“Arriving late at night at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, after two long plane flights from Auckland, I was looking forward to a long sleep in our peaceful hotel. But when Joji suggested we might like to get up at dawn to join him, with his family, Shani and Shashwath, for a short walk to the nearby beach, I couldn’t resist. As soon as I saw the sun rising over the Arabian Sea, I knew this was a much better choice than sleeping in!

On the beach, we watched a team of about ten strong men hauling in enormous fishing nets, more fishers in graceful canoes gliding along close to the shore, people of all ages from the nearby village out on the beach making the most of the cool sea air and calm warm water. Children were running around, somersaulting down the sand-hills and practising their moves for martial arts. We admired the tropical colours – homes among the coconut palms beside the beach were painted in glowing, turquoise, lavender and rose.