Wayanad

I met my love last year. Wayanad. She was in my "Must experience list" the moment I heard of her Shola Grasslands and forest floors that perennially feed the river Kaveri.

I'm glad I had time to share conversations and smiles with her people, explore her farmlands, areca nut plantations and cuisine (!)

I'm told a lot of what I saw; the trees I perhaps lazed under, the people I may have greeted, look a lot like the pictures in this on-ground report.

Last year I learnt that Bihar and Kerala face a similar problem - they do not attract CSR funding. The former because they have no vested interest, the latter because "Kerala is developed". The irony of this spectrum was not lost on me.

Today, I guess the latter would need a relook. Now that the state's infrastructure has gone back 40 years... to a time much before I was born. To a time before I learnt of Wayanad and it's Shola Grasslands. To a time before I fell in love.