INDIA TRIP PART 9: Riding elephants, avoiding snakes, and partying into the night – July 29 – 30, 2011

Selina and Cherian

Sofie and Frej on Kesavan

29th of July
After taking the first day in Aymanam to get settled, we started our adventures BIG by taking the kids for an elephant ride.   The agency we used to book the elephant rides didn’t really explain how it all worked, and we heard that the elephants could even belong to the Kerala government, which is why they don’t advertise for tourists.

So, we showed up, rode the elephant, and tipped the keeper without anyone from the tourist agency (or government) present.  In the afternoon, the kids got to play cricket with their cousins to round out an exciting day.

30th of July

A cow with no shed

Amma's land

The next day, we went for a walk behind Puliyampallil to see Amma and GPs land that Amma inherited from Cherian’s grandmother. In the old days, there used to be a cow shed on the land, but when we visited, there was just a cow and only the remnants of a shed.

The path that led from Puliyampallil to the land used to be a well-trafficked path, as it was the path from the house to the river and the servants’ houses. But now it was overgrown, and we were advised to not walk in that area without pounding a walking stick into the ground as we walked to scare off the snakes.

Velutha

At the river

As we walked down the path, we passed by the house of Velutha, an old servant of the family that earned his land from working for Ammachy and since the Indian government made a rule giving 5 cents of land to the house where the servants lived. We then followed the path, crossed a road and went to the river, passing a mangosteen tree and a rambutan tree.
On the way home, we took a little road where lots of people lived. We saw beautiful flowers, cats, goats, birds in cages and chickens. We passed by the Pataliputra house where we met Amma’s dad’s brother’s daughter-in-law. Then we passed by the local bank where Amma and GP did some business and back home.

Before the party

Looking fancy...

In the evening, we went to a hotel/resort where Wiji Papa threw a party for friends and relatives. He did a LOT of work to call lots of people, and people drove for hours to attend the party.

Since Wiji Papa and GP went to college together in Thrivanthurapurum, he invited a bunch of the old gang, and it was a big surprise for GP to get to see so many people.

GP's college buddies

The view from the hotel

There were also many relatives, making a total of 40-50 people with kids from Denmark, UAE, Australia and Kerala running around most of the time playing. Wiji Papa also arranged for some traditional singers and even some of GP’s old classmates got up and sang. Selina had so much fun running around, dancing, eating and playing that she deemed the party ‘the best party ever’…