Lost in the depths of the  water, I was thinking about only one phrase that I had heard, "Paradise on Earth".  My eyes were rolling all around.  The sea was calm and the air was pleasant.  The climate was good even then I felt that it would rain that day.

An atmosphere so silent and scenery so captivating, what more does Paradise mean?  That’s the truth and truth can never be hidden.  The sun’s rays that made their  way through the huge palm leaves of  the tall, slender coconut trees and fell on the water,   seemed to shade the water in colours of blue and green.

After seeing this place I realised that in a land as water bound as Kerala, it wouldn’t be an unusual sight but  for a visitor to God’s Own Country, a houseboat gliding along the vast green expanse of the backwaters was the most amazing spectacle in the world.

I was travelling through the most common but famous backwaters between Alleppy and Kollam.

This, most enchanting feature of Kerala, the backwaters are formed by the accumulation  of sea waters at the beach, by the to and fro motion of the waves.   They are usually in the form of lagoons, lakes and estuaries.  The backwaters in Kerala are an exquisite network of canals, lakes, lagoons and deltas of about forty-four rivers which empty themselves into the  Arabian Sea.  It stretches almost  1900 kms.  The main mode of transport here is the boat as more than 900 kms of this
water world is navigable.

If someone asked me what I saw there?   I would answer - an aesthetic stretch of water and trees but if someone asked me what I observed there?   - I suppose I would have to spend days narrating my tale.

I was with my school when I had gone to the backwaters.  Just as we had started to venture into the backwaters, I spotted boats, countless boats that were lined up.  I had never seen so many before in my life.

Well!  the guide who was along with us told us that most of the boats were used to carry cargo around Kerala as it is the best and most practical way of moving around.  The backwaters  are a sort of freight  and shipping channels, carrying everything from grain to building materials.

The guide continued to speak while I observed other things around.  I saw little houses lined along the thin strips of reclaimed land separating the canals from the even lower lands of the rice paddies on the other side.   This was quite fascinating.  Even though they lived on narrow splits of land  -  only a few metres wide, the people still managed to have a routine life, that is maintaining vegetable gardens, pigs, chickens, ducks, also washing clothes and vessels, bathing and collecting water from the canals.  The children were playing in the coconut groves, the men were fishing and the women sat on the banks with thier babies in one arm and a fishing rod in the other trying to catch fish for supper.

Their dress was very different,  specially the men who wore "mundus", a type of lungi, which was raised till the knee.  The best part was, they were all types of contrasts.  Mundu was  thier lower clothing and  the vest was upper clothing  with extreme colours.  The ladies were wearing bright colored sarees and had a bunch of mogras pinned in their hair.  I think oil is very cheap in Kerala as everyone had oil in their hair.

I joined the conversation with the guide who was talking non stop.  He was talking about the boats 
with a typical Keralite accent,  "So, children, recently, the niyu {new}  boats were mad {made}  of fibre rader  {rather}  than the traditional  oood {wood} boats",  in which we were travelling.  Some new boats have a sitting arrangement on the the roof.  Some boats have solar panels attached to the roof to supply heat and water.

Suddenly, he got up and waved out to a man.  We were amazed to see a man sitting in a traditional dragon shaped boat with huge sails and prows. The boat looked awesome.

Further on, I saw different birds like the  kingfisher, woodpecker, a bee-eater, crow pheasant and some paddy birds.  Then I saw orange and blue dragonflies skimming the water’s surface and at a distance some herons were gliding effortlessly.  I saw bunches of flowers that floated on the water like a colourful carpet.  

It was noon now,  so we stopped at a little island for a break.  The vendors were selling coconuts there, big ones for just rs.10 each.  I had 2 and it was quite filling then again we continued our journey.

The basic colours of nature that we noticed were dark blue or green of the water, the green and brown colour of the trees and the light blue colour of the sky.

This was my voyage through the backwaters of  Kerala and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

After going to Kerala, enjoying a cruise int he backwaters is not to be missed as it leaves you feeling  rejuvinated.   The banks of the backwaters in Kerala are the most enchanting picnic spots.  You get to experience the native way of living.

Recently,  Kerala found it’s place amongst the world’s leading tourist destination, after the National
Geographic Travel placed the state in the limelight as a Paradise found  -  "One of the fifty places of a  lifetime"   Kerala has a unique range of tourism attractions which not many destinations offer.  Among its specialities, ’backwaters’  rank first!

Here is a poem that I had  written when  I had visited Kerala.
   
         &
nbsp;Kerala  is a like a Paradise,
          Though it is small in size.

Life here is simple,
Harmony dwells among its people.

           It is a totally green city,
           Here, there is highest population literacy.

"God’s Own Country, it is said,
Beauty and glory, here have their bed.

           Backwaters here are  the most fascinating thing,
            Life to nature, yes, they bring.

Visiting this place will give you great pleasure
Moments you will enjoy and forever treasure.