The influence of my native town on my character is profound. The sleepy little town of Palakkad (Palghat) in Kerala is extremely laid back. No one seemed to be in a hurry. There is an element of serene calmness. 1/n

Not for Palghat people the hardworking aggression of the Central Travancoreans or the business acumen of the Calicut people. They are satisfied easily and have no great ambitions in life. I have noticed this lack of ambition in many towns that has an agrarian economy. 2/n

Maybe it is the comfort of the agricultural economy taking care of the lower order needs that makes the people laidback. There is always rice in the cellar and twice a year, for Onam and Vishu one gets sufficient dresses and you dont have to fight to have a roof over your head.

Though most of the other towns in Kerala have changed over the past decade, Palghat has remained the same. People are still simple, uncomplicated, possess no great drive, are not ambitious and above all extremely helpful.3/n

For me, I have never seen a community that goes out of the way to help others than the nice Palghatians. The Palghat student smilingly offers his book to his classmate even though he is in dire need of it for the examinations. 4/n

A former collector of Palghat while inaugurating a Football tournament whose mascot was a 'rabbit', said that he chose rabbit as the mascot as it symbolizes Palghat people more than anyone else. Apparently docile, white as a lily and harmless. 5/n

The district is blessed to have Bharthapuzha and its tributaries flowing through it. Apart from making the land fertile, the rivers also ensured that there were early settlers from other parts of the country. The Tamil Brahmins from Mayiladuthurai, Kumbakonam, Chidambaram 6/n

and Thanjavur found the district to be quite similar to theirs and settled down. Their influence on the local culture is profound as they brought with them music and stessed the importance of education to come up in life. 7/n

They co exist with the natives very amicably.

I have been accused by many,including my late father, to be very laid back & not at all ambitious. Father used to say "if only you had been brought up in any other part of Kerala, you would have gone much farther in life" 8/n

I have absolutely no regret. Having never been a part of the rat race has its own advantages. It gave me time to learn to appreciate good things in life. I enjoy music, dance and for that matter any art form. 9/n

I have all the time in the world at my disposal and am never bored in life, as time never moves in Palghat. There is a pleasure in lazing around. Less stressful. 10/n

I have always appreciated the beauty of the Malayalam language spoken by those in the Valuvanadan region, on the banks of Bharathapuzha. This is where one can really appreciate the respect one gives to another individual through the use of language. 11/n

Though this is not true of the colloquial language used in Palghat town.

The lovely, clean devi temples (Kavu) , the Temple Festivals, Kalpathy Ratholsavam, the paddy fields, the dry wind blowing through the pass, the malampuzha dam, the quietly flowing Bharathapuzha 12/n

and the ever so gentle people makes it a wonderful place to be in.

(We, a group of Boys and Girls, once went for a marriage in Rural Valuvanad. We got down from the bus and asked for directions. The guy walked with us all the way to the house where the wedding was, 13/n

which was a good 3 1/2 kms away, and also involved crossing a Railway bridge over the river, with us having to walk along a long steel sheet between the rails and parallel to it, that scared the living daylights out of us, 14/n

all the while assuring us the house was just around the corner, and when we finally reached, he brushed aside our thanks with a wave and happily walked back the 3 1/2 kms) 15/n

Maybe I am biased, maybe it is nostalgia. For did not Sreeraman say,

"Janani Janmabhoomi cha
Swargaadapi Gariyasi" n/n