in context we begin
പാലം
Palam
(Malayalam) Bridge
Though I have only lived few kms away from the river, the first access point for most of us, especially inland women whose livelihoods aren't directly dependent on the river is the bridge. It's from where I have and always do get to see the river, In passing, briefly, through the bus windows. Sometimes, longer if there is traffic on the bridge. There, the distinct cool wind in its different versions through day and season touches us, situated right above the centre of the river.
കണ്ടൽ
Kandal
(Malayalam) Mangroves
This word is at the heart of how I see myself. With its perception breaking pneumatophores, it aggressively breathed in fresh air of possibilities into my life. Sometimes when I look at the landscape from over a bridge, I imagine it to be a bunch of workers, like the women bent down in dirt in a paddy field, committed to clean the waters that flow in. It's the 'stink' that made me question the idea of fragrance, it's the messy, devalued inaccessible bat resort that was ignored, it was the underdog eco system that became my hero, back when I was 14.
പൊഴ
Pozha
(Malayalam) River as Movement
Pozha, slightly different from the Puzha in print malayalam I feel is a word whose phonetics best describes the fullness, fluidity and the quiet strength of the river.
തോണി
Thoni
(Malayalam) Boats
Thoni represents the access to the insides of a river, to float and give into the currents of the river while also rowing against it.
