I have been tad lazy off late! Not that I was all happening & active before! But this month seems to have had some extra bit of calories! Not a single post or trip for the entire April! Work load, too many things to handle at a time and I managed with no tripping! L That’s saddening, I know! April 2012 goes without a single trip!? How heart wrenching is that?  😥

KOVALAM BEACH
The Mosque beach in Kovalam, South India as seen from the light house.
Taken during my Kovalam Trip back in 2010.

Since the time I can remember, April is the month that most Indians are on the move. With the schools on summer vacation, parents plan a holiday with their kids and get going. I remember my days during summer vacation, though I wasn’t glob trotting, ajji-mane (Grandmother’s home) was any school kids’ favorite holiday destination back then. The lazy, carefree days spending time with cousins, mango showers, all those crunchy cuisines of granny, accompanying uncles to fields and plantations…!!! Those were such laid back fun days! On returning to school the next academic year, the very first question used to be ‘where had you been for the holidays?’!

We even used to have essay writing with ‘summer vacation’ as subject. For many it would be visiting their relatives, for others summer was the time for pilgrimage. Everybody used to have a story once they were back in school and many used to have dried bruises & wounds too! A scar that they would have earned falling off at play or learning bicycle riding! And the laughter after narrating the story on how it happened, million-dollar worth!

With all sorts of coaching classes, summer vacation isn’t the same anymore, at least not in the urban & semi urban areas. Majority of the kids spend their holiday in front of TV, computers or may be a small evening game within their compound wall. The tuitions and early re openings of classes in the name of better studies have crept into the confines of holiday. The academic year has shifted so much into the vacation that soon it might get merged into the previous year classes, for people seem to have forgotten the fun in holidaying and vacationing! Like the good old saying goes, all work & no play makes…!!!

My summer tripping is on hold for now, but I’m sure it’s just a pit stop for a longer, greater run! It’s just the calm before the storm! And it’s only a matter of time before I get wings and fly again! Until then I’m idling! So where did you holiday this summer? What is that tour you are taking your little one on? Spare a thought! Take them out! Make their holiday count!

For some inspiration, watch this!