Kinnigoli :The best place to live in the whole world

 (Caution : This article is not to be read by people who have real worthwhile  jobs to do and even by those who imagine so)

Guys, have you ever heard of Kinnigoli? it is the best place to live in the whole world.

Now, forgive me if you find this claim outrageous and you are free to replace "Kinnigoli" with the name of your native village every time you find it in this post as you read further.

Native place is so much like our own mother. Her love is unconditional; her embrace is always ready and full of warmth every time you return. Her nearness gives you indescribable feeling of comfort and well being. So my claim is not all that outrageous, right?

In one Konkani song Wilfy touchingly says “ as I toil in the distant shores, I remember of my native land. At my native place no fall caused me pain, even hunger never caused distress when there wasn’t enough to eat, and  love flowed in abundance in my native” (inacurate translation regretted).

In Kinnigoli you experience all this. Ask a man returning  from Gulf,  how his heartbeat grows faster as his car crosses Kateel?  How their nostrils open up imagining the seductive smell of home cooked food? How the scene of market place thronged by people make them feel livelier? and how while nearing their green shrouded house the smell of mango welcomes them and their nostalgia overwhelms them? How their Dog Mothi comes running to them as they pass through the gate and how it all overwhelms them and makes them shout  “wow, I am back home”?

When I was a little boy, I grew up watching lovely smiles on faces and encouraging words in my ear and pats on the back. Smiles are prettiest in Kinnigoli, even when the faces don’t have  teeth and even when the teeth  are smeared by beetle juice.

Rains are wonderful in Kinnigoli especially because they bought us colourful umbrellas and more importantly surprise presents called school holidays.

Kinnigoli has tastiest mangoes in its groves, you find them even more tastier when you steal them from someone’s yard. They taste best when the owner is stingy type.

Food is best in Kinnigoli mostly because Mom cooked it and it was luscious even when were forced to eat in hotels as we used to be extremely hungry on those cases.

Chilly dawns are splendid here; the sunrays fall on your face darting midst the coconut feathers as you walk to your yard gate to fetch Udayavani. Every Aunty in neighborhood wished you "good morning sweetly" without knowing it was her daughter (who was combing her hair) you were smiling at.

Dusks, with the bird songs in the background and fish curry smell wafting  from all directions, are magnificent. As you return after a hot bath in the bathroom detached from the house you feel most relaxed man in whole universe.

Women in Kinnigoli are pretty but to me sometimes they seem crazy, they all simply marry a Kinnigolian man !!!. They  fail to venture into greener pastures God only knows what makes them so risk averse?. They invariably fall for Kinnigolian men  even to the dumb ones, ask my wife if you don’t believe!!!. In the worst case even if they marry a non-Kinnigolian, you’ll end up finding in 8 out of 10 cases, the man buying a house in Kinnigoli.

  After marriage all these women  give birth to wonderful  boys and girls, who would grow up to be happy people and invariably  end up marrying Kinnigolians.

Guys this is getting too lengthy , let me continue in part 2