The Backpacker

Pookot Lake

You may wonder why I have never written about lakes before, seeing that I have spent half my life (or nearly so) in and about lakes, sea and rivers (not to mention an occasional dam). In fact when I was very young, I even took to swimming in a river and nearly drowned. That beastly river near Calicut (Kerala) nearly took away my life. But you get the drift. I am a water- girl, among other things.

So with a colorful history behind me, I proceeded to this lake. Well, lakes in general are innocent. They are less wild than the rivers and more serene than the sea. In comparison to a dam, they are like kittens. And this lake was above all suspicion.

To give a brief history of this one. Pookot Lake in Waynad district in Kerala (southern India) is perhaps one of the largest fresh water lakes in the country. It sits comfortably in the lap of green hills and thick foliage, two thousand meters above sea level, half way between Calicut and Sulthans Battery in a place named Vythiri, which records the second highest rainfall in India after Chirpunji.

So you see it has a lot going for it. And not one negative. It has everything one can hope for in a lake decent lake __deep calm waters, boats, rolling hills, chirping birds, water lilies….everything. There is also an aquarium where you can watch fish lazily swim in captivity if your tired of the woods. An ideal place to put up ones feet and give in to a short peaceful slumber.

How I reached here was interesting. I had been off to Calicut from Sulthan’s Battery one day (a three hour journey). As we reached Vythiri, the bus was grounded. Now, being grounded in Vythiri is no sin. Thousands of vehicles ply on the road. But that day, we were told there had been a mishap downhill. Understand this. Downhill through 36 hairpin bends is no laughing matter especially if the roads are no wider than your palms and there is a deep drop on either side. A mishap on a turn and the vehicles line up for miles. To top it all it was a cold misty day, not uncommon, but it certainly made going tough.

Many of the locals decided to walk some distance to keep the blood flowing. Likewise some distance away the road branched off from the main road and went right, on which I walked. A board bearing the name ‘Pookot’ appeared behind a cloud of mist so I carried on. I remember some footsteps behind me as well.

That is how I reached this lake. I have never regretted the walk or even the short mishap in the water. I am coming to that.

People, as you know, always want something to remind them of the places they have visited. So it happened that this bloke was trying to shoot a video of this pretty lake, but upon seeing me (I don’t blame him though!!) decided to zero in on me.

That was also the time when I had passed out of law school (you bet I am not a spitting image of justice but I did drag my feet through the marble floors of the law school!!) and was bursting with ideas of a freedom and right to privacy. So when this guy insisted on having me in every shot, I lost it.

Also remember that paddle boats are not best suited for racing and are known to lose their balance at the drop of a pin. The bloke and his offending family had the advantage of being in a row boat. So when I finally pulled up beside them and saw him grinning very stupidly, I saw red, or rather green and blue (green being his shirt and blue his pants). My mind told me anyone with that combination on him was trouble. He was stupid alright. When I pulled up alongside, he actually leaned across to show me my pictures, looking pleased.

First. I hated his choice of colors. Second: I hated his grin. Third: He was a lousy videographer. Anyone who could make me look like a sheep shorn of its wooly coating had no right to be a videographer.

Without a thought I snatched his stuff and with a curse was about to throw it into the lake when my paddle boat shifted.

The rest like I said is history. The lifeguard later told me, between giggles and frown that he has never seen anyone wetter than I was after I had to be pulled up from the lake with water lilies sticking in my hair. The consolation was that the video camera was lost for good.

It was also then I decided that lakes were deceptive. Now I do not mind much if someone is taking my pictures. Law and ideals have long gone. If it helps any silly photographer, I would even go as far as posing. So long as there is no resemblence to a sheep.