The tiny hamlet of Unnamalakadi is located in Kanykumari District, Vilavancode Taluk, Tamil Nadu, India enroute to Kulashekaram from Marthandam. Geographically close to the state of Kerala and earlier a part of the princely state of Travancore, the place became a part of Tamil Nadu on Nov 1,1952. As a remnant, the people of this locale are a mixed lot, speaking Tamil and Malayalam with equal ease. Born and brought up in this part of Tamil Nadu, I too am gripped with an identity crisis, though my mother tongue is Malayalam and she hails from Kerala.
This serene and picturesque village is abundantly blessed by nature – lush green paddy fields, stretches of coconut grooves and banana plantations, varities of plants and trees, mountains, ponds, rivers ……the place is a haven for ornithologists. Various communities live amicably in this land – no qualms whatsoever within themselves nor the world at large. Churches and temples are located within that small vicinity. Upper class land owners and farm workers share this land for decades now. And this is my birth place…..
As a child, I used to go with my parents to the nearby Thamaraparni river, locally also known as Kuzhithuraiar. The morning cold would pierce the bone and I love making that noise like a rattle snake with my teeth.
At home, first being to appear before the day break is the man to milk the cows. As the day gets warm, there comes the same old vegetable seller and the fisher woman I'm used to seeing from my childhood days. I feel sorry for them when my Amma bargains....I love hearing them talk about the "visheshams" in their small world. Backyard was my favourite place to study, read and sleep. Due to the thick umbrella formed by the trees and plants, sun rays would not fall directly and so it was a favourite place for me to read and retreat.
There is also a tremendous beauty to the evening sky -the air would be equally noisy with sounds of birds returning to their nests and people rushing home after a hard days labour but with smiling faces. Collecting flowers for Pooja was my task for the evening and I loved it – there is a serene, divine and elegant nature to the flowers that bloom in the evening, unlike their young, energetic and happy go lucky counterparts blooming in the morning session…. !
At the break of dawn and dusk, two watchful eyes would stand witness to all sights and sounds of nature from inside that compound accomodating three houses, inhabited by the families of three brothers (my dad and his two brothers)...
“My heart leaps up when I behold,
For me there is nothing greater than sipping a hot cup of tea made by my Amma and watch this magnificient scenario being unravelled every day
Due to non interference from humans, the place is also a safe resort for migratory birds like storks. I have seen hundreds of birds occupying the trees around at certain times of the year. They have selected a safe place indeed.
Today, seas apart from my place and amidst this concrete jungle, I miss the sound and smell of my village…. At the first opportunity I escape to this village to get a whiff of fresh air and be the same old girl to my parents - talking non stop and being all around the place so as not to miss on anything. While here I wake up with the sun and the creatures to breathe the clear air and get the first rays of sunlight. In this hi-tech world of hectic schedules, formalities, egoisms, inflated pride, oozing vanities and pseudo-mannerisms, I yearn for the simple, serene and slow life of my village.
Wherever I am, my heart lies in this land…..
At dawn, the nature is at its best in my village – the air is filled with the chirping of variety of birds, the fragrance of various flowers, the aroma of ripening fruits, suprabhatham from the nearby temples and morning service from the churches, conversation of workers heading to the paddy fields, subdued giggling of the girls marching towards the cashew nut factories, men and women rushing to the rivers to take a morning dip and pray in the adjacent temples... It is a sight...
A rainbow in the sky;
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die! ……” - William Wordsworth"
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