FortKochi

 A dream world ... I can't find any other phrase for it ... and I do not want to come out of it ... a dream world created almost 300 to 400 years ago ...by the Portugese, Dutch and the British... and still preserved to a large extent ... a small town created near the sea shore ... deep sea ... surrounded by black rocks ... the sea shows different emotions at different times ... sometimes peaceful ... sometimes aggressive ... sometimes angry ... as long as it is peaceful, no issues ... the moment it shows its aggression or anger, then God help you ... when it is peaceful, it will give a gentle knock at the door of the shore ... when it becomes aggresive, we can feel the pressure at the shore ... and when it is angry, it simply throws you out of the shore ... sea ... God's creation ... vast ... deep ... oh, while looking at the sea, I forgot that it is also a port ... the ships ... the giant cargo ships ... the fishing ships ... adorn the sea ...that's a creation of mankind ... that's technology ... that's engineering ... it mixes very well with nature ... sea life ... a calm life ... peacefully sailing life ... dream life ... yes, it surely involves a risk ... risk of dealing with the anger of the sea ... but that is a risk which mankind has taken for expanding its horizons ... it is a risk worth taking ... for many years, it has been serving mankind for mixing populations ... mixing grain ... mixing knowledge ... and it still continues doing that ...  peacefully ... there is no fuss... even after spending 50 years of my life in India, I was unaware of some such place exists in India ... but thanks to the world of Internet, it has introduced me to this treasure ... I spent my time moving through the lanes of the town ... well planned town ... due care taken for a heavy rainfall ... beautiful bungalows ... big or small ... surrounded by trees ... I could not thank the mobile technology enough ... it gave me access to the camera and my music ... wherever I went ... what else I want?... I could not stop clicking pictures ... I think this town is guarded by God himself ... I could not thank God enough ... It was my routine to visit the churches there ... two churches ... both grand ... built around 300 to 400 years ago ... one was a church where Vasco-Da-Gama was buried ... he was the first European to visit India ... the church is that ancient ... it gives me goose bumps ... there were some ancient scripts on the stones inside... I wish I could read that ... another was a basilica ... lot of beautiful paintings of Jesus and his era on the walls ... I used to spend almost 30 min in the church ... meditating experience ... churches were open for travellers ... I benefited a lot from them ... in terms of trading peace ... the basilica also had a small temple of Mother Mary near it ... I visited her whenever I went to church ... small, cosy, peaceful, independent, residence of Mother Mary ... I wonder about the sculptors of the statues ... very pleasant facial features ... on my way back home, I really admire my hotel staff ... the people from FortKochi ... soft- spoken, well-mannered people ... they provided me with a heavy-healthy breakfast ... Kerala breakfast ... I was delighted ... stayed in FortKochi for a little more than a month ... returned back with a lot of happy memories ... will always cherish those memories !