You see the palm fronds swaying an eager welcome even as you come in to land. Reach by rail or road and the greenery doesn’t wait for you to cross the border before gathering you in a lush embrace. Nature, it would seem, has been taking lessons in haste from the natives. For a long time nature and natives chartered their own distinct courses in Kerala: the former charming and laidback while the latter amiable but in a tearing hurry. Life was what happened in the confusing, vibrant and graceful

The vodka came as promised. That it was equal portion water helped me drink it straight from the bottle.  “There seems to be no shortage of water,” I told Abdullah the handsome scrawny teenager with shifty green eyes who was at once the janitor, porter and concierge. And now, my lifesaver, my brother.  “Yes brother,” he replied as his eyes flew from my wallet to the backpack that lay dripping wet on the houseboat carpet. It was just habit and no malice. “The Dal Lake provides everybody with pure and