Wordsmith at work

  The one thing that I miss dreadfully about Christmas is the good old Christmas card.  While the seamstress and confectioner gear up to take on the onslaught of the festive season and every Christian household works overtime to put out their best on that special day, one charming aspect of the festival is slowly fading away... Where have all the paper Christmas cards gone? There are generations who have grown up minus the internet or the cell phone, played Catching Cook and not Candy Crush, and enjoyed the ritual of writing and posting Christmas greetings.  I pride myself on belonging to one of those generations. This part of the Christmas preparations was delegated to me when I was a teen.  I sat down and made a list of whom the cards would go out to, trying not to forget anyone. First came the immediate family circle—grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, then distant relatives and friends.  Once I had made the list, with constant additions and subtra...

 Travel memories: Kerala   Random Musings:   It was in 2014 that my family and I visited Kerala. Ten years have passed, but the memories of that marvellous holiday have stayed with me. Summer may not be the best time to visit Kerala but some last-minute plans led us to holiday in this awesome land. God’s own country, Kerala leaves you spellbound. This beautiful, tiny state in the southwest of India is lodged between the Arabian Sea on the west and the Western Ghats on the east. Kerala has been named after ‘ Kera ’ or the coconut palm, which is inherent in its landscape and economy. The land has been blessed with a long coastline and numerous beaches and is a vacation hotspot. Kerala is a kaleidoscope of colour and design. Historic monuments, some magnificent fauna and flora, glorious sunshine, miles of endless sea and stretches of yellow sand are what make Kerala a perfect holiday destination. From the moment we stepped down from the plane, we soaked i...