we meet again Fort Kochi

Suhana safar aur yeh mausum hasin humein dar hai hum kho na jaaye kahi..   What a beautiful night. I was thinking I would just stay indoors all day n rest and drink water to help me recover from this cold that left me feeling so feverish, achy, and urghh.. But I AM GLAD MY advenderous inner me took control and decided to wander off. So I dis rest a little this AM after having breakfast at the hostel. But then I walked over to Matancherry from fort kochi which is couple km. Actually everyone kept saying Jewish synagogue is 1km away but I walked forever! I think it was more than that! I also ate at this great cafe called solar cafe. I am glad I walked instead of rikshawing (yes I just invented this term) because I eould have missed such nooks and hidden cafes otherwise. It was so nice and unique. They used organic ingridients and had huge collection of books to browse. i passed my time reading an old book called 101 Indian folktales. The traditional food was good. i finally got the soup I was looking for to help my throat but I enjoyed the shaas (buttermilk) so much more!! Gulped the whole pot down!! Then walked through a long road with a predominantly Muslim colony leading to Jew town. i love how everyone respects and celebrates different faiths here. Kerala is so diverse!! The world can learn a thing or two. As I study the hx of Kerala I realize how accepting Kerala has been to different migrating cultures and religious groups over time! Sure there were conflicts but for the most part people were given acceptance and made a home for themselves! I had a magical evening as I walked down to go to the beach but encountered an outdoor live band performance to celebratr christmas and new yr fro the kerala cultural community. It was beautiful. Classical music and vocals in Malayalam, Hindk, and Tamil! Music is a universal language even if you cannot understand the words. The beats will resonate with you. Loved every moment. Until of course my cough attacks came...I sat for as long as I could. Sucking vicks cough drops and sipping water. Gosh I am so glad God brought these moments in my life. I feel so blessed and grateful. I love India. Outsiders and Indians may see polltion, poverty, viral gastroenteritis, chaos when they think of India but I see my beautifully diverse and colorful country. I see the positive and make the most of thr negatives instead of complaining. Anyway, the singer sang this lullaby in Tamil and I recognized it immidetiately. I heard it in Hindi as a child and I could recognize the beats. Couple artists also sang Hindi songs. One was chadavi ka chaand ho tum... It was mesmerizing!  The beautful artists, their love for their music and sharing it with the public, the lit up trees with christmas lights, the honks of boats pulling into harbor, crowd of people gathering around.
Just as I thought the.night cant get more magical, they sang kora kagaz tha from Aradhana. Aradhana was one of the 1st old hindi movies that sparked my love for old hindi cinema and music back in middle school. The combination of RD Burman, Kishore kumar, lataji, and on screen rajesh khanna and sharmila tagore...pure perfection!
There I was in India in a live concert outdoors listening to mu favorite tunes surrounded by unity. I have never been to fancy concerts in my life. Never once have I paid for a ticket or even seen any live concerts. The only ones I have seen are free ones as such and let me tell you they are the most magical and beautiful. I might head out for dinner or might not. But I have gots to wash this bag full of clothes. It will take a good hr or so in the sink. Hopefully they will airdry under this fan by tomorow. If not then oh well. i will adjust. That is life. I really do hope my cold goes away fully by friday. i am seeing my family in my hometown then and I cannot and do not want to get anyone sick. Especially the little ones. I dont mind me getting sick from catching what kids have but definitely not vise versa. I guess as a nurse you get so used to caring for everyone  else and getting sick in the process despite proper precautions. But when you are the one sick...it just feels too odd to be the one needing to be cared for or resting. At least tbat helps me move forward in life and preservere. I refuse to let feeling sick keep me from walking miles in the afternoon heat. Mind over matter. i am only in India for so long. Dear India, kora kagaz tha yeh mann mera...likh liya naam ispe tera. Suna angan tha jeevan mera...bas gaya pyaar isme thera... Maa tujhe salaam!       I can talk about my teain ride from varkala to ernakalum(kochi mainland city) but it would be too long. So will leave it as travel like a local, sleeper class, bugs galore, kids galore, dont get up and hop off train at random station to blow ur nose when u spot as dustpin because someoen will take ur seat...but then nice gentleman scoots over to make room for you!! Haha..i was like really?! Anyway everyone was so nice making room for eacother in sleeper class. The lil ones where turning the upper berths/bunks into their jungle gym!! Well kids should be active and playing with eachother instead ofbbeing tied to a phone 24/7 so that was refreshing to see in this generation. The next lil kid was on his dads phone, his uncle phone, and even tried to see my phone! I was like back to the majority! Anyway...he was really bored andeextremely active so i cant blame him for wanting to be entertained!! Anyway...before I left Varkala I went to Papasana beach which is one of the places for pilgrimage in south India. I wN.Yent and said hi to the kind lady I met the day before who was the shop owner.. And