Brandy on the Balcony

When Emma left Varkala to join Nanda on the Transformer project, a calm quietness was anticipated for the remainder of our stay.

Shanti's flea problem had all but gone after three consecutive days of sea swimming followed by fresh water showers with a special medicated dog shampoo that Kim had bought.

Andy and Nicole changed rooms from our right to our left one evening and Dalia moved into their old room the next day.

With all three rooms full, a feeling of comfort and home descended onto the balcony.

Music could be heard in the late afternoons and evening as Andy strummed his ukulele while Nicole joined him singing harmony to his words and tunes.

Now that all the excitement was over, Ippy and I swung quietly in the hammock as the sun dropped behind the trees to discussed her long overdue detox!

We had just reached the bit about no alcohol when Andy popped his head around the corner.

“Could I interest you in a little sun downer?” 

He waved a small glass filled with an amber nectar in Ippys direction,

“ A wee drop of Brandy as the sun sets?”

He smiled as Ippy's resolve evaporated and she reached for the glass!

I sat with them watching the sun dip behind the trees over the Arabian Ocean while they shared stories, sang songs and generally put the world to rights over what ended up being a wee bit more than 'a wee one'!

From that moment on wards I knew Ippy was lost to the cause of her detox!

When the Brandy ran out a few evenings later they moved onto Rum serving it in fresh coconuts carried lovingly from the beach.

The balcony became a place where people gathered now.

Evenings were spent in conversation and song. 

Some evenings they never even made it downstairs!!

Ippy by now had filled all the balcony hooks with mobiles and was looking for a new project, as if training a puppy, secretly cleaning everything she could find, learning yoga and looking after me wasn't enough.

She had bought a few items of clothing while she had walked the cliff and was looking longingly at two large throws every time she walked past the store displaying them.

The only thing stopping any more shopping was the size of her bag! 

She had looked at buying a larger bag a few times but each time had either been unsatisfied with the bag itself or put off by the price.

As we sat one afternoon in the shade with Dalia she came up with an idea..... she would MAKE a bag!!

All along the cliff top, clothing stalls put out 50 rupee and 100 rupee bargain boxes. 

Ippy had already sourced her yoga trousers from one of said boxes. 

We spent a good hour rummaging through half a dozen boxes looking for suitable fabric until we found a dress and a pair of trousers that suited our needs.

We then took a long walk into town collecting fabric and bits from the road side including an old back pack caked with dried mud. 

Ippy is the ultimate Skip Rat and her ability to find and recycle is amazing.

While in town we stocked up on sewing threads, a pack of safety pins and some ribbon before buying a small bottle of Brandy and a large bottle of Sprite!

That evening as the sun set once more and the Sun-downers were poured, Ippy explained her plan to us all.

The skirt part of the dress would become the actual bag with a draw string closing.

The back pack straps could be recycled and the odd pieces of fabric she had collected could decorate the bag until Ippy has either became bored or left the country!

Ippy had a project and spent the rest of the evening looking very happy! 

(The Brandy possibly helped too!)

As the week progressed a close family feel developed at Jairam. 

Kim loved Ippys mobiles as did everyone else and between Dalia's radiant smile, Nicoles unlimited enthusiasm, Laura's creative ideas and Andy's charm and winning character, the place positively rocked with love and happiness.

Shanti also settled into a great routine of morning walks and swims with Ippy and myself followed by daytime naps in the courtyard and evening guest mingling duties, finishing with loving nights on the balcony. 

Ippy no longer tied Shanti up at night but she did pick up all the shoes and put them well out of reach before she closed her door for the night!

Party mode was also back on the agenda with Matthew giving us the excuse for a Birthday Gathering that soon grew into full scale Party.

We had an amazing meal at Andy and Nicoles favourite morning coffee establishment and what started out as a few grew and grew as more and more chairs were added to the table.

The high light of the evening was the traditional Birthday Pancake served coated in chocolate sauce complete with a glowing candle. 

With the pancake cut and shared amongst us all, we filled our glasses and I will confess to the fact that we were a wee bit late and wobbly taking Shanti to the balcony that evening!

 After the success of Laura's Festive movement acts, Kim was enthusiastic to bring more culture and art to the grounds of the Jairam Cafe, so plans were drafted for another artistic performance, this time to be held in the Yoga Hall Theatre!

Unfortunately the performance was due to take place after Ippy and myself had left. 

Solomon's Dreams was one of Kim's favourite stories and each day Laura and Nicole would meet up beneath the trees in the courtyard to discuss and develop ideas.

With so much socialising, the Brandy was running low once more, so a joint day trip to town was arranged.

We girls treated ourselves to the pure decadence of a rickshaw ALL the way to the very top of town, ending up at the biggest sari shop we could find, while the boys said they would ride up on Matthews bike and meet up with us ....... somewhere!

Needless to say it took us over an hour to find each other, during which time we girls had dined once more on one of Varkalas finest dosha!

Having eventually spotted the boys and caught up on plans, Andy and Matthew wandered off once more to do what ever it is that boys do when girls go essential shopping.....

................. leaving us girls free to do essential shopping! 

One can never have too any saris!!

With our purses lighter, the Brandy bottle safely packed between the folds of our purchases, we spent another evening on the balcony celebrating life in general and Brandy in particular.

A few days later Nicole was invited to join some yogi friends for an trip to plus an overnight stay in Kanyakumari. 

As this was something that didn't particularly interest Andy, he was left to his own devices for an entire two days to sit on the beach plus a night.

That evening, not wishing to see the man sitting alone, Ippy and I invited HIM for a 'sun-downer' for a change......................

followed by a 'sun setter' ...............

an 'is it dark yet-ter'....................

a 'moon riser' ........

and finally a 'what time is it?'

By the end of the evening Andy knew Ippy's entire life story, her belief system and her future plans for life whether he had wanted to know it or not!

Ippy, in exchange, had learnt at least four new Irish ditties during the evening and now had a desire to learn how to play a ukulele!!!!?

None of us made it down stairs for food that night and even Shanti gave us all dark looks when Ippy failed to fetch her until way past her normal bedtime!

Andy spent the next day recovering on the beach, only to return with stories about an interesting  'fabulous nipple' admiring man who had spent the best part of an hour telling Andy how amazing and fabulous his nipples were.

He had even requested and been granted a little pull of Andy's nipple piercing!

It is amazing who you can meet in Varkala!!!!

Nicole arrived home to our balcony brimming with hilarious stories of gurus eating secret sweetie stashes and late night wanders around Kanyakumara plus she had loads more fabric for Ippy to inspect after she and the girls had stopped in Travandrum for a spontaneous shop, so it only seemed fitting that we opened another bottle to celebrate our reunion.

Brandy on the Balcony had now become an established part of our lives!