Elxsians Explored!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was half past six in the morning. I was woken up by my favourite ring tone in my mobile. ”Sebastian calling”. I thought why the hell should he wake me up in such a humid morning. Oops.. It is our today. Oh my goodness, I am still on the bed. Sebastian had called just to remind us(me, Aswathi and Jasmy) to be at the Kallampilly bus stop in five minutes so that he could pick us without fail. I decided not to join the tour, as I didn’t want myself to be blamed for making the entire crew at Kazhakuttam to wait for the bus as I got made up. But time had stored something else.
As bus reached Kallampilly, Seabastian turned out to be extremely gentle than usual and agreed to wait for me till I got dressed up. Thus I set out with a rocking gang to Kumarakom and Alleppy. It was already 10 minutes to 7. The other bus that was waiting at Kazhakuttam too joined us. Thus 76 people of TEL were having a single destination out of which only 12 were girls.
The whole team was gloomy and sleepy. Many were like still in their dreams. Some suggested, we would play Antakshari, some suggested take the mic in the bus, some suggested switch on the music. But everyone was interested only in suggesting and nothing came to action. All were planning in groups what they should order for the breakfast. Again Sebastain came out with another surprise. The breakfast had already been packed and kept in the bus. Though they reasoned the packing breakfast as a tactics to manage time, we still doubt whether it was a tactics to mange fund. But the breakfast was simple and delicious.
After breakfast the mood of the bus changed. The fun session started out with a self-introduction by Jayalekshmi, followed by others. Then all agreed to play Anthakshari. The back benchers team formed by the seniors and new joinees(non keralites) were faced by the front benchers formed by the girls, RHK team and junior boys with delight. Songs, old or new, melodious or adipoli were all sung in the same energetic mood. Sometimes even team members set out for an open fight. When the stock of songs started to diminish on either side, people came forward with the same old of tactics of howling and making a pandemonium.
Anthakshari gave way for the dancing session. What ever be the song, deppankuthu or rock n roll, the back benchers led by Manaf danced like in heaven. John Paul turned out to be the item number dancer. After sometime, girls too decided to join the dancing team. Santra who couldn’t control herself turned out to be a chronic dancer. Novice people like me and Divya gave her a good company. Though the day was burning, that couldn’t spoil the side-splitting mood within the bus.
We reached Kumarakom by one O clock. Palazhy(the houseboat) was waiting for us at the lakeside. Many of us were getting into a houseboat for the first time and the excitement could be read from the faces. All were running to occupy the side seats so that we could get the fresh air that was breezing through. All were eagerly waiting for a typical Nattinpuram lunch. Thengin kallu turned out to be the starter. The scene reminded of a mess around the food in a refugee camp. Worse became the situation, when girls too decided to have a sip.
The lunch, which resembled a typical Kerala homely food, was more nostalgic than delicious. As the lunch session improved, don’t know why the organizers in the house boat seemed to be in a panic state, may be they would have been worrying about running out of food stock. The corporates from TEL turned out to real Theettapandarams.
The lunch session was followed by a cultural session. One wonderful light song by Nisha woke up many sleeping singers. Vishnu and Jayalekshmi followed Nisha. Jineesh once again proved to be a romantic singer. When he sang Chandana Manivaathil…. , with the waves in the lake and the streaming air playing a mild back ground music, the whole crew seemed to be thinking of someone special. Swaroop also proved to be a melodious singer with his song Karnikaaratheerangal. Then the sleeping singers who were forcibly woken up captured the scene. Manaf came out with the conventional number of Kuttanadan punchayile…Rahul (Rahul S. Nair) was invited to present some Tamil dialogues. But Rahul, in a mood of ecstasy after a delicious lunch preceded by thengin kallu and similar stuffs right from the beginning of the journey couldn’t resist himself from singing. When he sang Ente nenjil neeyanu….and finally yelled out Fathimaa….Fathimaa…, even the most unromantic person in the boat felt pity for him. Everyone prayed in silent, so that rahul could gain back his lot love someday. Rahul’s pareekutty performance was followed by solo performances by Femin and ajitha(Ajith Arickath), another two lost lovers who sang Kayalarikathu valayerinjappol and Rosappoomalathannal(in the loving memory of some Rosamma) respectively.
The cultural session was follwed by the musical chair competition. Rahul(Rahul S. Nair) turned out to be the ultimate winner thereby proving himself to be in the blood line of Karunakaran or some other famous politicians. Rahul had his own tactics in winning every round, who ever be the opponent.
The musical chair gave way for Sundarikku PottuKuthal event. All those who couldn’t help sleeping after the heavy lunch participated in the event with enthusiasm. None of the girls who are used to PottuKuthal everyday of their life couldn’t find even close to the destination.
Thus every moment of the journey in the houseboat from Kumarkom to Allepy was cherishing. The scenic beauty of the lake side was mesmerizing and the hectic schedule at office really necessitate such a day in harmony with nature.
As we reached Alleppy, the buses were already waiting for us to take to the beachside. Whether beachside or lakeside, the Elxsians hardly made any difference in freaking out. We had a small tea break at ICH at Allepy beachside. Many just concentrated on flying kites, while others just ran against the roaring waves, while others found the beach climate to be the best for flirting. Vishnu seemed to be fully dedicated to fly all the kites that the girls bought and Eby seemed to be fully dedicated in collecting all the broken kites. It took sometime for the poor chaps to realize that they are almost in a trap, when people started dumping their sandals and bags near them before running against the waves.
Even the rain couldn’t stop the Elxsians from enjoying to the zenith. All the ice cream men available at the beach side were being hunted wildly by the Elxsians for mango doublets and chocobars. Seeing the spirit, even the rain gave up. Again the whole gang were found fighting against the waves. One and all were found running and howling and tumbling and none ever thought of a retreat. By 8.30 night we went for the dinner to the nearby restaurant. It was too simple to be called a dinner. Since we had a simple and humble beginning with idli and chutney in the morning, all seemed to be satisfied to wind up with the simple dinner also.
After dinner we happily departed to our present hometown. Reached Trivandrum by one O clock at night. When I sank to bed after a laborious day, really felt happy about my sudden twist in the morning decision. When I was dressing up in hurry to set out for the tour, I had never thought the day is going to be one of the memorable days in Elxsi.
I could feel the spirit of being a part of a big crew. Gaining new friends and becoming part of a new team!!! The day was really worth!!!