As soon as we step on to our houseboat, Prasanti is already practicing for her five minutes of fame by posing with the fruit bowl. I start working on my photography skills but with a little bit of probing end up posing too, with a pineapple on my head - hey, Sarah Jessica Parker also wore a fruit hat on some occasion!
Soon the scenery of the Alleppy backwaters win all our attention. Or rather, it becomes the backdrop for gorgeous snaps of this Bollywood wannabe that I am travelling with.
Our houseboat is made of wild jack wood. It is quite small, with one bedroom and en-suite bathroom, a kitchen, an open air lounge/ dining area and an upper deck. We each lie down on a day bed in the open area and become quiet in the presence of the giant palm tree reflections in the canals between the rice paddies. The soundtrack of birds (especially ducks) and the putt-putting of the boat is soothing.
We stop for lunch at a lagoon in the middle of the rice paddies and the lack of urban sounds is a relief. Our personal chef prepares a meal of curried river fish, okra, coconut green beans, cooked tomato, a heap of rice and ciappati. We eat and eat until we can't eat anymore and it still looks like we haven't touched the food.
This is the life, here. Good food, good friends and the simplicity of nature to heal the effects of fast city life. The further away from the rat race I get, the closer to myself I feel. That night I dream of my friends' babies again - pure eyes looking right into my soul and saying 'Remember who you are'.
