THE KERALA

At Kerala, the weather extends from the first heat of summer to the arrival of the monsoon, when the torrential rains fall brutally on the coconut grove and soak the ground.

From his window, laughter and the song of women washing clothes in brackish water reach him. With the engines of the boats that circulate on the canals mingles the incessant croaking of crows.

Behind this microcosm, the Arabian Sea drags it into the midst of the nets of fisherwomen with skin cracked by salt.

She welcomes the roaring waves of the ocean like an offering.

Domestic work completed, Kerala likes to sink into the torpor of a divine nap.

17 hours. It's time to readjust your saree, to adorn her braid with a sprig of jasmine flowers and to head to the temple for Aarti.

Padma Gall