We are at a place called Changanacherry (ok, don't bother pronouncing it), which is like
30 kms from my home in Kerala, on a business/pleasure/personal trip. Business for my
wife, who has some work at her organisation's local office there. Pleasure for me, as I get
to drive the car. And personal, since we also would be dropping in at the home of her aunt
who lives nearby.
This place is only some 10kms away from Kottayam, which can be called rubber country,
given the abundant rubber plantations. Also, the terrain is not plain like back home, but
kinda uneven and hilly. I park the car on an incline and against my normal practice of not
using the parking brake, apply the brakes, just in case.
While my wife goes to her office to do her work, me & my son evaluate our options of how
to spend the next hour or more that would be required for my wife to finish her task. We
spend some time sitting in the car listening to music, but like any other kid, after some
time my son is restless. I know that I can't keep him in the car for long.
I reckon it would be nice to explore the neighborhood & decide to go for a short walk with
my son. Ofcourse after taking a few steps, my son decides it is enough exercise for the day
for him and wants me to carry him.
But it does not help things that the climb is steep and that he is getting heavier by the day.
Not to mention the elbow pain on my right hand. I chide myself for not bringing along his
pram. Anyway, I walk along with my son in my arms and all along the sides of the road,
we can see splattered anjili-chakkas (the small variant of the jackfruit that I mentioned
about in a previous post) like the one in the pic below. The white seeds & the edible yellow
flesh can be seen.
We reach a small plantation of rubber trees. It never ceases to amaze me how the sap of
this very normal-looking tree transforms itself into such a huge variety of things that we
use in our daily life. Most importantly, this is what transforms into the tyres of our cars.
A view of the plantation :
A picture of the rubber tree :
A close-up of the trunk of the tree with a container tied around it to collect the sap.
The container is the shell of a coconut - indigenous isn't it ?
In this pic, the slanting serrations made on the trunk of the tree can be seen. Sort of like
making a cut on the tree & bleeding it, resulting in the sap flowing down into the container.
On a daily basis, they will collect the sap from all the containers in the plantation and then
pour it into trays to make rubber sheets, which are then sold. One thing I found odd was
that the containers were in positioned wrongly - sort of upturned, which means they will
not collect the sap. When my wife returns, I ask her (she's an Agriculture postgraduate)
why this was so & she said it's because monsoons have started and they wouldn't want
rainwater to collect in the containers.
Tyres are considered one of the main components of a car, especially in racing. And it
was good to know the point of origin of the Michelins & Yokohomas that guys crave for.
Each day is a relevation and there is so much around us to observe and learn. All that is
needed is for us to take some time to stop and observe nature.
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