Retreat

Hinterland village Kochi it was finally, the kids had surprised us by announcing that they were planning to gift us both a well deserved break after having done our bit for the last three decades plus, but not revealing the location and what exactly was in store for us. So Kochi came as a bit of a relief, else you never know, they could have planned a bungee trip, river rafting, para gliding or may be something more spiritual like a Vipasana retreat. This was somewhere in between, no adventure except if you can call four hours of Yoga and and an hour of meditation with Ayurvedic massages thrown in as an adventure. As if this wasn’t enough, it was accompanied by lectures on Yoga Philosophy and simple vegetarian saatvic meals, herbal teas galore thrown in. I was sure the kids had made their intentions quite clear, now onwards our path is laid out, embark on this journey of spiritualism away from the hustle and bustle of this material world. Well well, we get the hint ;)

So here we are, three days into this resort, which actually is anything but that, a resort is a place where one enjoys luxuries, on the contrary this is a place where we have no TV, no fridges, nor kettles in the rooms, which are sparsely furnished and are served frugal food at appointed hours. But no cribs really, I think this was just the ideal haven that we would ourselves have sought out, just being with nature, with thick vegetation, beautiful lilting birds chirping and lots of time to quietly soak in the environs and carry memories of these moments with us.

Interestingly the place has more foreigners than Indians lodged here, surprisingly many of them are repeat visitors to the same premises, some coming in after many years also. Now some of my friends would probably be more interested, as there are many nubile nymphets among them who join in the Yoga sessions very enthusiastically, performing the various asanas with ease and grace. An old fogie like me with creaking joints and inflexible spine stands out like a sore thumb, but ‘never say die’ and I keep  at it obviously enjoying the company as well. The Yoga Guru’s sing song voice lulls me to sleep often before someone nudges me awake and I hasten to join in or at least attempt to join in. Meditation scene is fun, as the Guru here is officially supposed to guide you to Yog Nidra, being a true blue ex NDA, I fall asleep much before he reaches there and enjoy my forty winks comfortably. Massages are very welcome as the masseuse has his hands full, when I start off with the bones broken and joints dislocated story, he knows he has to tread carefully at this piece of skeleton who may crumble any moment, ‘extremely fragile’, ‘handle with care’ kind. Jokes apart, the morning walks in solitude and the ambience here is so peaceful and tranquil that one cam immerse oneself in these surroundings.

This morning we were taken on a nature walk led by the gardener, who is has been ordained by the Almighty into a life of silence and is blessed as he doesn’t have to hear anything either. It was fun, he managed it remarkably well, after all there were five inquisitive ladies and two of us menfolk following him around, he was showing us the plants, trees, fruits, herbs and displaying the same in a book with their photos.  Preeti my better half was the de facto interpreter as she knew quite a few of them and could could help out. 

Thanks to our wonderful host Unni and his cheerful team as also our fellow tourists here who made our stay memorable. Another two days in this abode and then we will be off, back to our tryst with the Packers and Movers which we jettisoned half way to come over here. Detoxed rejuvenated for the ordeal ahead, but with a resolve to explore more such places more  frequently in future.