Varkala, Kerala India

Varkala, Kerala India

People We Meet by Chance on the Journey

Varkala, Kerala India is, in my mind and memory, a place of stunning contradictions. There is the drama of the clifftops and the wind currents on which the Brahminy Kites soar like eagles, and the beach below the cliff walk where Western visitors dare venture into the powerful waves - young women clad in scanty swimsuits for the wide-eyed young Indian boys to stare at open-mouthed.

Then at the other end of the beach, where the road from the 2,000-year-old Janrdhanaswami Temple ends is Papanasam Beach - a sacred place that Hindu pilgrims visit with the ashes of their loved ones. The word papanasham means to wash away sins. The pilgrims first go to the temple and then proceed to the beach where holy men, the Hindu priests, perform the sacred ceremony of puja. I used to sit for days on nearby steps to watch and learn about the solemn choreography of the ritual. The holy man gives his blessings and then a family member carries the ashes and marigolds on a banana leaf to the sea where they turn their backs to the water and release the ashes, flowers and banana leaves to the Arabian Sea. The religious significance of the ceremony is that the pilgrims believe the sins of the deceased will be washed away and the soul will reach eternal salvation. In fact, Hindu visitors believe that a dip in the waters at this part of the beach will wash away all sins, and I watched men and women, fully clothed in Western attire as well as saris, walk a few feet into the waves - rarely becoming fully immersed.

Just up the hill from Papanasam Beach, is Akshay Beach Resort where I stayed for months. It’s a simple lodging where most of the rooms with adjoining baths have only cold-water showers. There is no air conditioning and there might be a fan on the wall if one is fortunate. And this is where I met Willie at the tiny terrace restaurant.