Cat got your tongue. I can say with some assurance, and most of you would agree, that more often than not this phrase is used in conjunction with some very uncomfortable situation. Like it used to be during the times when we had to explain why all the sweets kept in the fridge magically disappeared or why the neighbour’s dog was sporting all the colours of a rainbow on its body.
But I digress. The story begins with a trip that I took to the fairyland of green pastures, cascading waterfalls, and lingering lagoons. Yes, I am talking of Kerala. Now before you start badmouthing me for an apparent disconnect between the rant about ‘cat got your tongue’ and the trip to Kerala, let me state that something quite bizarre happened in Kerala that left me speechless.
There were three of us- all dim-witted males. It was during the summers that after our final year papers we decided to explore the ecstatic beauty of Kerala. Our first stop in Kerala was the small town of Alappuzha. If only I had studied English literature better, I might have been able to paint the beauty of Alappuzha with exquisite words. Alapuzzha was, I hope it still is, like a green belt of paradise that had intermittent lagoons, vast lakes and numerous fresh water rivers. We had heard a lot about the Alapuzzha beach and were itching to get there. The Alapuzzha beach is a sand and water paradise. It is quiet and not overpopulated by throngs of tourists. We stripped to our shorts and made a run for the crashing waves. Soon, we had quite forgotten about everything else-exams, results, job, stress, etc. It was like we were in a parallel world that had no place for anything other than fun and enjoyment. We did not leave the beach until it was evening; the calm of the evening breeze was like a delicious dessert after a sumptuous meal of vigorous beach fun during the day time. The nearby palm groves were the object of our exploratory spirit during the day. In the evening, we found the light house to be the Everest that we had to climb. So like a band of adolescent super heroes, we marched up to the light house; all set to climb to the very top.
This is where all the craziness begins. A combination of factors led to what happened afterwards. First, we were excited by the beauty of the beach; second, we were at the top of the world (that’s what we thought in the light house); third, we had loads of beer with us. It was only a matter of time before the dumb suggestion came along “Dude, this is the perfect place to gulp down some beer.”
Dumb as the idea was, the other two of us concurred without an iota of hesitation. So the cans and the bottles were out and we engaged in some lively conversation about life, philosophy, politics, the sultry movies; almost everything except for the unnecessary part of life like studies, job, and money (we had neither of the three). Our deep reverie into philosophy was interrupted by the gruff voice of an elderly man. After some deliberation, one of us concluded that the old man must be an apparition we were all seeing! It was only when the old man took out his baton and angrily waved it that it dawned upon us that he was a night constable. The constable said something in his local dialect which, his angry contorting face expressions suggested, could only have meant “Get the hell out of here or you will find this baton taking a real liking to your skin”.
Dazed and drunk, we walked back to the Alapuzzha beach. The beach looked even more enchanting in the dead of the night. It must have been the peace and the serenity that led to one of my friend passing out on the beach. And, it must have been the alcohol that made the other two of us decide to hire a cab and explore the Allapuzha town during the night.
We hired a cab at a price that would have sent Uncle Scrooge to an early grave. Anyhow, we set upon our course and had at least two places in mind. Our first stop was at the 18th century Krishnapuram Palace. Although we were not allowed inside the palace at that time of the night, we stood outside admiring the pristine architecture and the historical charm of the palace. Next we went over to the calm and ethereal Vembanad lake. It was here that for the first time I understood why Kerala is called ‘God’s Own Country’. So beautiful and peaceful was the area around the lake that at that time I could almost feel the spiritual connect with nature and God. We knew that the Vembanad Lake was also abode to a small but exotic island-the Pathiramanal. This island can be accessed only through a boat and we could find none at that time of the night. We sat there on the shores of the lake staring at the stars and their shining reflection in the crystal waters of the lake.
It was so surreal out there by the lake that we could not detach ourselves from the shores of the lake. We paid the cab driver and asked him to leave. Sitting by the shore we, the two of us in our senses, chatted for a long time. The lullaby of the cool night breeze soon worked its charm and we dozed off. In the morning, we were rudely awakened by our third friend. He was looking pretty furious and kept asking us “What happened? Where the hell are we? Tell me. Come on, speak up. Cat got your tongue?”