A break in Kovai provides the healing touch

I was away the weekend on yet another break... am getting addicted to breaks now. But I can tell you that they indeed provide all the refreshment you need.

This time, it was somewhere between Coimbatore and Palakkad - a relative's place. It was love at first sight so much so that the urge to retire early and settle down here is growing by the hour, would you believe it!

Hmmm... if only all dreams became reality. I am hopeful though.

The onward train journey was tiresome. I was appalled at the sheer lack of civic sense and insensitivity on the part of people everywhere. There was waste and offal and plastic bags liberally thrown on the tracks almost throughout the route. Heaps of garbage, with the plastic component high, appeared at routine intervals. On the train, passengers flung tea cups and plastic packets outside the window, not even bothering to get up and look for a bin inside. Of course, there wasn't any in sight, so you cannot probably blame them totally.

The Coimbatore heat was unnerving, quite unexpected. looked like the Kerala influence.

However, where I and my companions chose to stay and explore, a nook near the Coimbatore-Palakkad highway, the climate was salubrious. From where we stayed, we could see the Malampuzha and Ooty hills. The wind blew into our faces; it would howl in the months ahead, our hosts said.

I woke up early much before sunrise and walked inside the gated community... if only life could always be like this, I thought. Good food, masala tea, lovely and caring hosts, we couldn't have asked for more...

1. The rural ambience was so tempting... we just stood rooted for minutes.

2. A pathway in the gated community where we stayed - there were several such pathways, all quiet and welcoming.

3. A view of the hills in the background added to the charm.

4. Some day, when I can build my home, the entrance should look like this, lawn and all...

5. A tree that looked out of this world.