The evening walk is a 40-50 minute exercise. The dress up and leaving is complete with a face mask which is made by a white cotton hand-ker-chief. It is cumbersome in the beginning but one gets used to it. That is how I found it. Only thing is the exhaling air moves up into the spectacles and grounds its surface which we have to remove and swipe often times.
Walking out, the by-lane roads are mostly empty due to the covid threat and only very necessary people come out. As it is rainy, there could be an occasional shower any time and water crossing the road or at places stagnating is usual. There are hens checking the mud for little worms and competing with them are the crows, minahs and n occasional copper smith. As long as it is the road up to the paddy fields, this is the state. Once I enter the paddy field area, just after the "Konchira Muthi" shrine, (Muthi is the Malayalam for Grand Mother which the local people have given to St. Mary of Pompey, who is venerated in the shrine) I make a sign of "In the name of the Father...." and proceed on to the paddy field road where there are intersecting canals carrying a lot of water where a few guys are sitting with long fishing rods and on the green fields are the small cranes, water birds looking for the fish available in the water. An occasional king fisher sits on a lonely tree waiting for a rare sighting of his daily meal which is a small fish. Once he locates one, now he located one, he went into the water and flew up with the little fish in its beak.!
In this drama, there was a little commotion on my left side water body from where a small crane fluttered out giving a "eeek..eeek" sound. It was a small frog in the beak of the crane which was making its sos call. But in the natural scenario there is nothing much to be done as the crane was going over a water expanse and going to a choice place to take his early dinner. Since it crossed me I turned around to see its trajectory. It went over an exanse encircling me, reached a place on the road which I had already covered and settled to have its dinner. I walked on. The field expanse if a 10-12 kilometre area or more which is said to be 'kole-padam' (said to be below sea level paddy fields).
One gets to see a good expanse of the free sky here with various cloud formations and wind movements and the evening skies make a colourful canvas at times.
Walking up at the end of my country road and turning to the tarred road between various houses the land scape changes to house compounds on both sides and an occasional motor cycle or car or any kind of other vehicles coming at times. Those who walk for walking a too little or nil. But there are people going or coming with daily errants or needs such as going to the market etc. would be there. In some houses children will be playing at some other vehicles and cars would be seen parked. The vehicles mostly don't run after covid. They all are parked mostly. Rare occasions they try to run. The earlier days before covid, most of them rarely used to stop, now the plate is reversed.
On the way comes the city market of the village where most of the wares are sold and purchased. This place too people are less out marketing. And those who come are all in their masks and keeping a fair distance. After the market comes the church of St. Mary, now so silent, the mother blessing all of us passing by. As all are taking precautions and directions given by the local government, the daily mass etc. are conducted with very few able bodied only in attendance and other programmes are generally postponed.
After the church, a few more steps, I hear my next compound neighbour firing his bullet motor cycle for his evening run. That makes my evening walk during these covid times, my friends!
Walking out, the by-lane roads are mostly empty due to the covid threat and only very necessary people come out. As it is rainy, there could be an occasional shower any time and water crossing the road or at places stagnating is usual. There are hens checking the mud for little worms and competing with them are the crows, minahs and n occasional copper smith. As long as it is the road up to the paddy fields, this is the state. Once I enter the paddy field area, just after the "Konchira Muthi" shrine, (Muthi is the Malayalam for Grand Mother which the local people have given to St. Mary of Pompey, who is venerated in the shrine) I make a sign of "In the name of the Father...." and proceed on to the paddy field road where there are intersecting canals carrying a lot of water where a few guys are sitting with long fishing rods and on the green fields are the small cranes, water birds looking for the fish available in the water. An occasional king fisher sits on a lonely tree waiting for a rare sighting of his daily meal which is a small fish. Once he locates one, now he located one, he went into the water and flew up with the little fish in its beak.!
In this drama, there was a little commotion on my left side water body from where a small crane fluttered out giving a "eeek..eeek" sound. It was a small frog in the beak of the crane which was making its sos call. But in the natural scenario there is nothing much to be done as the crane was going over a water expanse and going to a choice place to take his early dinner. Since it crossed me I turned around to see its trajectory. It went over an exanse encircling me, reached a place on the road which I had already covered and settled to have its dinner. I walked on. The field expanse if a 10-12 kilometre area or more which is said to be 'kole-padam' (said to be below sea level paddy fields).
One gets to see a good expanse of the free sky here with various cloud formations and wind movements and the evening skies make a colourful canvas at times.
Walking up at the end of my country road and turning to the tarred road between various houses the land scape changes to house compounds on both sides and an occasional motor cycle or car or any kind of other vehicles coming at times. Those who walk for walking a too little or nil. But there are people going or coming with daily errants or needs such as going to the market etc. would be there. In some houses children will be playing at some other vehicles and cars would be seen parked. The vehicles mostly don't run after covid. They all are parked mostly. Rare occasions they try to run. The earlier days before covid, most of them rarely used to stop, now the plate is reversed.
On the way comes the city market of the village where most of the wares are sold and purchased. This place too people are less out marketing. And those who come are all in their masks and keeping a fair distance. After the market comes the church of St. Mary, now so silent, the mother blessing all of us passing by. As all are taking precautions and directions given by the local government, the daily mass etc. are conducted with very few able bodied only in attendance and other programmes are generally postponed.
After the church, a few more steps, I hear my next compound neighbour firing his bullet motor cycle for his evening run. That makes my evening walk during these covid times, my friends!
