Golden Valley, Kerala: A Journey into Untouched Nature

chillibreeze writer — Gowri Bhavadas

About 20 miles away from Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram), the capital of Kerala, (the state well known as ‘God’s own Country’), there lies a small, unidentified place calling itself ‘The Golden Valley’. Have you ever tried listening to the sounds of Silence? Have you ever wondered what message the forces of nature had to tell us? This immensely beautiful place tells us what we are missing in Life. It shows us the true essence of life!!!

My stress level at work was steadily increasing thanks to my slave-driver boss. I decided to break away from it all even if it were for a short period. I set off driving through the heavy morning traffic in the city of Trivandrum, disillusioned by the noise of enthusiastic vendors shouting for attention, cars and buses honking away to glory, the traffic policeman blowing his whistle with pride, unconcerned about the crowd……….so typical of a small city of this magnitude. As I drove on, the noises subsided and brought upon me, an almost unnerving calmness.

At last, I see from a distance, the half broken, moth eaten signboard that read ‘Golden Valley’. As I entered the premises, a small shattered hut welcomed me; with an old man who had lost all hope of any human setting foot in this long forgotten place. He seemed surprised to see me but a pleasant smile lit up his face when he realized he was not dreaming!

He took me to a stream flowing by a raw and untouched forest. I settled down on a rock, with the assurance from the man that I could be taken into the forest for a trek once I am done with my conversation with the stream. The gleaming water slowly drifting along the sides of the rock, unaffected by the world and its ways, uncomplaining and unsurpassed, greeted on either sides by beautiful flowers immersed in its chill, brought to me, a feeling of enormous joy, never experienced before!

I now decided I should move deeper into the forest. Accompanied by the old man, I ascended the hills that paved way to the hub of the forest. It was a rocky and faintly dangerous climb. The terrain went up and down, followed by a couple of rocks giving way underneath to make it even more dangerous. But even the uncanny and scary journey was awe-inspiring.

The earth and the treetops were wet and sweet scented after the long torrential rains that define this part of the world. The only noises that caught your ear were the chirping of the birds, the buzz of the beetles and the water dripping down from the leaf tips. And if you listen beyond all these noises, you could hear the sounds of silence. It would shock you to realize that silence is so much noisier than NOISE itself! Looking up, you see the rocks carved in and jutting out far above you, protecting you from the rain and the lesser forces of nature.

A few kilometers into the forest, we reached another fraction of the stream with a bamboo-laden bridge to cross over. Take a few trips back and forth that bamboo bridge and you are sure to find a job in the circus to walk the rope! After the Herculean task was successfully achieved and I thought I could take a breath of relief, there lay before me a steep hill to climb. ‘Stumbled up the hill’ would be a more appropriate way of describing my attempts at climbing it, but the sight after all the struggle was worth a hundred more of such efforts.

I could see a majestic waterfall gushing down and merging with a small circular pool engulfed by huge, enormous rocks. All I could do was stand there, gaping, unable to utter a single word! There are so many places in this world that might look more beautiful and are better appreciated, but what stands out in this place is probably the fact that it has not been tampered with. Nature in its most unrefined self, the way it was probably intended by the creator, indisputably a very pleasing change from the tarred roads and cemented walls of the city that we are all so familiar with! So I sat still, enjoying the shimmering water splashing as it hit on the surface of the pool after its long tiring journey down the mountain.

True to its name, Golden Valley has a serene, untouched beauty about it, rich and lustrous. After what seemed like a decade’s life lived in those few hours there, I had to get back to the world of reality! The sun was almost down and disappearing by the time I bid farewell to the old man, promising him I’d go back again, and got into my car. As I drove back, I recollected the day’s events and realized…everything said and done, if not for my boss, I would not have decided to make this trip to the Golden Valley at all. So do I not owe him, special thanks for this day? What a revelation to end the wonderful day!

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—About our writer:

Gowri says, " Isn’t it fascinating how a whole idea or experience could be so neatly wrapped up in a few words? Don’t we often overlook these little wonders that have made life so much more interesting? Think about it!"

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