mornings in Kerala

The very air in Kerala is soft and lazy. The countryside is always sleepy. A number of men will be sitting idle at every bus-stop and tea-shop that you see. They will watch you with disinterested expressions – that is unless you are a relatively okay-looking woman in which case they will ogle you mercilessly even when you are covered from top to toe. The fragrance of fish cooking in coconut oil combines with the smell of wood smoke creating a very heady combination (at least to my senses). You will hear snatches of music being played through loudspeakers in front of temples or maybe the sound of a scratchy radio pouring out of a barber shop which where all the men go for a bit of political gossip which happens to be the mainstay of men in Kerala. You will also see so much greenery that your eyes are spoilt for choice. The sun’s rays beating down will be mitigated by their passage through coconut fronds leaving you with pleasant warmth and plenty of dappled shade to walk in. You unconsciously smile and relax and breathe deeply.