We were a Gang of 10 in Stellamaris College Hostel in Chennai, India, a few decades ago. We continued to keep in touch and met one-on-one often enough. But with WhatApp becoming popular we formed a group online. Soon the conversation turned to meeting up. With everyone so busy we never thought we would make it, but we actually did, at least seven of us. We were hosted by one of the Gang in her beautiful family home in Peermade, a hill station in the state of Kerala, India.
This post is going down photo-memory lane of when life was normal and we could meet up in Peermade and enjoy a few days of adventure together. Peermade is a little town in the hill district of Idukki in Kerala, God’s Own Country.
And the Sun Shone Through 
The Misty Hills
Peermade is said to have got it’s name from a Sufi saint Peer Mohammad who lived on this hill. A small Muqbara (mausoleum) has been built on the top of a steep hill and it appeared to be well kempt. Peermade, meaning ‘the hill of the Peer’.
Peer Muhammad
It was a great fun trek up the hill to find this Muqbara. Geeta and I even managed to climb the wrong hill and get a view of the Muqbara from another hill! It was great to see these large tracks of pristine land untouched by the clutter of civilization!
We climbed the wrong hill ! There is the Peer’s Muqbara!
Trekking uphill 
There was more trekking for the sturdy!
Great to be on top of things! 
And there it was in front of us 
Peer’s Muqbara 
Four Musketeers
Peermade was the summer retreat of the Maharajas of Travancore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peermade. We were lucky to see the old summer palace with a guide. The old palace was in shambles. The guide explained to us the architecture and structure of the palace and of life within the palace as he guided us through the ruins. It was very sad to see the dilapidated condition of the palace. The palaces in Kerala are mostly made of teak wood, are relatively small and look very livable.
As luck would have it we did meet again a few times. Another trip of The Gang to the Vembanad Lake has been logged on this site. Take a look. We look forward to meeting again when free and safe travel is possible.
