My grandfathers brother passed away yesterday . He had a good life and was lucky enough to live where he liked ---Munnar . You and me go to Munnar and i have yet to see one person who is not in love with Munnar in kerala the mountainous , place filled with beautiful tea estates . And he was fortunate enough to live his life there and that too with the girl of his dreams .
I visited him first when i was a child and i still remember the first site of a double barrel gun which he showed me . In addition he had rifle . For a young boy of 7 years not only was i thrilled in seeing this uncle who lived proper Englishman style in the middle of a tea estate but also was thrilled by the guns he had . And you may ask why he had guns . Munnar was not the munnar of today with the buzzling tourist . Those days wild animals used to come near the house and elephants were a real menace . (Even now occasionally in some parts ) . Also long ago he was a hunter . He has told us his near brushes with death and instead killed leopard , bear etc . That was long back . On my last visit a few months back i asked him where his guns were . He told the times have changed and he has got only one for his personal protection .Rest he gave back to the government long back . And showed me the 0.22 calibre one he had .
Another impressive thing he did was he married the girl of his dreams . Whenever anyone tells me about the short shelflife of inter-religious marriage i laugh inside for immediately so many faces of my cousins and uncles come in front of me ( who have successful interreligious and interracial marriages ) . But the record -holder is this uncle whose marriage with a girl from Andhra pradesh who belonged to another religion lasted more than 50 years . And on my last visit a few months back he called me and told a few family personal matters . And one thing he stressed was the great support he had from this wife of his in his joys as well as sorrows . 50 years of happy married life --impressive .
Going as a tourist is one thing but living at munnar breathing a fresh mountain air everyday .,leading an adventurous life and drinking fresh tea is entirely a different matter . Though he was against rampant tourism (dont hate him for this , he has his opinion because according to him the tourism was disproportionate to the ecosystem ) my heart goes for his spirit -- the man from the mountains .
I visited him first when i was a child and i still remember the first site of a double barrel gun which he showed me . In addition he had rifle . For a young boy of 7 years not only was i thrilled in seeing this uncle who lived proper Englishman style in the middle of a tea estate but also was thrilled by the guns he had . And you may ask why he had guns . Munnar was not the munnar of today with the buzzling tourist . Those days wild animals used to come near the house and elephants were a real menace . (Even now occasionally in some parts ) . Also long ago he was a hunter . He has told us his near brushes with death and instead killed leopard , bear etc . That was long back . On my last visit a few months back i asked him where his guns were . He told the times have changed and he has got only one for his personal protection .Rest he gave back to the government long back . And showed me the 0.22 calibre one he had .
Another impressive thing he did was he married the girl of his dreams . Whenever anyone tells me about the short shelflife of inter-religious marriage i laugh inside for immediately so many faces of my cousins and uncles come in front of me ( who have successful interreligious and interracial marriages ) . But the record -holder is this uncle whose marriage with a girl from Andhra pradesh who belonged to another religion lasted more than 50 years . And on my last visit a few months back he called me and told a few family personal matters . And one thing he stressed was the great support he had from this wife of his in his joys as well as sorrows . 50 years of happy married life --impressive .
Going as a tourist is one thing but living at munnar breathing a fresh mountain air everyday .,leading an adventurous life and drinking fresh tea is entirely a different matter . Though he was against rampant tourism (dont hate him for this , he has his opinion because according to him the tourism was disproportionate to the ecosystem ) my heart goes for his spirit -- the man from the mountains .
The last of a great generation! He is sorely missed. However, Munnar is no longer a place with fresh air and uncluttered roads. In some ways, the city is even worse than Cochin!
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