God's Own Country

There are signs everywhere in Kerala proclaiming that it is "God's Own Country."

And, yes, if there was a god, I'm sure that She would dwell here.

Today I took a canoe trip through the backwaters of Kollam.  The backwaters are a series of pools, lakes, lagoons, streams and rivers that flow by numerous villages.  Images swirl past: women cooking, women doing laundry in the water, children playing on the banks, teams of men in very long boats training for the upcoming snake boat races, teams of women preparing coir, kingfishers flying above and dipping down into the water.  Then the people disappear.  Everything is lush and green, and I am sitting in a little boat surrounded by a forest of palm trees.

Yes, She would dwell here.