Grace ,India .. and another River.

Grace and India may not have been the first things I would have put together in my mind when thinking of this large country bursting with people, commotion and poverty. But grace is what I found.




























In September I travelled through Kerala in the southern tip of India where I found verdent greens ...
















large stretches of rice paddies,
















wide, expansive rivers..
















and plantation 'forests'.












The people - natural,


















proud























....industrious.























Wise...























and friendly.



















It was a wonder to visit Kerala where the literacy rate is higher than most western countries and where employment - also very high - is considered a privilege regardless of the occupation. The noise level was highest in the ayruvedic retreat where nightlife nature screamed during the night and murmured lazily during the day. Otherwise the India I visited was very quiet and contemplative.




















Yes there is noise and commotion on the highways and in the cities, but to counter that, there was an extraordinary insularness in the quiet confidence of the people -





















A bird sanctuary..and not another living soul throughout the park.

















The lotus flower rules along with the birds - when the water recedes.


















One wonders if the land dictates the nature of the people living in it. I cant help but appreciate the grace of the Keralan Indians amidst abundant, pulsing, noisy nature against the intensely disciplined wildness of Balkaners in the harsh uncompromising extremes of their climate and terraine.