Creating a new meaning to the word ~ HoMe :)

As a 7 year old,the idea of travelling by train to a far off place always sounds appealing ...
I still remember the day when i held onto my brother's shoulders as he carried me around the Howrah Station,showing me a train with the words "Coromandel Express" scrawled across its left side... Seeing this he gleefully remarked,"Molu,here's our train!" and *ching* there was a huge smile on my face :-)
(At that instance i wondered how my daddy could've bought such a HUGE train for us to travel )
Within hours of the train pulling out of the Howrah station,i began pestering my mom with rapid irritating questions that started with "How long" and ended with a "meow" !!
Nevertheless.... almost 24 hours later when we boarded another train(from Chennai),my puppy eyed looked was back!! I would tug at daddy's shirt and ask him sadly "where are we going now?" to which daddy would give me that amiable smile of his & say "Home" ~

To me,home was always Calcutta...the place where i was born,where i had my school and my group of tiny friends..Not having your grandparents around can put such thoughtless ideas into your head :-)
With that unanswered question of home still hovering in my little head,i was dragged along..It was only towards the end of the night that i pinched my brother awake and whispered to him again "where are we going?"...Vinu(my brother) said "Oh..Palghat...when we see a sign saying Palghat Junction we'll get down"
Around 3am in the morning,daddy wakes me up and asks "do u want to see mountains?".."YES" i said happily! He took me to the door and showed me HUGE,DARK mountain ranges that had trees all around them...
Within minutes i see a sign that said "Palghat Junction"

Palghat is a small town in North-Central Kerala.This town was formed due to a natural depression through the Western Ghats,that surrounds the town on almost all four sides! Palghat(now called Palakkad) is believed to be the Northern Gateway of Kerala-as it lies on the boundaries of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.Lush green fields,rows of streams flowing through the mountains, are nothing but frequent images one sees in this beautiful town! In comparison to the humid climate in Southern Kerala,Palghat has a slightly cooler climate due to its high altitude.There are times in the late evenings and early mornings when one gets to see the Nilgiris-between the gaps of the Ghats :-)
Those who believe travelling to Munnar or the beaches and backwaters in Southern Kerala was a wonderful experience,take my advice and go to Palghat once ... You shall know what "breathtaking" actually means :)
Though its been 12 years hence... THAT part of the train journey has been my favourite one so far...Even now as we cross the mighty ranges,i ask my dad to wake up and show me the dark mountains like he did the very first time :-)