After breakfast in the morning, looking out the door, I wondered if I should go on a trip somewhere. But as soon as I thought that I should not be late, I immediately got ready, took my bag, helmet, and jacket and said goodbye to my mother and started the bike. After going some distance, thinking about where to go. Suddenly I remembered a place. The railway station seen in the Malayalam movie Vettam is a place that has been wanted to see for a long time. Yes, Muthalamada Railway station. So it was decided that this time the trip would be there. I set the bike sideways, set the location on the phone, and continued the journey. Muthalamada Railway station is not like a picture that comes to our mind when we hear about a normal railway station. We saw it in the Malayalam movie Vettam, a station full of unique natural beauty.
I continued my journey towards that place. The time is past 9pm and I see a lot of kids going to school in uniform on the road. From Pattambi I filled my bike with a full tank of petrol and continued my journey on the Palakkad route. Pattambi-Palakkad Highway is not as good as it used to be. The road was very bad, with big bumps and potholes in many places. When I got a little further, I saw the road work going on. Ohh really great,thanks for repairing the road.
I rode the bike some distance with some thoughts in my mind. Google map shows that after Ottapalam and Lakkidi, you have to take the inland road from Mankara to Muthalamada. I drove back to that road and went a little further. As you go further you will see small villages, intersections, old temples and so much more. After one intersection you will see a deserted area some distance away and then the next intersection. The occasional small run-down shop on the roadside felt like a home away from home, reminiscent of old times. Along the way, we can enjoy the unique beauty of Palakkad. So when we went a little further we saw an old temple on one side of the road. There is also the shade of a nice big tree I parked there and took a short break; Also took a few photos. So after a short rest, I started the car and continued my journey.
After going some distance I saw a railway gate. The gate is closed and some train is leaving. There I parked my bike in the shade of a tree on the roadside and waited for the train to leave. Looking at both sides of the road, you can see the countryside, the fields, the coconut groves and the big hills in the distance. When the gate opened, I drove off in a hurry. It seems that ‘Muthalamada’ has a long way to go.
After some distance, we came to a village called ‘Thenkurissi’. Odiyan Manikyan’s Thenkurrissi( Its a Movie Character). Tenkurissi, which has only heard of it before, was able to watch it before the release of the movie Odian. As you proceed, you will see vast paddy fields on both sides of the road, with coconut palms and large canes in between. oh, Good wind. You can see a few women planting saplings in the field, and in the distance, you can see high mountains. This is really the real beauty of a village. I stopped my bike and stood there for a while enjoying all these views. When I see this place I am reminded of old movie dialogue. “Let’s go to the villages and spend the night. Get up early and go to the vineyards and see if the vines are sprouting and the pomegranate is blooming.” If you want to go and stay in the villages as mentioned in the movie, you have to come and stay here; It has no vineyards but all the rest of the countryside is here. It was while taking photos, I noticed four or five children coming towards me. They asked me, “Where is Chettan(Brother) coming from?”I replied “from ‘Pattambi'”. Their next question is “where to go on the bike?” “I just went for wandering”, asked everyone’s names, and got acquainted. After taking a photo of myself by them, I took a selfie with them and said goodbye to them and I continued my journey.
After a short distance, I suddenly noticed a small shop on the right side of the road. I drove there. Went to the store and bought a cooldrink. I was not very hungry but I bought a small snack and ate it. No need to waste time eating anywhere else. I closed the bottle of half-drunk cooldrink and left with a bag and continued my journey. We passed Chittoor, Thathamangalam and Vandithavalam and finally reached our destination, Muthalamada. I slowed down and looked around. A small market with a total Tamil Nadu touch. As I drove back to the road to the Railway station, I noticed a small narrow road and I noticed no traffic on this road. I saw only one bullock cart going. Then two people who seem to be Tamils are walking by.
I stopped the bike and asked them if this was the way to the train station. They said, “something in their local language.” They kept saying that without stopping. I do not understand what they are saying but it is Malayalam mixed with Tamil but I said thanks, and I went ahead and looked at Google map. The road gets narrower and narrower as you go along, giving the impression of being surrounded by dense trees and greenery. So I asked two people I had seen earlier, despite having a Google map, wondering if this was the way to the Railway station. After walking a short distance, I saw a sign on the right side of the Muthalamada Railway station. Then this is the root.
Going a little further, I stopped the bike. I got out of the car and looked around. Silence everywhere, dense trees on both sides. It was like going into a big forest. Occasionally only the sound of birds can be heard. When you hear the sound of a vehicle somewhere and look as if you do not even see a human being here, I see a small scooter coming slowly from the far side of the railway station.
When the scooter with the luggage came to me, he looked at me as if he had never seen me here, and passed by. The road ahead is a slight descent so I got on the bike and rolled slowly without starting. Somehow, the bike started amidst the beautiful sounds of birds in this scenic spot and didn’t seem to make a sound pollution. This small descent leads directly to the Muthalamada Railway Station. I did not have to start the bike. Before that I saw the big letter “Muthalamada“. Yes, Muthalamada railway station has arrived. Seen from a distance, it looks like a Railway station in the middle of the forest. I got there and locked the Bike and went to the platform. A platform full of natural beauty, soothing to the mind at first sight. There are seats for passengers in the cool shade of the Banyan tree with large vines hanging on one side. I sat there and took off my jacket and glove and sat there enjoying the beauty of it.
There was nothing more different from what we saw in the movie except that the concrete blocks on the ground and two or three street lights and an over bridge came a little farther. I do not see anyone there. As I looked around, a woman was sweeping the platform a little further away. That’s when a friend of mine called. Hello yaar, where are you ?. I am currently at a railway station in Palakkad. Why are you there? I’m just wandering around. What, is your wandering now at the railway station? At which station? I am at Muthalamada station. What ,You are now in Muthalamada ? My uncle is the station master. If you see, you get acquainted. My uncle’s name is Jayaprakash. Just say my name and he will know. At the same time someone calls from behind.
“Hey You, I looked and saw no one, hey You again, get yourself here“. Someone called me from behind. I went closer. “Who did you ask to get inside the station”? I knew, in that look that he was the master of the station. I still had not cut my friend’s call, and I said on the phone that I had seen the station master. “Cut the phone, and answer the question. I quickly hung up the phone. Then I told him I was coming from a little distance and had heard a lot about this railway station. I came to see this Station. If you come to see it, then better ask for permission and get the platform ticket. I did not see anyone here when I came,That’s why it happen sir. All you have to do now is give me a platform ticket. Platform tickets can only be issued during train hours. Sir, I’m coming to Pattambi. Let’s sit here for a while and leave”
Ah, coming from Pattambi, “where is the house in Pattambi“? He asked. “Pattambi, Pallippuram“,I replied. Sir, do you know there?,I asked to him. “That’s where my home is, he replied”. Then I remembered that this would be my friend’s uncle. Then I thought might ask the name. “Sir your name please ?. Name ?, Station Master, That’s all you needs to know“. I thought to myself this guy is a rough guy. “Anyway, you came from far away,So go sat there for a while. No photo of the station should be taken and published”,He warned me. I went and sat in the shade of the tree, saying, “Okay, thank you sir.” I was told not to take photos but slowly I started taking some photos. Trickly A photo taken by the station master too. Only I see the station master and a woman cleaning there,and there is a dog lying on the platform. There is shade of trees, the sound of birds and a nice cool breeze. After sitting there for a long time and so immersed in that natural beauty, many scenes of Vettam movie are flashing in my mind. Actor Dileep jumps off a train and hangs from a tree vein and sits on the shoulder of a passer-by. Unbeknownst to me, a smile appeared on my face.
I sat there and did not know the time had passed. I had to go back. I had to go home before dusk. I quickly took my bag and helmet and walked back to pick up the bike. Then the station master asked, “Hey, Are you going back?”
Yes sir, I replied
did you come on a bike? : St Master
Yes sir : Me
St Master : So be careful.
Me : Ok Sir.
Me : Sir, You didn’t say your name.
Name?, Jayaprakash: St Master
Me: See You soon sir.
Then I thought, He’s not as rude as I thought. I quickly started the bike and headed back. On the way back, the light on the way to the railway station was dim and it was totally dark. When I returned with the determination to come here again for a holiday, the sky was overcast. Sometimes it may rain. A raindrop fell on my face through the glass of the helmet that was left open. Then a song from the movie Vettam came to my mind. “Mazhathullikal Pozhinjedumee Nadan Vazhi … “. I sang the song and drove home. On the way back, I saw the boys I had met earlier in the same place,at a crossroads. I shook hands with them and told “Ta Ta”. He jumped with the goal of getting home before the rain. I got home around 8 pm. Journeys do not end here. Such small journeys in the midst of the great journey of life are the joy of the mind.
