Nostalgia.

My father’s favourite place for relaxation and for reading morning newspapers was the traditional style easy chair. And it’s a great feeling to read the morning Malayala Manorama, the Malayalam daily relaxing on the easy chair in the ‘Home Stay’ resort ‘Estate Banglow’ the ancestral (Tharavad) house of the resort specialists CGHEARTH (casino hotel group).

A very peaceful and totally luxurious place in the middle of some 100 acres of the family property. They have big trees which include mahogany, local hardwood Anjili, teak etc, in addition to rubber. Some organic farming of vegetables, ginger, turmeric and samples of cardamom and black pepper are also seen.

Fruit trees are the exotic varieties like Rambuttan, bell fruits, plantain etc.

Actively reared are the almost extinct and unique Vechur cows. Cows from Vechur in Kottayam district of Kerala are small built but produce rarest and medicinal milk which is highly in demand.

Beta casein A2, a milk protein that prevents diabetes, heart diseases, atherosclerosis, autism and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), is found in Vechur cattle milk in higher measure than in other breeds.The population of pedigree Vechur cows is about 200.

Now owning a Vechur cow is not easy. An application has to be submitted to the Veterinary College Mannuthy at Trissur. The queues are long and it takes almost five years for an applicant to get one. The six month old calf that is released to the applicant from the veterinary college would cost Rs 5000. Second sale could be priced from Rs.50,000 to Rs.100,000.

The property has a natural water storage, locally called ‘paramada’ which is a large pond in granite stone, usually created by digging on granite structure using dynamite and re-using the excavated stone for building purposes.

The water is some 55 ft deep and fish is grown in it. I found visiting water birds in the water, which are usually seen in large lakes and backwaters.

On the whole a perfect getaway giving total privacy and pristine nature and with the luxury of the trained service of the staff from the best resort group. And exotic Kerala food, of course.

Vechur cow.