Tales from the Cliff

My family has a cherished tradition of visiting Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala or Varkala Beach, a popular tourist destination known for its unique cliffside location. We make sure to keep this tradition alive every year, no matter how busy our schedules become. My friends have asked me whether we find it monotonous going to the same destination over and over again and my reply has always been “Never, that place feels like home.” Since all of my family members possess vintage hearts, we share a mutual love for everything ancient, therefore, the historical buildings and the architectural elegance of Trivandrum never fail to excite us. And the scenic beauty of Varkala, its clear blue waters, golden sands, and red cliffs is a sight to behold. It is no surprise that we unanimously agreed to choose Varkala as our destination for this year’s summer trip.

Despite our initial plan of leaving home at 6 am, on 6 April 2023, we eventually started our journey at 10 am. I’ll give you a little context, the night before, we spent hours engaging in a lively conversation only to realise that we talked until midnight and quickly ran to our rooms to catch some sleep. But my brothers decided to stay up for another hour to indulge in card games disregarding my suggestion to go to the bed because of the overconfidence that they can wake up before sunrise even with little or no sleep. Anyway, we opened our droopy eyes at 8 am when we heard the persistent knocks on our door and sprang into action the moment we saw our Daddy’s face. Now, please try to picture the chaotic scene of Kevin’s family rushing to the airport in the movie ‘Home Alone.’

We got inside the car and Google Maps gave us another surprise this time by taking us through an entirely new route. Though we have previous experiences with Google Maps leading us to uncharted territories, we blindly followed the direction hoping that we are saving time. After some time we understood that this route was the longest and was deprived of hotels. Anyway one of us spotted an ‘Indian Coffee House’ on the way and after so much contemplation (I still don’t understand why we took that much time to make a decision, we had no other option to console our angry tummies) we decided to go inside. Indian Coffee House is a restaurant chain in India, known for its unique blend of coffee and historical significance. Although I am yet to taste their famous coffee, what fascinates me most is their one-of-a-kind staff uniform from the British colonial period, which has become an iconic aspect of their identity.

I ordered Biryani and was utterly disappointed until I made up my mind to add the egg to each morsel of rice, chicken, gravy, salad and lemon pickle. I usually ignore the egg in my Biryani, but I’ll never do it again, the egg is a game changer. While relishing my newly improved Biryani my brother accidentally spilled a glass of water onto the table. Later, we held our plates above the flooding table until the waiter cleaned the mess and continued eating. Oh, I forgot to add another important detail, it was unimaginably hot inside, we felt like we were trapped in a furnace. Before leaving, my sweet-toothed mom and I bought some Ginger candies from the counter and they tasted delicious.

We continued the journey, and it took us forever to reach Varkala though there was no traffic congestion. Thanks to Google Maps. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the scorching heat of the sun, which was almost unbearable. But in a matter of minutes, the heat ceased to exist because we ran to the cliff road. As the name suggests, this beautiful road runs along the cliff that overlooks the magnificent blue sea, providing picturesque views of the sky, beach and waves crashing against the red rocks and are lined with restaurants offering a range of seafood delicacies, cafes with aesthetic ambience, and vendors selling souvenirs, handmade crafts, and traditional textiles.

We got inside a quaint cafe with minimalist paintings on the walls that perfectly complemented the awe-inspiring view of the sea. To beat the heat, we ordered some fresh juice while my parents, being the tea enthusiasts that they are, went for two cups of their beloved tea, even in the sweltering heat. We had the whole cafe for ourselves, they played good music and gentle winds tousled our hair as we watched the kids fearlessly surfing on the beach. The sun was glaring and we kept wondering how those people on the beach managed to tolerate the intense heat. Though the lighting wasn’t great inside we clicked a few pictures and went for a leisurely stroll.

My heart ached terribly when I saw two kids selling floral tiaras on the road to a kind family. The kids looked like they were siblings, and their faces glowed with pure joy when the family made a generous purchase from them. I wondered whether they felt unhappy when they see kids their age delightedly frolicking through that road while they are burdened with a hefty responsibility. I saw tourists talking to stray dogs and cats in several languages. It felt good to see people being kind to animals. A friendly cat accompanied me to a handicraft shop and I slowly blinked my eyes because I once read an article which stated that slow blinking can help to build a bond of trust between a person and a cat. I like to believe that it worked, anyway, the cat posed for my camera, meowed and walked away when it saw the man who brought fresh fish to one of the restaurants.

Our home is filled with decor on every corner, we have heirlooms that have been passed down for generations, souvenirs and handicrafts collected by my parents and grandparents from their travels, crafts and paintings that my mother and I made and the artifacts that each of us purchase. What I’m trying to say is, though there were amazing pieces in those shops, we do not have much space left to accommodate new decor. Therefore, we had to be incredibly selective before purchasing something and it took hours for us to find something that would fit in the tiny space in our showcase and that matched the aesthetic of our living room. At last, we did find a stunning piece, something that would easily blend in with the other remarkable decor in our showcase, a true reflection of our family’s appreciation for beauty and we decided to make it a part of our collection.

While engrossed in the hunt for the perfect decor, clicking hundreds of pictures on the way, and enjoying the breathtaking view from the cliff, we forgot to watch the sunset and realised that the dusk paved the way to the dark. Even though we were not hungry we decided to have dinner and opted for a fine rooftop restaurant that offered candlelight dinners. I’ve heard people saying that candlelight dinners are cliché and overrated, but I strongly disagree. After scouting for a good spot for us to sit, I found one. As I sat down, it was the sky above, the warm glow of candlelight below, the vast sea stretched out on the left and the beautiful lights of the restaurant gleamed on the right, what more can you ask for? We placed our order and patiently awaited the arrival of our meal, hoping that it would take a little longer to prepare.

It was one of the moments worth freezing until nature had a different plan for us. The sky started turning grey, the candle flame started flickering and water drops began to fall from above. We had no other choice but to bid adieu to the rooftop candlelight dinner experience and head to the indoor dining area. But it wasn’t that bad, we still got a little view of the shimmering sea, another candle was placed on the table, and delectable flavours of the food were served.

The drizzle slowly transitioned into heavy rain with thunder and lightning. We could see the shopkeepers hastily shutting their establishments and tourists rushing through the road. The unexpected downpour made us happy, it was like a little twist in the tale. However, none of us wanted to drench ourselves in the rain or walk through the road overflowing with murky water. Fortunately, Daddy came to our rescue, he and my brother somehow managed to get our car to the restaurant through the narrow road.

On our way back home, we found ourselves halted at the railway crossing for a good 20 minutes, which gave us ample time to soak in the amazing experiences of the day. We saw a procession that got disrupted due to the rain, and while waiting for them to pass we looked at the photos we captured and talked endlessly about what a beautiful day it was and how we never get tired of going to this place.

Melanie Ann George🌼