Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
K Balachandran May 2016
Once I chased a girl in Calicut,
Her diet, just pepper, not her fault,
Wooing her I'd plead,
"You are hot, I am glad,
But burn just my mouth, understood?"
Calicut in the original spice country, Kerala, South India is the sea port Portuguese explorer and seafarer, Vasco da Gama the first European to discover sea route to India , landed in A.D.1498 .Pepper was the main reason for this adventure, that led to Portuguese colonization of Kerala and nearby  region.Malayalam , the language of Kerala and Portuguese share quite a number of words, as a result of this interlude(eg;Calico-a fabric originally from Calicut).Later the Dutch, the next wave of colonizers (who were Protestants) ousted the Catholic Portuguese from their head quarters in Cochin and occupied their place, till the British came along and pushed them out..Europian powers of yore fought their proxy religio, socio, economic wars in a far away land.Oh!yes,! the French also had in between their share of  colonial success in Kerala, where still the Francophone culture remains..
sheeba balan kpp Dec 2014
It is good to get lost at Edapally junction
in that sea of people in the bus bay in front of emmanaul silks
to be exact, I could get lost in any part of kerala
it is the same to me ,kozhikode, thrissur or cochin
I am a foreigner
And i have adapted.
why ?
Why ,you may ask
why this indifference to one's own mother
simply because you cannot abandon your mother though you grew up in an orphanage
So goes for these places
I did not choose my mother
nor did I choose my native land
and I cannot orphan them
can I ?
I am familiar with some places now
As new memories are made
I remember places now
I remember fort kochi for the lanes sloshed in whisky and dreams
i remember vypin for small truths
I remember vytilla for heartbreak and pain
I remember wellington for incessant talk and friends
I remember calicut for numerous crossroads and junctions and restrooms
I remember thrissur for art and molestation
i do remember places now for each memory made
it was not like this for the place I grew
I know the temple and the paddy field
and the people in each house
like the woman on Google maps announcing each turn and curve
I would say this where I smashed the neatly piled red bricks with my lady bird bicycle
or take a turn in that alley and say this where I buy coloured glass bangles
Or take a left here ,this is where I light lamps filled with ghee fasting and in obeisance to devi
It is all vivid ,perfect with no doubts
and everything is doubtful in my own land
And then ,I decided to get lost at Edapally
sorry if I am geographically wrong

I stopped my car at the highway
Amongst the water logged fields
Overgrown with white lilies
my driver looked displeased
how could one waste travel and money
until then I had counted minutes and seconds
Of anticipated moments of security boarding and baggage
and now I stopped here at angamali  a nowhere
and watched my flight overhead
What now he looked anxiously
let's take a detour
I said
and yelled at the plane
"I don't care "
I want to get lost
And switched off all accountability

He dropped me at Edapally junction
And i stood still in that movement
a flood of people
fear engulfed me
the airconditioned air filled my mind
a fake cherry tree with cotton and red  glitter paper stood staring
People moved in with money and came out with loads
sweat, dreams, monotony, laughter expectations ,new hopes and hopes  dangling in the bus bay
some comfort now ,I stood hugging my Adidas coat
I did not know where to look and was whirling around in small circles
when I felt being pulled
Your lanky arm
I was here trying to get lost
And here you were pulling me back
I walked with big steps trying to dodge you and hoping to disapper
And then it started to pour
I did not know which was louder
the rain or your anger
your knuckles white
is this why they call white with fury
even the rain seemed white
the cotton hung wet and the cherry Tree seemed drained
but language seemed fine
you drove
I walked
and it rained
it was perfect to get lost
christhamF Jul 2011
Everything I heard amazed me,

The treasure fleet's sixty two ships,

commanded by a powerful ******.

 

Gone, he was captured,

he was castrated,

three jewels, from a dying Prince.

 

The Cheng ** had sailed from Malaku Island;

sight of flags, sound of bells,

guided them to Calicut.

 

Deny the social scientist,

cultural baggage prevails,

abstract freedom, kindling of change.

 

Moaning monsoon winds linger,

the allure of sparkling moons wax,

and dormant black seas swell.

 

The noble adventure of death begins,

where the legacy of leadership ends,

and stars trust him with their thoughts.



© christhamF   2011
I appreciate you reading this ....
Geetha Jayakumar May 2018
There’s the death waiting to pounce over,
Only left is the aftermath of the tides left over.
She lay isolated far away from mankind,
She was the loving and dedicated nurse of a kind.
A deadly virus had spread the blanket over her.
Probably her inner conscience spoke of,
The limited time left with her,
Battling the Nipah virus will be soon over.

She committed herself to the thankless profession.
Had she not nursed the deadly virus affected patient,
Perhaps she would have been alive here today.
Too late, she realized that the same had taken
Over the life of her patient.
She felt saddened yet unknown to her was,
The virus had already infected her blood.

She never knew it would be her turn to bid bye.
Just a day ago she had fever,
Yet ignoring her health she continued her work.
Finally, her health started deteriorating,
So she got admitted in the same hospital.
She found herself in an isolated ward,
Which made her realize she too contracted the same.

Her husband has been just a wall away.
Though she wanted to see him and her little children.
But thinking of their security she paused there for moments.
She knew her fate was holding her hand to death.
Then she scribbled just few words for her beloved at the last!

Only we can pray today is “May her soul Rest In Peace!”

                           All Rights Reserved!

The young dedicated Indian nurse Lini Puthussery from Kerala needed to be applauded, awarded for her selfless service which costed her dear life while treating Nipah virus affected patient. She was attached to Perambara’s Tukul hospital
in Kozhikode, Calicut. We appreciate the young woman’s dedication to her thankless profession.
The Nipah virus infection, spread mainly by fruit bats and has symptoms like breathing trouble, brain swelling, fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation and delirium. A patient can fall into coma within 48 hours. It travels through direct contact with a patient. There is no vaccine for Nipha virus yet, as per World Health Organization.

Courtesy Google!
Jared Eli  Feb 2015
Untitled
Jared Eli Feb 2015
Diaz
Diaz was from Portugal, his first Bartholomew
In 1487, rounded Good Hope, bid adieu
For going on to India was for Da Gama's crew
King Manuel sent 13 ships with Diaz and Cabral
And April 22, 1500 claimed Brazil
Half the fleet, when on return, in Jones' locker laid
But the six remaining, spice-filled ships for the voyage paid

Da Gama**
Da Gama, he was Portuguese
For Indian Ocean trade
He sailed four ships, if you please
With Indian guidance for aid

1497 is when Vasco hit the sea
And sailing 'round the Cape of Good Hope, quickly found that he
Would require some assistance from a local native guide
Together crossing Arab sea and in Calicut ending ride
But though Da Gama and the Indians didn't hit it off
He still returned to Lisbon toting spices and their cloth

— The End —