Three Years back I was in Mulloor, One Day

Nandu (in all his majesty!)

The story happened almost three years back. I was in Thiruvananthapuram. My family's migration to New Delhi was being pondered upon. I had never visited my friend Nandukumar's home. He had spoken a lot about his village, Mulloor, near Vizhinjam. The twelfth standard board exams were over, vacations on. One of those holidays were chosen and Nandu called me over to his space. Aboard a Vizhinjam bound bus, bought a Rs.10 ticket, I guess. In forty-five minutes or so, destination was reached. Thanks to the extremely protective upbringing, I hardly knew my city. I  got down at Vizhinjam bus stand. Left clueless and staring at the horizon, I received Nandu's call. I found him mounted on his black Activa, spotting some fake RayBan glasses. It took another thirty minutes to reach his place. We spent some time at his home, a modest but comfortable one. I always used to make fun of him, and I still do, about how his father (a contractor) taking advantage of government funds and making a fortune out of it. Just for pun, no offences intended, obviously. We left the house shortly on his Activa, to the Mulloor beach. 

He had already fallen in love with the beach and wanted to throw me prey next. Well, the boy was right. It is the most beautiful beach shore in Thiruvananthapuram, a city that boasts of Kovalam, main Vizhinjam and other smaller beaches. But none could match the sheer beauty and serenity of the place. Its' awesome. What attracted me most were rocks, which showed effects of gradual erosion, forming beautiful patterns, providing a pre-historic feel. Nandu guided my attention to molasses and corals, glued to the rocks, washed constantly by waves after waves. Apparently Mulloor Beach is known for high and low tides, bigger in comparison with that of other beaches in the city. Nandu even dared to claim that these molasses, corals and other growths happening on the rocks stand testimony to the process of evolution, as these are 'un-evolved' life forms, only science knows. 

The boon of Mulloor, apart from its' nature gifted grace and beauty is its' relative cleanliness. The latter, the beach owes to its' secluded location and anonymity. Since people don't crowd and spill their trash, as happen in Kovalam, the state of nature is retained. There were some locals out there, staring at us, as if what are these two jeans-clad boys doing here. It was obvious that I am an outsider, a rarity at such remote places. Nandu, for the person he is, deserves a better address. Something that made me startle was the then prevailing land prices back in Mulloor and Vizhinjam, which literally amounted to crores per a cent of land. Together, we badmouthed Nandu's grandpa, who refused a plum offer of land, at a cheap rate, in Mulloor long time back owing to the place's backwardness. Best opportunity foregone. 

We went on talking, in middle of which, Nandu revealed more contentious facts, one of which was that the mosque nearby his home had actually been a temple. Fine enough, it could be true, you know. Surprisingly, we bumped on to the crew of Taste of Kerala, broadcasting on Amrita TV, shooting a sea-food special episode on the shores. While the rest of the crew was taking a break, somehow we ended up talking to one crew member or did I start the conversation? God knows. Later those guys left and without much delay so did we. Hmm, looking back at that day, I feel a comfortable warmth and wish could visit Mulloor once more. I pray, the place hasn't changed at all.

Nandu and I (after a podium finish at Tussle Quiz in 2010)