Gods Own Country. Review on Kerala, General

Last time I visited Kerala was 4 years back.Diwali seemed to be just the right time for a trip which had been pending for a long time. Journey was by Konkan Railway. Tickets had to be booked 2 months in advance. Nowadays lots of trains are available namely Netravati Express, Mangala & Jayanti Janata. It takes approximately 1 & a half days through Jayanti Janta & it goes all the way through Andhra & Karnataka. Journey by the other 2 take only 24 hours max, plus the picturesque Konkan is always a beautiful sight. Although I had tried to book tickets well in advance (2 months before), I still had 3 tickets WL 3,4,5 in Mangala. My colleagues were damn confident that the tickets would get confirmed by the time we left but the status improved only so much as to have one confirmed ticker two WL, 1 & 2.

Firsts sights of Kerala through Train were one that gave me a jolt. Coming from Mumbai right out of the October heat I could see people standing near the tracks with umbrellas, not because of the heat, but as it was still raining in many parts. The sights that one gets to see in Kerala are always etched in ones minds forever. The lush green beauty of the acres of paddy fields surrounding pockets of land, which are densely populated & bounded by coconut trees,banana plantations are really a sight to behold.

A note must be made about a small station called Kadalundi, the scene of one of the worst Rail Disasters this year. The bridge on which the train was traveling had collapsed when on that fateful day a Chennai bound train was on the verge of crossing the bridge. Casualties were many as it was early morning when most passengers were asleep. On approaching the bridge, the train slowed down & everyone were looking out to catch a possible glimpse of whatever remains were still present form the site of the horrific accident. Chunks of the broken bridge are still visible & I was told by a fellow traveler that it was only recently that the fateful bogies had been removed from the river lying below.

We got down at Trichur. The train had been only an hour or so late .No problems with that as it was only 11.00 in the morning. Finally we arrived at our destination Eravu. The houses in most parts of rural Kerala are very much the same. Some have been modernized while some have still the archaic look. Each house has a gate for entrance with the family name of the owner inscribed on top of it. A well in front of each house is a prominent feature with pumps fitted for water supply. The house is surrounded by banana plantations & bordered by coconut trees. Rooms are big & spacious 4 on the GF & 3 on the FF. The terraces are flat. Earlier the terraces used to be conical in shape with the loft being used for storing grain. This invites mice on the lofts, which in turn are open invitations for snakes. I had the good fortune of watching one such snake dangling, tail first mercifully, during one of my previous visits to my granny’s house. I have never dared to go the floor above after that. One such sight is enough for life. Kitchens are a mix of modernity & tradition, with the cooking gas finding their way into most of them but the old oven is still used to great effect.

After relaxing a bit & having a wonderful lunch we left for Trichur on bike. A two-wheeler is almost a must in every house & is used to good effect by most. A few kilometers from Trichur we went to a tourist spot. The way was winding up a hill & I was wondering if it would be really worth the effort. The sight from top was breathtaking. One could see the entire rural side in a single glance in full splendor with its tress fields & streams. A point to be added is that the site had an open-air auditorium, which could be used effectively for college fests. Entry fees are pathetically low. Eateries are not available over here except for one Gram Panchayat run stall.You can hear a pin drop in the silence. We tried to visit the famous Vadakunathan temple also but it was closed. This temple is the site of the famous Trichur Pooram, which is held every here, & the Kodamatam (Changing of Umbrellas) is held right in front of this temple.

The next day we left for granny’s place by bus. Traveling by a bus in Kerala is in itself something that no outsider will forget. They move at breakneck speeds & could even give Schumacher a run for his money. Transport here is cheap & speedy. No traffic jams. Granny’s place is much more remote. This is one place where you wouldn’t venture out at night too much (night here means 7pm & not 10pm or 12). We stayed at my Mothers sister’s place & went to visit our ancestral home. The house had been pulled down & had been replaced by a more modern structure. However some features of the old house like doors with criss-cross wooden locks are still present. Apart from those changes the rest of the surrounding simply has remained unchanged. It seems to be pretty much the same as it was 20 years ago, only many of the earlier crowded houses are now deserted with people moving out to towns & some even moving out to the Metros & some have gone abroad.

Any trip to Kerala is incomplete without a visit to the famous Guruvayor temple. As apart from most of the temples in our country, temples in Kerala have a strict dress code. Men have to wear the traditional white mundu. Shirts etc are not allowed. Ladies have to wear Sari or the traditional dress. Even chudidars & suits are not allowed ! How’s that for tradition? I was told that the Kochin Devaswom is not so strict & does not bother about these minor details. So temples under their jurisdiction are not so stringent in their rules. It took me 2 hours to get darshan. There were separate lines for Ladies & Gents. Mom & granny took hardly half an hour but it seems that the almighty had made up his mind to make me wait. Devotees are served lunch every day at the temple but the tokens for lunch had been taken well before 10.00 a.m.

After 3 peaceful days we came back to Eravu. Here again I left to see some of the nearby fields & the streams, which provide them with water. I was told that streams are connected by a canal, which is connected to the sea. The water is however fresh-water & not sea-water & this is taken care of by a Bund (a dam like structure). I crossed the canal by boat. It was wide enough for just 2 persons to sit side-by-side & long enough for ten. It was also leaking in a place or two (which I noticed after alighting form it) .By the canal side there were several similar boats. I even saw a man repairing one such boat in a very low hut. Then we left of Odapally beach, which was a distance of merely 3 kms from there. We reached there after sunset. I was shell-shocked to find a non-commercialized beach. It was equally beautiful as most others minus the crowd of stall-owners & was as clean as it could be. A handful of couples were all who were present over there.

It was finally the day to leave .We got the occasional shower that was still around on our way back. The return journey was by Netravati & was much easier than the onward one. Finally I have to say is that many parts of Kerala are still untouched. It is now as it was 20 years ago, resisting the wind of change. Maybe it is this aspect of Kerala, which makes us refer to it as ’’Gods own Country’’