Scintillations 2019 Scintillations_2019 | Page 97

Though I had been to Kerala many times before, this trip covered the lush, evergreen forests in the interiors of Kerala. It was a road trip, which was the best part. The midnight was filled with mist, and the weekend was setting in, when, at about half past two, we started for Kerala as a bunch of five cousins. We had our aunt and uncle accompanying us as well. The trip, according to our plan was a 3-day trip. Our plan for three days was very simple. Just go with the flow. We were clueless of where to visit except for the Athirapally falls, aptly nicknamed " Niagara of India " We reached Thrissur at about twelve in the noon. We had booked a riverside resort beforehand in Athirapally. We took mini breaks in the middle, stopping somewhere in the middle of the route enjoyed the countryside of God’s own country. We were almost near our resort, when a picturesque sight caught my eye. We had to stop there and we got down from the car. It wasn’t easy as I expected because we had to climb down from the road which was way too steep. Besides, the thorns and shrubs on the way made it difficult to get there. 88 As we marched towards it, the sounds grew louder and louder and there it was. The gushing Chalakudy river with the dense green forests on the other bank. A sight of absolute splendor. At that moment, what I felt was something inexplicable. Heading straight into the water, I sat on the banks with my legs inside the water. The feeling of the cold, crystal clear water on my feet made my soul smile. My cousins were in the water as well, each one in their own world. It was getting late and it was time to leave. I didn’t want to, but then I came to know that this river flows behind the resort we were going to stay, and my face lit up. It was about 4 when we reached there as we had spent a lot of time enjoying at the riverside. We checked in, and after placing the luggage inside, my cousins and I rushed to the riverside, which I felt made the resort beautiful. My heart fluttered when we made our way into the river because the view from the resort was way too beautiful than what we saw a while ago. The sounds were louder and the water flow was huge compared to the view which we saw.