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Village



Arikuzha is a relatively small village in Kerala.  It is the village in which I was born and brought up.  The lush green that undulates in the rolling landscape is not unique to this village.  Kerala is blessed with the bounty of nature in many ways.  Hills and valleys, rivers and backwaters, and the whole coastal area on the west make the state a palette of variegated offering.

Here are a few pictures from Arikuzha. 

Road through the village


River through the village


Temple on the river bank

Yesterday while I was walking along the village road I met an elderly person (74 years) who asked me whether I had any problem in my leg.  I was limping slightly due to the fracture I had suffered in my foot three months back.  I explained the matter to him.  In the afternoon he came to my home with a herbal medicine he prepared himself.  He advised me how to apply it on the foot and assured me that in 5 days time or even before that my limping would vanish.  He wouldn’t accept any payment for the medicine.  He told me that he gave medicines only to his friends and it was not a business for him.  It was an act of love, of friendship.  Such attitudes themselves can be very healing.  And such attitudes have not vanished from many villages of Kerala yet. 

Comments

  1. Seriously where do you find such beauty and beautiful people. Thank you for sharing it with us :)

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    1. Really, Richa, I wish there were more such places and people.

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  2. humanity resides in rural India.. still alive ... :) .. nice to know the old gentleman's initiatives just to make sure you start walking properly .
    Nice capture! Although northern India is not tha lush green .. still I could relate a bit with my father's village . :)

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    1. Yes, Jack, we can still find much goodness in the rural India.

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  3. Arikuzha is in which district?
    You are lucky to have such a friend.

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    1. Arikuzha lies in Idukki District but on the border of Idukki and Ernakulam districts.

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  4. I can say that after reading your posts that anyone will love to visit your Arikuzha. If possible then please also post about how to get there and options for accommodation. . . :)

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    1. Dear friend, Arikuzha is a typical village in interior Kerala where an ordinary tourist won't find anything much... It's the natural beauty of the place and the goodness of the people that I'm trying to highlight in order to show that too much of urbanisation is not good. The villages have to be preserved.

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  5. Beautiful and serene village you have with beautiful people in it.
    THe elderly man reminded me of my Nanaji, my grandfather.
    Thanx for sharing these clicks and about your village.

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    1. I'm sure there are plenty of good people in the world, Kislaya. It just takes a little time to discover that goodness.

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  6. Beautiful pics and beautiful incident...it's good to know that still some humans remember to be humane.

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    1. Indeed, Pankti. I certainly would like to highlight such goodness, but most people won't like their names to be mentioned.

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  7. Real India lies in Village and it is evident in your post

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    1. Exactly, the true india lies in the villages - Gandhi had said it. But no one bothered...

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  8. I had been in Kerala for some days on a personal work. In my opinion entire state is like a beautiful park.In addition to that, what I like about Kerala is even a poorest one tries to maintain neatness in his daily life.

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    1. True, wherever you look you find nature's generosity in Kerala.

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  9. Wow u grew up in this place...amazing!! and yess such selfless act is very rare!!

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    1. It's my dream to come back and live a peaceful life in this village after retirement...

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  10. Tomichan, you've really brought out the beauty of a simple village in Kerala. You're lucky to have been brought up in this pristine land.

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  11. Beautiful and scenic village.

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    1. Enjoying the serene holiday pictorial blogs.Do post more.

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    2. Thanks Rajesh and Aditi. Now the tour is beginning and I will have hardly any time to post blogs!

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  12. Sigh!! I've never been to an actual village, I've never been to any village! I wish I could step out of these concrete jungles!
    Thanks for sharing! It was a virtual delight!

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    Replies
    1. Kriti, I conisder myself fortunate to have inherited a legacy in this village.

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  13. Wow!! It is indeed wonderful to hear that such kind of people still exist!! Thanks for sharing it with us.

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    1. Such people are not too rare, my friend. It's just a question of synchronisation of minds.

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  14. The magic of Kerala, can never be paralleled! Brilliant post and a good space you have here. Chanced up on Indiblogger. Glad to have stopped by.

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  15. Your story was like a cure for depression. BTW, checked out your blog on my phone. The mobile version looks clean and classy.

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  16. At a time when the venom of distrust and meanness chokes us in our city life, your post gives us an insight into the beauty of village life and the intrinsic goodness of the people living there. This is a welcome relief from the kind of life we live out here and such cordial behaviour characteristic of rural life in the purity of sylvan surroundings does not still make us feel ashamed when we want to assert- our India is great. A great post with some beautiful pictures.

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    Replies
    1. I'm myself taking a break from the city of Delhi, you know. I do believe that there's a lot of goodness in the world...

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  17. Would you agree that an aptitude for rational enquiry? That was in response to the comment "to make sure you start walking properly."

    By the way, I visited Chengannur for two days some years ago. While I was visiting people whom I consider my adopted family, I also wanted to take in Kerala, the sliver of Kerala I had an opportunity look up close. This in response to your, "ordinary tourists won't find anything much." The thing is you find much only when you stop trying to. Unfortunately, "typical" tourists do not know this.

    Yes, I am glad you posted this,photographs and all. I am also glad that people appreciated the photographs. Yet, I feel they will be disappointed when they get to the place. These photographs lie, just as every photograph does. Photographs transmit emotions and one must be mature enough to receive them.

    Enjoy your vacation, despite this jarring discordant note.

    RE

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    1. The photos are selected, no doubt, Raghuram, with many reasons for the choice. To that extent they lie. At any rate, my objective - as I have stated above - is not to promote tourism but to show the beauty of the rural Kerala. I would appreciate it much if people begin to understand that beauty and stop killing it with too much urbanisation, induastrialisation, etc.

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    2. It is not in the sense you perceived that I said photographs lie. You may not recall that quite a while ago, I wrote in a blog (in the other space) that any photograph by the very fact of having been clicked by one person can convey only a garbled context to the others. You misunderstood me thoroughly. That shot of the road or the temple front could have conveyed that vehicles have intruded, or they have not intruded enough to have created a rural nightmare. Only you know.

      I take you at your word, but there were at least a couple of touristy sentiments expressed by the visitors, "How I wish I were there!" I never even implied that you were promoting Kerala tourism, which in any case is not a bad endeavour at all.

      Sorry for inadvertently creating misunderstanding.

      RE

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  18. The first sentence of my comment is incomplete. The missing portion: "enhances the aptitude"

    RE

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  19. Your post just refuses to let me loose! Another mistake: read "attitude" in place of aptitude.

    RE

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  20. Lovely (and homely) photos. How sweet that somebody should that trouble to get you some herbal medicines. I hope your leg's better soon. :)

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    1. Thanks, DN.
      The herbal medicine did help to reduce the swelling. But since I'm on the move most of the time, even the medicine will take time it seems :)

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  21. i have heard..people from the rural areas are more simple than in the towns and are thus more willing to help people in times of distress...where as in towns even if a neighbor is dying a person would not have a second look...!!!

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