in-law passed away in Dec 2021. My son, Vishwanath, felt he had to keep his grandma’s vow and we made arrangements for this and with a fractured leg he managed to keep the promise, thanks to our Chitta’s. We got the required Jaggery for the Tulabharam ritual at the shop near the Temple gate itself and someone from the shop delivered it to the spot, thankfully!

Vishwanath’s Tulabharam with Sharkara (Jaggery) (Thx Purnima for this record)

@Ambalapuzha Temple with family and Chittas

In between all our scheduled visits, this time we managed to spend one day at a special corner in Alleppey. This is a dream project as God’s Own Country has so many hidden jewels and we wanted to explore Alleppey Tourism.

My daughter found “Flamingo boutique” on net and booked it for a day. The place is really in the interiors of Alleppey, and you need your conveyance to reach this spot in Mararikulam. This was our day to relish Kerala and its corners.

Flamingo Boutique, Mararikulam, is a 70 year old home modified with modern amenities, the old structure still standing tall and grand. That was my inspiration to mention our time spent at Marari here. The ambience is superb with the greenery, swimming pool, a back water canal passing by the sides of the property and wonderful hospitality. All the rooms have four poster beds, wooden artifacts, spacious toilets… I admired the way the old structure and the modifications gelled to highlight Keralite architecture and style. I was amazed by this original room architecture with the an open toilet.. watch this vdo:

My son with his fractured leg got to move around, not so easily, but we managed well. The name Flamingo(famous for one-legged stand) suited his status 😀

They have canoes which can be used to navigate the water.. and the beach is just 400 mts. We are new to this canoes and asked the Resort person -Goerge to help and he readily agreed to take us .. as luck would have it I got to sit in the front and hold the oar!! I was so glad 😀 but as I look at the Vdo I am ashamed ! Anyways we were halfway thru the calm waters when I saw a tree submerged in the water just ahead of us – and the canoe got stuck on the branch of the tree … yewwww. Hubby had to be told to stay calm and not move as he kept repeating ” oh we are stuck”… for a long time George tried to get us out and I am sure he was tired. Then he asked me to push the tree with the oar so the canoe would shift sideways… after trying for sometime our canoe moved and we sighed in relief ! It was a grand experience afterwards as we simply walked from these waters to the sea !!!! Ammmazing – yes so grateful to experience these priceless deals 🙂

We spent the evening playing carrom by the waterfront… simply amazing by twilight.

Few pictures to show our delight …