Wayanad

We spent 2 days in Wayanad last week for Vito's shraadh. The rituals were performed at the beautiful Thirunelli temple. While my views on divine providence remain unchanged, I can appreciate and in fact advocate some of the traditional customs performed within a religious environment. The shraadh, for instance, is one such yearly ritual which helps keep my father's memories alive in our family. If you view life as a train ride which starts when you're born and ends when you breathe your last, then all the people you meet in your life are your co-passengers. School, university, relationships, work, family.....are all the bogies you spend time in on the journey. And in most cases we are mostly caught up traversing between these compartments. We do find the reflective moment sitting alone by the window, when we aren't lamenting over the rigours of the journey or celebrating a little with our companions. Inevitably a parent, friend or relative will get off this train forever. The shraadh for me has become a time when I force this train to journey back to the times I spent with my father and I step off the train for a little while and wallow in the stillness, hoping to find where this journey will take me.

Doves - The cedar room (Album: Lost Souls)