When Mallus (nick name for Malyalees, the people of Kerala) go to their villages, they go back to clean environment and fresh air. This advantage is obliterated for other parts of the country.
As for me, Kerala is the favorite-most place on Earth. I am thrilled to go back.
Making last minute entries is an art perfected by me. Must be all those Bond movies. I must break this habit of reaching on the dot. Vishy is waiting for me with his bag on wheels at Kurla Terminus, where I have reached thanks to four trains at various junctures. One of which I had to leave because of the 4-glass-water-therapy and Oh-God-I-got-to-pee syndrome.
2 minutes to departure is when I arrived. As soon as I saw those South-Indian woman eating their idlis and malgapudi, I knew I was on the right train on the way to my first rural spot in Kerala: Ayakkad. The train is dirt free. Certainly, South Indians are a cleaner breed than their northern brothers.
Wow! I love this trip. Kerala here I come. Oh Kerala.

The train stutters (with a bit of love) to a start as I notice buildings on the Central railway have this black soot, which if scratched can destroy your nails. The question being, why on Earth would you wanna do that? The train moves on and my heart is singing. We call Arun and ask him to meet us directly at Ayakkad in Kerala but he can’t make it. Damn. Last time when I had taken Ernakulam-Allepey-Cochin-Kumili-Tekkady-Kottayam-Ernakulam-Cochin-Alapuha-Kaldi-Malayatoor-Periyavoor-Aluva-Mumbai trip, I had taken the 11.40 night train. This 11.40 morning train will allow me to see all the places I had slept through last time.
Oh! Kerala if heaven ever had a name. The Wada-coffee people are selling their stock from the train pantry as I order Chicken Biryani. I also have my first mouthful of dal wada and ask him for chutney because I need the spice; which came in a form of a dark Goan woman in the other compartment. I asked the fellow to forget the chutney.