The frosty climate and soft woollen clothes have always become part and parcel of Delhi citizens. The climate of Delhi can be summarized in a single word. Either it will be a severe cold or severe hot. Whatever may be the climate people always love to cherish the beauty of Delhi. Delhi is the tomb of ancient culture and tradition. And people like to stroll through the streets of historical monuments. The city is the most populated and most sought travel destination in India. Being the capital of the nation even the small events of the city will always be highlighted in the media. The city is famous for its modern amenities and technologies. Being born and bought up in Delhi I loved my city. But always wished to visit a place where I could enchant the glory of the nation. It is through Bollywood movies like Dil Se, Chennai Express and etc. I came to know more about the south Indian states and their spectacular charm. I knew that my parents could not afford my wish and I always knew my wish will remain unfulfilled.

Years later I enrolled in the most prestigious government engineering college in Delhi. As we all know ‘engineering is not everyone’s cup of tea’. But we a group of vibrant buddies enjoyed the 4-year course to its maximum. The strict hostel rules did not restrict our happiness and enjoyment. The syllabus confined our college trips into nearby cities. But our faculties assured us, our final year college trip will be full of surprises. A few months later we entered to most-awaited and most memorable time – the final year. More than scoring good grades we all were working hard to crack the recruitment exams conducted by multinational companies and few public sectors. The majority of us got recruited in reputed firms. We were commencing towards the end of college life. We were wondering whether the department authorities have forgotten about our college trip. As a reminder on the mobile, we used to remind them about our request. Finally one day our head of department along with senior faculties entered our classroom. The moment we saw them, thousands of thoughts were dancing in our minds. The class was silent and we could hear each other’s heartbeats. Many nearby places came into our hearts. Finally, our beloved head of the department broke the silence by bursting out the name of Kerala. We couldn’t draw anything from the name. Reading the curiosity from our faces he briefly described. The surprise for which we were waiting for the long 4 years was nothing but a tour to the most fabulous state of India, Kerala. It is a 5-day tour packages comprising hill stations and backwaters. Even though we were thrilled, we were upset that we will get hardly 1 day to spend in Kerala as it takes requires 2 days to travel from Delhi to reach Kerala. Hearing our whispering our senior faculty broke another gift box. It was nothing but to travel to Kerala by flight. I think that was the real surprise for me. It was my childhood dream to travel via a flight. After explaining the travel itinerary our meeting was concluded.

We were overwhelmed with joy and excitement. I was a little reluctant to share this happy news with my family. Even though the price of the package was comparatively cheap I thought the trip won’t be affordable to them. We all have heard that when we desire something the whole universe will be there to support us. In the same way, my parents to my surprise allowed me to go for the trip. The next day itself I paid the fees. The happiest part of our trip was my whole class will be there for the trip. At last, the day arrived. Our flight to Kerala was in the morning and we all reached the Indira Gandhi International airport, a few hours early. Two faculties and two parents were there to accompany us for the tour. After receiving the boarding pass, we moved towards the Airplane. As we couldn’t control our thrill I and my best friends were strolling through the airport with crossed fingers. After the air hostess’s instructions, our plane was to take off and our hearts started to pump fast. Within a minute we reached the top of the sky. I was unable to express my excitement joy. With 3 hours we touched the Kerala soil. The tour coordinators from Dream Holidays (there are the once from whom our college purchased the packages) was there to receive us. They greeted us with a beautiful red rose. According to our itinerary, the first place which we were supposed to visit was Munnar. And hence we were taken to Munnar via a private cab.  On reaching there we were guided to a hotel with all modern facilities. After relaxing for a few hours we got ready for sightseeing.

Words are insufficient to describe the beauty of the hilltops. For a second we all thought we have entered into the Eden Gardens. The hilltops were enveloped by green plantations of spices, tea, and coffee. While strolling through the emerald meadows we saw many women plucking the tea leaves and gathering them in the basket carried with them. And we clicked several lovely photographs with our friends. We then moved to Nilgiri hills where we saw the Strobilanthes flower (known as NeelaKurinji in the Malayalam language) which blooms once in 12 years. Followed to it we did boating in the dam and visited the tea factory and learned the ancient history of Munnar. On reaching the echo point we were screaming each other’s name (nicknames) loudly. Munnar is not only known for its beauty but also for its homemade chocolates and food items. We purchased several eatables and also special tea and coffee powders for our family.

After spending 2 days we moved to Allepey. It is also known as the Venice of East. The region is famous for paddy cultivation and backwater tourism. We had heard about the backwaters and houseboats in our history classes but never seen in real. The houseboat package helped us to enjoy the charm of waters. We observed the lifestyle of the common people while playing antakshri and dubsmash in the houseboat. After spending a few hours on the boat we moved to the famous beach in Alleppey. We splashed waters on others and built a sandcastle and returned to the hotel for unwinding ourselves. On the final day, we winded our tour by strolling the commercial streets of Kochi. We also visited Chinese fishing nets, Jewish synagogue, Jewish market, Mattanchery palace, and Fort Kochi. In the evening we moved to the Cochin International Airport for boarding flight to Delhi.

We have always heard, final year trip will always be memorable and special. And no wonder why it is so. We all had a wonderful time together. And I would definitely remember the trip as it was the moment when my dream got fulfilled. It is after the trip I understood why Kerala is called ‘God’s own country’.