Get together at Pakuthipalam - 2

As soon as the bus took off - thankfully, Anuvind's house was on the highway and we did not have to go into town - and people settled down, Vysakh - who else ?! - started talking about breakfast. I was planning on having it somewhere on the ghat section but I realised that these chaps would not wait that long. So I decided to compromise on having it at Pothundy dam, which in any case had been planned as the first halt.  We were passing through brown paddy fields, testifying to the increasing summer heat as well as to the fact that the harvest had just been completed - I am not sure if such an expansive view can be seen anywhere else in the state, except maybe in the Kuttanad region. Paddy fields for was far as the eye can see, broken by the occasional thatched / tiled hut or a pump house. I can never get enough of this sight - brings back memories of times spending roaming around the green fields in Cheruvannur, splashing around in the streams, screaming our hearts out and stuffing ourselves silly, with the fruits of the season - mangoes, jackfruits, chikoo and the like !

The nearer we reached Pothundy, the stronger the clamour for food - I wondered at the capacity of these chaps ! We reached the dam site by 0730 hrs but entry was permitted only from 0800hrs. So we decided to have our breakfast right there by the roadside - Anuvind brought out the idlies, vadas and chutney and everyone focussed on the task, as if they had been starving. Food - even something as simple as an idli - tastes so much better when travelling, or so I have always thought. The photo sessions began even before breakfast was served and continued during and after. That sort of set / declared the theme of this trip - photos, photos and more photos !  Breakfast out of the way - and surprise, surprise, there were some idlis left over !! - we purchased the tickets for entry to the dam site,  climbing up a long series of steps to reach the top. There is a nice garden on either side of the walkway, with some realistic looking statues, which formed the backdrop of some of the snaps. Unfortunately, there was quite a bit of litter in the form of discarded bottles, biscuit and chocolate wrappers and the like, but the site at the top more than made up for all that. The light shimmering on the water with the Nelliyampathy hills in the background made for a very pretty sight. The water level in the dam was very low - and summer was yet to reach its peak.