MANNAR VISIT

First we went to Mani Appachi’s home (my grandpa’s sister), Koyickel. It is a nice big house that looks really pretty on the outside and inside with big windows and shiny floors. My favorite place was the balcony from where Ambili Kunjamma (her daughter and sister of Sri Ammavan and Anu Kunjamma), using a stick, dropped down lemons the size of our heads.  Since they were not ready to be eaten that day, she packed it for us to bring home. Also I saw Ramu, my cousin, who was sick. I hope he gets better very soon. Finally, we ate. Ambili Kunjamma and her mother prepared such a delicious feast which involved some of my favorite dishes like green mangoes pickle, pulissery, pappadam and payasam (sweet vermicelli pudding in milk) that they served on banana leaves. Then, on a whim, feeling like she had not done enough for us, Ambili Kunjamma took us to the nearby market and purchased us really fancy sandals.

Soon, we visited Geetanjali which is Sreedharan Chittapan’s home where I met more family and a cute nine year old who was in no mood to talk. She behaved just like my sister. There I ate sweets and played on Paru’s swing. I finally got Paru to talk with us and we played together.

Eventually we made our way from Koyickel House to Ambili Kunjamma’s home where we saw her daughter, Raveena, Radhakrishnan Chittapan and his mom, one more cute Ammumma in our visits. That was very FUN! They have so much green land around their home, it is unbelievable. We saw cashew trees, heavy jackfruit laden trees, margosa, and mango trees.  Because of the rains, the fields behind their home had transformed into a lake.  They are one of the rare homes in Kerala today with real life cows in the cow shed by the home.  Most cow sheds by the traditional homes are now empty storage rooms for firewood. There were three cows and a dog. First we fed the cows. Then I petted the mommy cow that had horns. Soon, I saw the dog. The dog was named Tomy and he knew how to shake paws. Last we went inside and had steaming hot cups of sweet cow’s milk. But, sadly, we had to go home. After giving hugs, we left for home. Even while we sat in the car, Ambili Kunjamma wanted to give us more and she quickly plucked some special leaves to show us magic, “Touch-Me-Nots” (thottavadi) that wilt to the touch. I can’t wait to go back soon.   It was really special. I hope soon means tomorrow!