Next destination: Kerala

The trip to my own country Kerala was fabulous. I

had a lot of fun. It was a 1-week trip from 3 rd to
10th march. I went with my mother, brother, my
mama and my grandmother. My father could not
come as he had a business trip and office. We left
at 3:00 and sat in the car. We reached the airport
after half an hour and we boarded the flight by
4:00. After some time, we were served food we
ate and a little while later at 6:00 we reached
cochin airport. We took a cab drove towards
Irjalakuda Pullur it was my grandmothers’
ancestral home. We reached their by 7:00 and
were welcomed by my Granduncle and a host of
relatives waiting eagerly for us. I was super
excited thinking about the fun I was going to have
here when I saw my twin brothers and their elder
sister who is in 10 std waiting for me and my
brother, they were just so excited that that they
just couldn’t stand still! They held our hand and
took us to their pet dog Moti. Firstly I thought that
I could touch him as he was so cute but after I
went near to touch him he was going to bite me
they told me that he bites and they also told me
that he eats anything given to him even bird feed!
They have 18 lovebirds and many fishes, and
another stray dog named Arjun they had a
squirrel, but they left it and they also had 2
rabbits and 3 goldfishes and 2 baby sharks and 3
big cows and 1 calf. After meeting them and
chatting with them. We went to meet my
mother’s cousin sister she was so nice to me and
she even allowed me to drink water from the well.
She also introduced me to her pets one was a
puppy named Max and he also barked at me but
after I fed him, he maybe liked me, and she also
showed me to her calf named Manikutty. Later we
left from there and went back to our uncles house
and had dinner there and slept. I slept with the
elder sister. This was the end of my first day.
The next morning I got up at 7:00 in the morning
my mama the twins father asked me that would I
like to go with him and deliver milk in his scooter
to some of the houses after we came back I saw
my cousins getting ready for school after their
bath they had breakfast and left for school my
cousin sister has her exams so their school has
given her preparatory leave so she had to sit at
home and study. After my cousins left for school, I
had to keep myself busy by roaming here and
there and I and my brother were again and again
going to the cows and feeding them hay my and
we just kept ourselves busy by doing some sort of
silly things like going into my another mama’s
shop and my brother asks things for free which he
readily gives him for eating so even I asked for a
packet of chips which he gave we just roamed
around the house and in the afternoon we left to
Gurvayoor temple and on the way we decided to
meet my grandmother’s sister’s son who was also
my grandfather’s teacher he was bed ridden for
many years and he was funny too. After a while
we left to Guruvayoor.
Guruvayoor is the is one of the most sacred and
important pilgrim towns in  India. This temple-
town is extremely famous for its large Sree
Krishna Temple, believed to one of the 108 most
divine Vishnu temples of world. The town is
located in Thrissur district, nearly 82 km
from  Kochi. The temple is regarded as Bhooloka-
Vaikuntam or Earthly abode of Lord Vishnu. Thus,
the spirituality regains to the core in the town.
Guruvayoor Temple is India's 3rd largest temple
which attracts more than 7 million devotees
annually  Hindu mythology says the Lord Krishna
used to worship an idol of Lord Vishnu at his
palace in legendary  Dwarka  island, which was
first worshipped by his parents. However, Krishna
knew that, soon after he leaves this material
world to his Vaikunta Dhama, his palace island
would wash into seas. He instructed the Deva
Guru (Heavenly Saint) Brihaspati and Vayu Deva
(Wind God) to take his favourite idol, once
Dwarka gets submerged and place it in some
other place, where devotees can worship. As
instructed by Lord, Guru and Vayu took away the
idol, when Dwarka was sinking and was hunting a
place to the idol. Soon they would a sacred place
where they wished to place the idol. However, a
Shiva temple existed in that area, making it
difficult to place the idol nearby. Soon on Guru's
invocation, Lord Shiva appeared and agreed to
move his temple from the sacred place, to install
the divine idol. As Guru and Vayu placed the idol
and erected a temple in its honour, the place
came to be known as Guruvayoor and the deity
came to be knew as Guruvayurappan.
After the visit to the temple a surprise was
awaiting us ahead.
We met the latest edition of our family and had
dinner with him. After that we went back to our
house and instead of staying in that house we
were going to another house for some days as it
was my cousins exams, so we slept in another
house that night. So, this day ended. The next day
we went back to our house through a little
shortcut by climbing. After reaching there I
brushed my teeth and sat to have breakfast and
after my breakfast I had some left over of food I
took it and gave it to their dog Moti it happily ate
it. After some time as usual, I was just roaming
around the house doing nothing I and my brother
we both fed the cows some hay and we also
touched the calf. My aunt gave me some work to
do that work was to sweep the floor. After that I
asked for some other work then I saw my another
cousin sister coming towards my I immediately
asked her to play with me and she also gave me a
chocolate and an idea to climb the tree and pick
amlas there were loads of them I picked all of
them and I even fed it to Moti and Arjun. After
that we started playing football and an hour after
she had to leave, and we also had to leave to the
Koodalmanikyam Temple. So, I wore my best
dress and left to the temple.
The temple comprises the main structure, walled
compound with citadels, four ponds around the
main structure where in one of the ponds is
situated within the walled structure.
Koodalmanikyam Temple is the only ancient
temple in  India  dedicated to the worship
of  Bharata, the third brother of  Rama, however
the idol is that of Vishnu. "Sangameshwara"(Lord
of the Confluence) is another name associated
with the deity at Koodalmanikyam. The temple is
one of four in  Kerala state  that form a set called
"Nalambalam",[2]  each temple dedicated to one of
the four brothers
in  Ramayana:  Rama,Bharata,  Lakshmana  and  Sh
atrughna There are four ponds that are located in
and around the temple. The largest of the four
are  Kuttan Kulam, located outside the compound
on the eastern side, and  Kulipini Theertham,
located inside the compound.  Kulipini
Theertham  is believed to have been sanctified by
the sage KulipiniMaharishi, who held a great
ritual sacrifice, a  yajna, at the spot. Water from
this source is used for rituals and ceremonies
within the temple. he custom in most of the
temples in Kerala is to have five poojas and three
sivelis a day. But in Koodalmanikyam there are
only three poojas and no siveli. The deity is taken
out for ceremonial procession only during the
annual festival. There is no deeparadhana. There
are plans to start deeparadhana here. This is the
only temple without Deeparadhana.
Sticks and camphor are not used for the pooja.
The floral offerings to the deity consist of lotus,
tulasi (ocimum sanctum) and thechi (ixora). But
they are not grown in the temple compound. No
other flower is taken for pooja or for making
garlands. Lotus garland is an important offering
to the deity. A garland will be offered to the deity
which does have not less than 101 lotus flowers`.
After the viewing of the amazing temple we left to
see another temple called Thuiruvullakkavu Sree
Dharma Sastha Temple The deity is Lord  Dharma
Shastha  in standing posture with arch and a bow.
An enchanting shrine amid a dense forest, a
gusher of beneficent spirit-that was the temple of
Thiruvullakkavu, centuries back. Lord Sastha, the
presiding deity, as the divine protector of the
whole village settlement, showered benediction
on a cultured rave. He rode the boundaries of the
settlement on His white charger; the pure,
microcosmic soul. Full of devotion, the people
revealed in the ineffable tenderness of Sastha. A
peaceful refuge for the troubled soul that was
Thiruvullakkavu.
Kavu is a throbbing beehive of spiritual activities
today. Thousands bring their children to this well
constructed temple for the initiation into the
excitement of knowledge. A child which starts on
the alphabets at Kavu is sure to become a scholar,
the devotees believe. An unending stream of
devotees flow to this temple on Vijaya Dasami,
the most auspicious morning of the year for those
who seek academic excellence.
. After viewing that temple we left to meet my
grandmothers sister my aunt we reached there and
sat for some time and had some tea and we left to
our cousins house. When I came back they were so
happy to see us we played and made fire out of
stones and we played near it but while I was
putting more hay and sticks I burnt my little finger
but I was afraid to tell her as I knew that she would
whack me so I kept it to myself I was again and
again putting my hand in cold water. After some
time, I saw that there was a big bubble where I had
burnt my hand, I decided to tell my mother when I
told her she put some medicine in my hand and
then I went to play. After some time it was dinner
time and after that we had to sleep in that house I
hated that house as it had no fan so we had to keep
table fans there as the next day we had to leave at
5:00 to 2 temple Chottanikkara and
Ettumanoor and my uncle was not coming with
us so I had to travel with my mother grandmother
and my brother. So, this day ended. The next day
we left at 5:00 and sat in the car and left to
Chotanikara the moment I sat in the car I slept. I
got up after 2 hours to see my mom trying to wake
me up. We entered the temple and saw many
beautiful sights.
Chotanikkara temple Devi Temple is a famous
temple of mother goddess Bhagavati.
The temple is located at Chottanikkara, a
southern suburb of the city of Kochi in the state
of Kerala, India and is one of the most popular
temples in the state. In terms of temple
architecture, Chottanikkara temple stands out to
be an ultimate testimonial for the
ancient vishwakarma sthapathis (wooden
sculpture) along with Sabarimala temple. Sree
Mahamaya Bhagavati (Adi Parashakti), the
goddess of power, is one of the most popular
deities in Kerala and the supreme mother goddess
in Hinduism. Chottanikkara Devi(Melekavu
Bhagavathi) is worshipped at the temple, in three
different forms: as Mahasaraswati in the
morning, draped in white; Mahalakshmi at noon,
draped in crimson; and as Mahakali in the
evening, decked in blue. Goddess 'Keezhkkaavu
bhagavathi' is believed to be Bhadrakali, in her
fierce form or Ugra form. Bhadrakali, is a form of
mother Kali, supposed to be born from the third
eye of lord Shiva, to kill the demon
king Darika. People suffering from mental
illnesses & commonly visit the temple, as
Chottanikkara devi is said to cure her devotees.
Guruthi pooja is a ritual done at late evening to
invoke goddess Mahakali.
The best part of the temple was that there were
hanging plastic dolls which shows the sprits and
all the ghosts. It was afternoon and our driver had
also gone in the temple with us, so he took time by
that time we went to buy something from the
nearby shop and my mother brough a Kathakali
keychain for me and a baby Krishna keychain for
shlok my mother brought a Krishna idol for
keeping at home. After a while, the driver came,
and we left from the temple and were sitting in the
car I was so bored and exited that finally I was
getting to play with them. After 2 hours of waiting
and sleeping I got up and saw that we had reached
I jumped out of the car and when the twins saw
me, I saw a smile in their faces I ran inside the
house and changed my clothes and ran to play with
them. After lunch we had a delicious orange ice
creme. After some time my cousin was making
Black forest cake but before I could run to her and
ask her that could I also help my uncle stopped me
and told me to sleep I didn’t want to sleep but I
had no choice I went and slept for an hour. After
an hour of sleep I got up and saw that my twin
cousin going for their tuition classes and they
would come only after an hour but an hour was too
much and there was nothing to do what I could
only was just sit and wait or play with my brother.
After an hour they came back, and we had the
delicious homemade cake after that we played for
some time and had dinner went to sleep in the
other house. Now this day also ended. The next
day my cousins left to school and again I was left
alone…... but then after lunch at 3 we left to go to
my mother’s cousins house in a tum-tum. After
half an hour we reached his house and I saw a big
garden and a lot of space to play. After play and
wandering for some time we left and went to their
house there I was welcomed by my Uncle and my
second cousins who were elder to my after an hour
my aunt came from office and welcomed us and
after her bathe she made us delicious Banana
Fritters!!! . Later after chatting for a while we left
to go to another uncles house, he had come to pick
us up. After a 15 min drive, we reached their house
and saw that they had a dog named Jackie. I was
surprised as it started to bark so loud that I nearly
became deaf, but he was cute, and his eyes were
like marbles. After some chatting me and my
brother were given mobile to play and after an
hour, we ate our dinner and slept and again day
ended so fast! The next day after breakfast we left
to my mother’s another cousins house after a 10
min walk, we reached her house and my mother
and my grandmother started to chat while we were
busy playing games in my aunts mobile after some
time we ate idiyappam and went to view the place
we saw a swing and after a long time we left to go
back to the twins house ad also I was jumping with
happiness and afterward reached the house and I
saw my another cousin digging in the soil then I
remembered that I had to go fishing that day I ran
out to meet him and he said that he was collecting
worms for fishing after some time we left for
fishing. But first I wasn’t getting even 1 fish but
later I did and I caught 2 fish and my brother
caught 3 fishes with the help of the experts [the
twins] after some fishing we headed home and
then after a bathe we again left to go to my
mother’s another cousins house and it took only 10
min to reach there and I was allowed to feed the
dog touch him and of course watch T.V. After an
hour of continues chatting we ate our dinner which
was idiyappam I loved it! After our dinner I
watched T.V and at 1 went to sleep and this
beautiful day got over. In the morning I woke up
and after brushing I went to play and feed the calf.
After a while I ate my breakfast and went to water
their vegetable patch. It was a long work and after
that I got a hair massage from my mother’s cousin
and went to take bathe and after that I ate my
lunch. After a while we went to her mill and
played there, we made mod balls it was so much
fun but after some time we left and back to the
twins house. I was sad that the next day I had to go
home as it had been a wonderful week and I was
also happy because my cousins had no school, so I
had a day to play with them! After dinner I slept,
and this day ended. The next day I woke up did my
things and sat to eat breakfast and after that went
to play with them I was exited but my mother
asked me to take bath and had to go to see the
temple fair I saw things like people were rotating
with things on top of their head and I was
surprised as those big things looked heavy…..
after a while we left and ate some candy on the
way. After I reached their house, I ate my lunch
and played with the twins in the mud. Soon It was
evening and we had packed our bags and it was
time to go home and I was sad and at the same
time happy as this was……... the best trip to god’s
own country!!!