A skylight keeps the house naturally well-lit throughout the day.
The kitchen garden has a grindstone and various herbs and fruit trees.
The backdoor opens out to the highway toward Kerala.
The aangan (courtyard) has a well and a traditional tulsi (basil) plant.
The oval shape of the shared well enhances neighbour satisfaction. During the monsoons, the water level rises several feet with the water table.
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A heavy brunch of dosas, gunpowder (a special masala mixed with a drop of oil), sambhar with bhindi, and Bovonto (a local, aerated, grape-flavour drink - really addictive for a soft drink):
Found the bike had developed a flat overnight - interesting that she did 3500 km in almost a month without tyre trouble, and this on the second to last day of the journey. Called in a village puncture specialist who cycled down with assistant and took the wheel away for repairs.
The village street in morning light:
A temple just outside the residential section of the village:
Quaint designs on the houses, some built upto 50 years back
Saty bullets down the bucolic boulevard:
Headed towards Kutrallam Falls, a set of waterfalls at Tamil Nadu's western border and an important waypoint for annual pilgrims.
Carvings on the rocks
Rounding a bend brought the Western Ghats into view, a green carpet of paddy fields leading up:
With the shifting cloud cover, the green shades frequently change contrast
A woodpecker was knocking on wood to get lucky for lunch:
The road runs parallel to a river as it climbs the hill
After the teak forests, rubber farms abound
The rubber collection system is simple: the farmer makes a gash in the tree bark and hangs half a coconut shell under it, the sap drips into the cup and is scooped up every evening.
Christmas eve just 3 days away, spirits soar in Trivandrum with twinkling churches making even red lights a pleasure stop:
5 comments:
I am very happy to see this snaps of SAMBAVARVADAKARAI.
nice to know that.. it is a beautiful place, feels like the serene back garden to god's own country :)
Hi! This is Ganesh from New Delhi. I am from Tenkasi, not far from SambavarVg.
A little taken aback to see a guy on a bike with U.P. registration down an Agrahaaram in our area...! The photo looks out of this world !
Congrats to you all guys.
Ganesh
25.8.12
Hi Ganesh,
Thanks for the appreciation. Sambavar's a place rich in its offerings to travellers and we were like bees to the nectar even though our beehive may be in U.P. :)
Glad to see our village here. My family can go back maybe 2 centuries to Sambavar. My father and most of his siblings who actually grew up there are all gone. I am reminded of my youth when I used to go there with family. I still have relatives there. Anyways brought a cheer when I saw your travel adventures through our village.
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