From strangers to friends

Have you watched VTV? 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa' was a trendsetter of the year 2010 that was dominated by rom-com movies like 'Mynaa' and 'Madrasapattinam'. I am pretty sure most of us have watched VTV once, if not more times!

When I watched the movie in the theater with my mom, I was 17. One thing I noticed throughout the film was that it was the story of Karthik. In his narrative, Jessi was his unrequited love, and the villain of his love story was Jessi's family. 

If you asked me how the story would have panned out from Jessi's POV, things might look a little different. Karthik might have been just a passing cloud or someone out of her hands. Having said that, the villain of Jessi's story could have been her family, her fiancé, or even herself...

Does she regret meeting Karthik? Maybe... Does she regret not leaving with him and living the life of her choice? Maybe... It is amusing how the story changes when the person narrating it changes!

Recently, I visited one of the main filming locations of VTV, Alleppey. Now, let me recount how I celebrated Onam with a few strangers-turned-friends in Kerala. Everyone in the solo travel group would have had unique experiences along the trip. Here goes my story and I don’t hold back from spilling some of my well-kept secrets..

The story started from Gandhipuram, where some of us had assembled early morning around 5 am on a fine Saturday. Most of the time I have travelled with solo travel groups in Covai, the tripmates from the city will be the majority. This time it was a pleasant surprise to find that more than half of the tripmates were from other cities.

Those from Chennai were already having a great time on their overnight train journey to Covai. As I excitedly checked the WhatsApp group of the trip, I could see a video of them singing and playing guitar. As soon as everyone boarded the van, the 'guitar guy', as we call him now, took out his guitar and started tuning it.

I was thrilled, like when I was a child and my brother used to play songs for me on the guitar. The jam session started with soothing melodies, moving onto the crowd's favorite "June ponaal July kattrae" and ending with evergreen Ilaiyaraja hits!!

After enjoying a complimentary Frooti and playing a few rounds of the Mafia game, we stopped at the restaurant for breakfast. It was exhilarating to sit facing each other, introduce ourselves and gulp down our breakfast. 

While I was getting heavy-eyed on the ride after the hearty breakfast, I could still hear the hums and croons coming from the back seats. All I could see after waking up were the winding waterways and boats buzzing with activity even in the hot afternoon.

Taking a short walk into the dock, we could see the elegant entrance of the houseboat. First, we were greeted with a welcome drink in the glassed-in lounge. Then, we were led to the rooms lined over two decks of the boat. 

Walking into one of the rooms made me feel like we were in a deluxe room at a scenic resort. As the houseboat stopped at various corners of the backwaters, we got down to take a stroll. Though it was raining a bit, it was not pouring hard. So I soaked up the gentle breeze, which made the brisk weather even more alluring.