Muzhappilangad Beach
Kannur, let alone Malabar, was a faraway land for me as a kid. Any trip that stretched beyond Ernakulam for a Kollam born me aroused excitement. Maybe its the stories of charming people or maybe it’s the culture and the food that caused the arousal, but all the happiness elements inside me stood up right from the time such a trip was being planned.
My acquaintance with Kannur started when my cousin got married to a Thalassery girl who was raised in Bombay. My first visit to the place was when they had come down to Thalassery from Mumbai and I was the delegated one to deliver them coconuts and other homegrown spices. They received me warmly and fed me arguably the best food they could prepare. They took me around town, the market, the beach, their ancestral home and everywhere they could. Subconsciously they touched a corner of my heart, both the place and the people. The food, in particular, was nothing like I had ever tasted before. The aroma, the spices, the warmth in each serve, everything went straight to the heart. All the places I went to instilled a homely vibe which was unlike any that I had felt before.
I am naturally a beach person, I have spent more time on the beach than in any parks or playgrounds. I have an isolated untouched beautiful beach near my home and it’s hands down the only place I want to chill at when my best friends are around. So liking a beach isn’t anything new for me. But Muzhappilangad beach in Kannur wasn’t like any other beach I had seen before. I had read that it is the longest drive in beach in Asia and had pictured vehicles roaring past me but never expected it to be so clean and calm amidst all that liveliness. White glowing sand that stretched endlessly, children playing their heart out, vehicles easing past, the sun setting in the orange backdrop was a scene to behold! I didn’t want to forget that panorama, so I didn’t take a photograph. I didn’t blink an eye and got immersed in the colors and I promised myself that one day I will bring my motorcycle and ride on the shoreline of Muzhuppilangad drive in beach.
It happened almost 2 years later when I visited the place again to meet my cousin. Though nobody liked the fact that I rode there I didn’t bother, because I had promised myself to do so. I waited for the sun to ease a little to take myself to the Muzhuppilangad beach. The joy of the ride and the fulfillment of the promise made it a moment to cherish! I rode the entire length of the Muzhuppilangad shoreline 2 times and then we settled down on the sand to watch the sunset. Once the sun had set, happy and content, we went back home with the thought of the food valyamma must have prepared that I can delve into…!