Road Trips That Are Good For The Soul- Trivandrum to Kanyakumari

On a crisp and cold 4am of a chirpy Onam morning, we decided to celebrate our nth sunrise at the tip of peninsular India. To stand back and glance at our wide -spread beautiful motherland. Now, I'd like to correct him/her who said, nothing good ever happens after 2am. Maybe nothing 'good' happens, but we don't settle for good, do we? We need better, we need the best. And that is exactly why, on a crisp and cold 4am of a chirpy Onam morning in Kerala preparing itself for rumbustious laughter,grand feasts, and colorful homes we decided to start early. We chased  the sun to Kanyakumari otherwise known as Cape Comorin, the edge of our motherland, where  the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean meet. All it took was a full tank of diesel, five excited humans, and some real good music. 

People in general I feel, hold a misconception that travelling is all about the long distances you cover. It is most often associated with the very long traces you leave on a map. The oceans you crossed. While that can be fascinating, we have to learn to measure our escapades with memories and smiles. We should realize that travelling is about the journey more than being about the destination. And that is exactly what happened in this journey of ours. A 90 km short trip from Trivandrum to Kanyakumari. And as we started early it was quite magnificent to see the sky change colors as we rode away. To see any city's beauty at its peak , see it in its rawest forms. No hustle, no bustle just your car, the reflectors and some brightly lit food joints and small shops. There's not much to speak of  from Trivandrum to Parassala. Maybe we're a bit too used to it all. There was no shortage of fun, albeit. As my brother drove , the rest of us sang along to the music that surprised us every four minutes. The lyrics didn't matter, we had our la-la-la's and na-na-na's perfectly in sync with the tune.

Trivandrum-Karamana -Pappanamcode-Nemom-Vedivechankovil-Balaramapuram-Neyyatinkara-Parassala-Kuzhithurai-Marthandam-Thuckalay-Nagercoil-Highway-Kanyakumari. 

 Soon our throats were all itchy and scratchy from shouting  loud all the songs on the play- list! ( Even the melodies) . Our old summer favorite songs would play and we were reminded of those sweet vacations. Where it was impossible to even think about spending it alone in our  homes! It was imperative, we stay at the other's homes or better they come here; not to sign fancy bills at talked about restaurants or worry about what's  next. But just so we can play pretend games on rooftops. Our characters had  no fancy aspirations very unlike us. They were simply grown ups.We were talking ever so enthusiastically about how we all had our own alter egos  ( Not Batman or Spider man, but rather Ramesh, Suresh, Mahesh)  when we reached Marthandam.

   Ah, the perfect time to  stop for a nice cup of coffee. It was still cold outside and there were some lorries parked here and there, all the drivers too engrossed in their own morning routines. We had our coffees in silence. Each of us caught up in our own reveries. However, the common sense of the morning washed over us and soon we were back on track. We passed through Marthandam and Thuckalay. On the side, we could see scattered hills, so majestically matched  with the brightening sky! The locals didn't seem to stand in awe of these majestic hill strips. They were too used to it. Too familiar to them.If only they could see this another first time. 

 We reached Nagercoil and somewhere along the road we took a turn that changed our journey. It was not intentionally that we took the road less traveled. It just happened.What could have been a straight drive from Trivandrum to Kanyakumari via NH 66 turned into a journey via the Muppandal Wind Farm (NH 44) and yes we were just so glad we took the turn. Because the Muppandal Wind Farm is an absolute delight to look at.`In fact it is one of the largest wind farms in Asia.

And somewhere along the way the sun rose. Nature beats us. Again. Our goal of reaching the tip to see the sunrise failed but we didn't mind. We didn't have a long way to go now.

In less than half an hour we reached Kanya Kumari. I had visited Kanyakumari four years back and seeing it now makes me realize how much things have changed. The only place that looks good, heavily crowded is the night sky . Kanyakumari was heavily crowded with people polluting this beautiful land in different ways. This was an instant put off. However, Kanyakumari still managed to retain her charm. We categorized Kanyakumari into the million number of tourist places there were and what happens when you fit in, the places that stood out before? They disappear. They merge and soon they disappear. Same thing happens with people.

 We commercialized and thus we destroyed. The place looks beautiful, I accept. But it's high time we start sharing empathetic sentiments with our lands.  We have the Vivekananda Rock, Memorial, Thiruvallur Statue and Gandhi Mandapam to attract thousands. So we decided to stand aside. We drove away to a place from where we could still have the view and enjoy it in peace without the noisy crowd.
But I can say without a second glance that no wind or no sun has done more to illuminate the souls we have within. That's what makes this land special.

The sun was climbing higher and was almost looking down on us. The heat had us finding solace in a nearby restaurant. And I must say a very well kept restaurant- Sangam, from where we had Ghee Roasts and Vada! Yummy.

Though we were hesitant to leave, the thought of missing the Onasadya packed us off in a jiffy. The journey back wasn't exceptional. We kind of got lost in the Nagercoil town and we rode through some inner roads. Not fun. And the heat was really getting to us.

Looking back, what I remember and cherish most about this journey is the emotions associated with it. Every trip you've ever had will have some emotions etched to it. And the slightest smell shall trigger a wave of memories for you. The songs you sang then will always be the songs of that one road trip. The next time they play, you will all say in an excited chorus, " Remember that time when we went to.....? " Isn't that what, at the end of the day life is all about? A collection of  'Remember that time when we went tos....'