After having visited Iqbal bhai, a friend from one of the musical groups that I am part of in Kochi, I was left with an unfulfilling desire to see more of this place which is called ‘The Queen of Arabian Sea’. So I decided to cover Kochi in two days time.
This time I opted for rail travel. I got to Puddukad Railway Station by bus. Embarked on a train going to Ernakulam and got down at Aluva station. From Aluva, took a bus to High Court. I had planned a visit to the ‘Mangalavanam’, which is the name given to the Bird Sanctuary near High Court. In fact it is situated just behind the High Court. This bird sanctuary is located on the aptly named road, Dr. Salim Ali Road. I had the pleasure of reading one of his books on the wonderful winged creatures. The sanctuary is pretty dense. But to my sheer disappointment the in-charge of the sanctuary informed me that there will be only bats in the sanctuary now, as this was off-season. I had plans to visit Thattekad Sanctuary too. But I cancelled the plan when I came to know that this was off season. More ever the sanctuary was located at a sufficient distance from Kochi. From ‘Mangalavanam’ Bird Sanctuary I came back to High Court and caught a bus to Aluva. The Shiva Kshetram is very famous here. I had lunch in a rather lonely hotel. After lunch I walked towards the Temple. As it was well past noon, the temple wore a deserted look. And I was also disappointed not to find a proper picnic spot which a travel guide book had mentioned. I returned back to Kalamassery and had tea at my brother-in-law’s office. Together we made our last trip of the day to Triponithara, where my brother-in-law’s maternal Aunt and Husband were residing. Our hosts for the night had purchased a new flat on ownership basis. While flats there cost a lot, one can build a bungalow for as low as 2-3 Lakhs. In Mumbai, the case is exactly the reverse.
The next day I decided to visit the Chottanikara Bhagavathy temple, which is some 6 kms from Triponithara. It was a long wait for ‘darshan’. After that I had breakfast at a nearby hotel. I then caught a bus to Ernakulam. Got down at the Boat Jetty, which also happens to be the location where state transport buses terminate and originate. I caught a bus going to Paravur. Cherai Beach, the last of my destinations was near Paravur. While traveling by the bus to Paravur, I befriended Ajit Karav, a co-traveler, who was speaking in English. I later came to know that he was a native of Karnataka. Later we started conversing in Marathi, a language we both were comfortable with. My newly found friend was into marketing Ayurvedic medicines. His original place of work was Bangalore. We exchanged email addresses when we got down at Paravur.
I made my way to the Paravur Private Bus stand. From there I caught a bus that passed through Cherai. Buses originating from Wipin Island also pass through Cherai. The road that leads to the beach was surrounded by water on both sides. Finally I reached the beach. The beach was wonderfully maintained. Except for the algae, that was washed ashore and the line of coconut trees there was no other signs of flora near the beach. I walked along the beach for some time. It was a very well maintained beach. With a heavy heart I left the beach and made my journey back home.
