Meena Bhavan, Tellicherry

What is the image that comes to mind when anyone mentions Kerala to you? It would definitely be the greenery or the beaches or the backwaters or some picturesque hill station or scenic place. God has been very generous to this small state in South India, which has the highest literacy rate and migrant population in the country, in terms of Flora and fauna.

What comes to my mind when I think about this place is my paternal grand parents' house (See pics below), where I've spent a significant part of my life. This well-kept house, situated in a large, serene, naturally landscaped area filled with various fructifying trees and flowering plants, have many memories attached to it. From learning new things as a child (cycling, making bow and arrows using coconut leaf midribs and toys using the leaves, my first experience of school, socializing with people, drawing water from the well, going to temple festivals or Ulsavams, playing with my first set of pets, etc. to name a few) to making erstwhile friends, from having our yearly family get together, to seeing my cousins getting married and bringing in their brides, from learning the authentic way of cooking using grinding stones, earthen pots and firewood, to singing devotional songs in our ashram (See pic) and much more.

The house, situated in Tellicherry, a major town in Kannur district has seen, played host to, and sheltered many generations of occupants. The main structures within it's boundaries are the house, the ashram (with an underground enclosure for meditation), and the medicine manufacturing area (I hail from a well known family specialised in Siddha Vaidya, Ayurveda and Yoga, dating back to five centuries).

'Meena Bhavan', aptly named so after my dad's mother, is what the house is called. Sadly, ever since my grandfather (see pic) expired in October 2008, it has been abandoned. The house, which was ever filled with people, is now waiting for someone to occupy it (My dad's sisters of course, to whom the house eventually went after partition).

With sad thoughts filled in my nostalgic state of mind, I wonder whether those lively moments will ever come back (or will rather even come close to what it was in the past).