Falling in love with the falls

by Lavanya G (India)

I didn't expect to find India

The story that I’m about to tell right now is a bittersweet one because my friend/colleague was planning to leave the office. So this spontaneous trip to Athirappilly falls would be the last time we would be seeing her in Kerala for the next few months as she’d be moving to another state for a job. It was a three hour,serene,bus ride through mango groves , banana plantations , coconut groves, paddy fields,farms with humble sloped roof houses sprinkled in between, I don’t have any idea of how death or afterlife feels or looks like but I’d like to imagine it like this exact bus ride perfectly balanced just how it was meant to be with mother nature taking everybody’s breath away with her magnificence and man made structures every now and then instead of concrete jungles overpowering nature . We were completely in awe, being the city kids that we were, experiencing the tranquility and being blown away by just how beautiful the journey was, we couldn’t wait to actually see the waterfall that we had left eagerly that morning to witness. After almost one and a half hours of travelling in the bus we were dropped off at the bus stop where we were supposed to board the connecting bus which would take us to our destination . It was a particularly hot and humid afternoon, even though Kerala is generally hot and humid this one afternoon was just merciless at best but we were way too excited to know that we were quite close to our destination to care about getting drenched now. As we were waiting for the bus the local shop owner asked us to come sit in the shade as the bus won’t be arriving for the next 15 minutes and as we were already seated in this very sweet owner’s shop we decided it’s better that we hydrate ourselves in the time we wait instead of sitting idle. Anyone who says they don’t know the way to joy should try drinking fresh fruit juices on a hot summer day, especially in a warm and humid place, in that moment , you are at bliss ,none of your problems are bothering you , it’s all distant noise all your sorrows are non existent , it’s just you experiencing pure unadulterated joy when you feel the cool liquid make its way past your throat to your belly. We chatted up for a bit after that stocked up on water and food and came out and waited for the bus which arrived to our stop in the next two minutes . We boarded the bus and remember my prologue of the previous bus ride , this one was just that maximised , the only difference being the regional songs from early 2000s blaring from the speakers in the bus giving us major nostalgic moments and keeping us entertained throughout, i had the realisation of how easy it is to be human and kind when you are connected to nature and how much your priorities and goals and lifestyle changes when you start to distance yourself from it . I feel jealous sometimes ,of the tribals who hold on to their lifestyle with pride and live in harmony detached from civilisation. We reached out stop after an hour of blissful bus ride, decided to have our lunch in a petite restaurant which was an overhanging structure which looked like a train compartment overlooking the falls and the forests surrounding it. We started walking towards the falls which was almost a few hundred meters from where we were, the stone paved pathways led us to the the top of falls, we sat down with our feet dipped in the stream for a while when it started drizzling, but only this time we didn’t mind getting drenched.We decided to hike down to the bottom of the falls to witness it in all its 80 feet glory and when we reached and saw the majestic and wondrous Athirappilly falls we were wondering why would man want anything else when he was offered all of this. Guess it’ll remain a mystery to me,my friends and to the rest of you who are just like us. Till the next time we meet , Vita 👋🏽🤚🏽