Dear Readers,
Travelling solo is great fun. One is at his own will to go wherever he pleases, change itineraries of the plan, extend or shorten the duration of stay at each destination etc. This summer, I had the rare privilege to be on one such trip down south. I was in Bangalore at IISc ( Indian Institute of Science) for an academic visit, from where I scooted off to Ooty. After covering a few destinations in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, I was all set to hit southern Kerala just when I met an interesting lady who changed the course of my future travel.
Her name was Shameena and she belonged to Wayanad, a district in Northern Kerala. Over the brief tete a tete that we had, she advised me that I should visit Wayanad instead of southern Kerala which is although more famous but over-commercialised. I listened to her and thank my stars for having done so. I was fortunate to have laid my eyes on a few of the finest specimen of Indian Tourism.
I chanced upon a beautiful fortress located at a town called Bekal lying on the northern tip of Kerala in the Kasaragod district. This fort was built in around AD 1650 by the Nayakas who were an ascendant force during the decline of the Vijaynagara Empire after the battle of Talikota in AD 1565. The Nayakas fortified this port town to control its lucerative trade and to use it as a base for their future expansion in Malabar region. The Nayaka hold was liquidated by Haider Ali following which the fort came under the rule of Mysore Sultans. Tipu used this fort successfully during his ambitious Malabar campaigns. After the fourth Anglo-Mysore war, the fort slipped into the hands of the British East India Company.
The place is so gorgeous. It is flanked by two white sand beaches on either sides. The southern beach is too long, may be around 4-5 kms. The contrast of lush green and blackened laterite stone is very picturesque. If you recollect, a famous song from the movie Bombay, "tu hi re" was shot here. The serendipity of this mysterious fort built on a cliff is highlighted by the low tourist turn-out. It is one of the few places in a hustly-bustly India which will leave you in your own quiet company with the sound of waves crashing against unyielding rocks...
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