Thekkady sits right next to the frontier between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. But once you cross the Western Ghats it’s like setting foot in a whole other country. The alphabet is different, the language is not malayalam but tamil. And the temperature is much hotter than in the hill stations, thus flora and fauna are radically different too. I mean it’s quite a shock, I’ve never felt this otherness when crossing a border in Europe. Tamil Nadu counts 72 million souls and tamil has been used for 3800 years so naturally the country has a distinct identity.While walking around the fields I came across a wonderful banyan, the national tree of India. In hinduism the leaf of the banyan tree is said to be the resting place for Krishna, so where there is a banyan, I was told, you should normally find a temple not too far. It was my first visit to a hindu temple, I was impressed, touched by the warm welcome and stuck in the moment so I forgot about my camera.
It was that beautiful. You’ll have to take my word for it.
Organikos 