Travel Tips

"In every adult,
I believe the heart of the child still beats,
and in that heart,
yesteryear will live forever."- Ruth

"Years have trailed past like clouds over a country,
And they'll never return, for they're gone forever,
And I no longer enjoy such light Endeavour
As the magic of folk songs or the land of fairy

Which as a child filled me with wonder,
Not quite understood yet meaning so much to me,
And now these shadows try to recapture me
In this hour of mystery, this twilight hour.

These trembling fingers touch the strings in vain
To find the right notes from the fading memory
Of youth, so that my soul can vibrate again.

Everything's disappeared from the horizon of that distant plain
And you can no longer hear the voice of past harmony.
Behind me time gathers . . . and I darken!"

by Mihai Eminescu
1850-1889,

"Those days are gone, oh this I know,
but sometimes when I dream,
I find inside my aging heart
a lingering youthful gleam."

"Oh how I long for yesterday,
When life was fun and filled with glee;
My heart was light, my spirit free,
And all I did was laugh and play."-Ruth Gillis.

"If two stand shoulder to shoulder against the gods,
Happy together, the gods themselves are helpless
Against them while they stand so." -Maxwell Anderson

We can enjoy all beautiful things life can offer us, only through sharing our experiences, feelings and insights. We can grow beyond our lone monotonous life if we have the right partner by our side to share all our joy and sorrow.

There is nothing more fascinating in our life than a little sweet baby that ignites something magical in our hearts. When they look at us with inquisitive eyes curious about everything that is happening in their world, we feel something which can not be described in words.
"The day you were born,
was one of the happiest day of my life.
I have always believed in angels and I always thought they lived in heaven.
But the day you were born and I saw you there, so innocent, so fragile,
I was afraid to touch you and hurt you.
I believe angels are not only in heaven but on earth also.
At that moment I had more reasons to believe how wonderful God is.
If we believe how wonderful God is."- (Rina V. Mazariegos)

"Family life is many things
And one of the nicest joys it brings
Is having a daughter as dear as you
Who's thought of in a special way
Not only on a special day
But warmly and with love
The whole life through!"

The architecture of Kerala is unique in many aspects. In olden days, most of the houses were built with roof tiles and wooden ceilings. This type construction provides very good heat insulation against hot and humid summer months. We spent our childhood in a typical Ettukettu house situated in Northern Kerala (then known as Malabar Region). There were nearly 40 people living in this house. Joint family system was prevalent in Kerala during that period.
Ettukettu (Eight built-up sides) is an example of the ancient traditional style of Kerala architecture.. ‘Ettukettu is the house with two quadrangles or mansions with eight shalas (square or rectangular living rooms with verandahs on one or more sides) around two courtyards.
The ettukettu model houses were constructed by aristocratic families of Kerala. Ettukettu is laid and constructed with rituals and principles according to Vaastu Shastra )Ancient Indian norms for architecture based on religious beliefs). The Vaastu Shastra lays down norms for all activities associated with construction such as site selection, type of soil, orientation of buildings, layout of rooms etc. The ettukettu model houses demonstrate excellent craftsmanship in wood, and a good understanding of construction and building material science.