God’s Country Kerala, India
“India lives in several centuries at the same time.” – Arundhati Roy
How true this is. Traveling through this beautiful incredible country brings home this fact every day, everywhere.
As the new day dawns, the people come awake to begin the early morning rituals associated with daily living. Women are painting the good luck motifs at their front doors. According to our guide the intricacy of the motif indicates the mood of the housewife. Flower sellers prepare garlands and flowers to be used in the temples for the morning prayer rituals, fishermen use ancient techniques long forgotten in their home countries from where they originated, and the vegetable and fruit sellers set up their wares to sell.
Modern silhouettes of buildings dot the skyline of the big cities, and the people talk with pride about their record of 100% literacy. I love the story of how when the rich landowners came back well educated from Oxford and Cambridge wanting to propagate their ideas of democracy and socialism they approached the women proposing to educate them and their children setting up a progressive wave in this state that holds true today.
Watered by many rivers, one sees a sea of green. From the lush tea gardens to the abundance of spices our first introduction to Kerala was a revelation.
When I heard there was a wellness spa in our hotel facility I decided to forget about hiking in the national forest and exploring the spice gardens and instead treated myself to 90 minutes of the most sublime massage that restored all the energies that had been flagging from the heat and the touring to date.
I did however participate in the jeep ride that took us high up in the hills and also watched them sorting the local cardamoms which give this area the nickname of the cardamom hills.
We got a chance to explore the Periyar National Forest and venture out on the lake to see the local flora and fauna. When a dam was created here this rosewood forest was decimated but tree skeletons that rise up from the water.
We were fortunate to see turtles, elephants, deer a variety of birds as we chugged along the lake.
I had never seen these finger bananas before, so I absolutely had to share them with you all. Now I do not like bananas so despite the variety found here I did not actually taste them, only lived second hand through all my new friends in the group.
For a moment I had to blink my eyes to remember that I am in India and not a different South Asian country as I saw these women working the rice fields that ran along the road that we traversed.
The tranquil back waters that the state is famed for and the boat that we would be spending a few hours enjoying lunch and drifting along the water soaking in life along the waters.
Beautiful homes with their private boat docks dotted the banks as did rural villages and people performing their daily activities along the waters. We passed vendors in their boats as they sold and delivered supplies.
Since we did not stay the night, we did miss the early morning rituals of shopping for fish and vegetables.
It’s as easy as stepping out of your home and letting down your pole to catch the fish you’re going to serve for dinner.
Temples, churches, mosques dotted the banks serving the religious needs of the population.
The silhouette of modern Cochin which we visited for our home hosted meal and cooking demonstration.
We stayed at a heritage hotel in Fort Kochi established first by the Dutch, the French and finally the British. What a beautiful property this hotel was.
Love Kathakali style. This ancient dance form is only performed here in Kerala. Mostly performed by males though some females are slowly joining the ranks we were privileged to watch these performers put on their makeup and then watch the rigid training they go through in their facial expressions, eye and hand movements.
There was still a palace to be visited. Gifted by the Dutch East India company to the then rulers of this part of the region, the beautiful paintings that grace the walls tell a story.
The oldest church in India and then the oldest synagogue in India. We spent a bit of time at both.
Since many of the group were returning back to the US the following day a last chance for shopping. Me who’s not a shopper also succumbed to the lure of the shops and the quality of the goods.