A Traveler's Memoir

I couldn't start on the 31st. Mani and Vibin Etta reached Kodaikanal in the evening, sat to have a few drinks and reached the bungalow around 1 in the night. Then my send-off party went on till 3 in the morning. The next day, I made rice, Vibin made a curry,  Beans fry and dry fish went along well with the meal. I wanted to take the 12:30 bus at noon, but then they said it would be too early, I decided to take the one at 3. When I was all set to leave, Mani Etta called and handed me my salary. I did not count it, just kept it in the pocket. It started pouring, It rained good for a long time. They drove me to the bus stop, I boarded the bus early when it went even further since I might not have a seat, when it came back. The bus took me through the most beautiful part of Kodaikanal before turning back. I was getting late and unfortunately, a tree was down, I was sure of missing the train at 8 30. I reached Kodai at 6. It was impossible to catch the train from Kodai road, with anothe

The day started with washing a heap of vessels. Since Idlis weren't available, I tried to make Upma but added excess water, ended up making kichdi and was sufficient for the guests. Made porridge for us. For Lunch, I did the chopping and prepared rice while Vibin made fish curry. Of them, Mani Etta is 32, is single, George Etta is in his early 40s also single, even our Sudev Etta is single too. lol, what happened to them all girls? They are living okay and the need for a companion was not seen in George Etta. They all had a good time together making fun of each other, cracking funny jokes just like boys in their 20s. That's something I like about Kerala. The unity, style and lifestyle. My sister delivered a baby boy today. I was serving when I got the call. I was happy. Very happy for her indeed. She's been longing for a few years now. We were having a good time the last few days. Most people come here to drink and all of them offered me some. I limit myself to one and if s

Two days ago the General Manager of Club Mahindra visited my father. He asked about me and assured a job in the resort. When my dad told me about it, he did not stress much but asked me to think about it. I'm sure, he didn't like me going through this. I liked the offer, but first, I wanted to go as far as I could go on this journey. I never got a chance to decide for myself throughout my life, so now When I make a decision, I want to stick to it. He is having a tough time at work and sounded low. After working for 22 years in the industry his MD said, he is not in favour of the company, which hurt him. He may not be in favour of the company, but he is always in favour of the employees and that's how an HR should be. In recent times, with people's increasing greed for money, ethics are fading. I call it hospitality while they call it business. I tried to tell him, even if we startup we have to be like that to survive our corrupt system. The day I put down my papers at T

The backpack started to feel heavier with every step I took. After walking for about a kilometre I saw Nitesh riding towards me on his yellow deo. It was drizzling when we started and It rained hailstones later. Nitesh Etta took a video without even pressing the record button. I wanted to buy them something. Last time I had bought a pack of cigarettes and this time I wanted to take something to eat. He liked brownies, so I bought some and reached Meadows. Just after 5 minutes, Mani Etta got there with Vibin. They said we have a guest for Gundupatti today. Vibin Etta and I started on a hero honda passion, We stopped at a tea shop nearby, waiting for the guest while they arrived in a white Volkswagen Vento. Two families with two babies. One still crawling while the other taking baby steps.  They were basically Telugu people settled in Bangalore. They continued to follow as we rode ahead. The ride to Gundupatti is one priceless experience. It did not matter sitting pillion anymore and I s

After lunch, I sat talking to an old lady who came to wash vessels. She said, both she and her sister married the same man and lived together. I wondered how this could happen! It seems she was just 13 when she got married and somebody asked him why he did not marry someone more beautiful making him feel guilty. He then asked for her sister's hand and married her to compensate. I questioned how did she agree? She said they didn't know what was happening at that age, even fought against it but couldn't help.  She now has two sons while her sister has two sons and a daughter. She said he kept them all happy. In today's world, people prefer nuclear families and are forced to live lone lives but here, imagine so many people in a small house and the money was so less. A family from Bangalore checked in yesterday. They looked neat but the lady was a pain. While I was on a break, she troubled Navneet asking him to serve dishes that were not part of complimentary lunch. She was

We Served breakfast for a family on their anniversary, and he tipped us 500. We decided to drink tonight. Of late, Jai and Raghu were starting to act cranky, not wanting to show any interest in work. Jai has started drinking and doesn't look like he wants to work anymore. We stopped bothering about them. Today, I watched a movie after a long time, Singam 3, watched it on the phone and recollected the days in Bangalore when I used to watch 5 to 6 movies every day on my laptop connected to a home theatre, The home theatre was one of my favourites, I don't regret selling it since, I sold it to my lecturer and I really needed that money. Swami and I went out and bought 4 quarters of one-man army, I don't remember if it was brandy or whisky. That afternoon was lazy, we did not have much to do. I wrote for some time while the clock ticked 6. Last night was fun with some booze in our bodies. It's fun to talk with brother Lawrence when he is drunk. He started speaking English a

I was forced to wake up at 6 since a guest called for water bottles, as I passed the reception greeting Karthik, he asked for some black coffee, while I waited to take it down, Jai arrived and said he would take care of the coffee and asked me to get fresh and come back. Selvam Sir called to ask me to collect my pay for 3 days from the previous month and handed my offer letter too. I received 1160 rupees, I kept 1100 safe, With the balance in hand, I started on my daily walk. Jai wanted to join but was stuck with Apton sir to make a room. I stepped in, we finished the job and hiked a hill, adjacent to the resort. I bought some juice and sweets which we sat down at a pear plantation sipping and snacking. Even picked some fresh carrots on our way back. It got stressful for Jai later when he had to do service, after a tough walk. Bugger is strong and challenging. He sticks on and is a good company. When we came back, I got to know Nitesh and Savitha had come to meet, they tried calling

Nitesh Etta said he would drop me back, I prepared black tea and after a joint, we left. As I walked towards the restaurant, Nair sir called and asked me to freshen up and go. Lawrence brother is going home for a couple of days. He was waiting for Chef Prabakaran to relieve him. Chandru and Navneet joined today. Chandru for Service and Navneet for the restaurant. Selvam sir asked me to train Navneet on the system and said I might have to move to his office to handle reservations.  Navneet is 38. He is married and blessed with two daughters. He used to work before marriage, then decided to start a food joint in an IT park in Chennai. Unfortunately, the business went on a loss, he had to sell his wife's gold and almost everything to cover his losses, His wife left him and started living with her parents in Kodaikanal with the kids. When she started asking for a divorce, Navneet left Chennai and relocated to Kodai to try convincing her and to take her back. He said, he has abused her

Kathirvelan from reception wanted to go home due to a death in his family, he needed an advance but was denied. He called Swami in the Kitchen asking for some cash. Swami asked everyone, I gave 200 while Raghu gave a 100.  Any organisation can be a success only when its employees take ownership of the business or consider the company's vision as theirs, else it would just be a political war with the company as a country, for example.  Our guest in 111 from Palakkad, who worked in the gulf, has come for a vacation with his wife and two kids. Today, he called asking if he could get ragi porridge since his little girl wasn't keeping well, they had the ragi flour. I checked with the chef if i could make it, he agreed. I went up and got the flour and asked the chef if I could make it too? I grew up eating ragi porridge for breakfast almost every day since childhood and I bet I am good at preparing. The chef simply noded a go-ahead. For a moment, it took me to my days in Bangalore wh