Aug 10, 2001 06:36 PM
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''''Land of God ...Land of Backwaters''''
KERALA IN GENERAL
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Nostalgic Background
Though this is review after a long time and probably the right time for my review. This machine world which we are living is filled with the daily activities which we on a normal course makes our mind and body so crazy that at one point of time our mind really stops working. My review on Kerala in general will not be a geography lesson but my 15day Journey to this Mystique land
I got a wonderful opportunity to mix up Business and pleasure together as I had a meeting in Kochi with one of my client as also, my friend invited me to his house warming function, which I wouldn’t want to miss it. So all was set and we booked an AI ticket to Cochin, we were set to leave on 10th of June but my machine mind gave me a brilliant idea (For a change). That we would go on a car which would be like a good Kerala tour and we could enjoy this monsoon in a nice manner.
Journey begins…
Began our quest (Can I say that !!!) to a land through the newly built fast moving express highway, the rains falling and the speed of our car increasing every minute, we reached the Bandipur Forest, in Karnataka which is a conjunction of 3 forest of 3 different states. This is were the well known Sandalwood smuggler VEER (UP) AN stays. (I wonder how does he stays here , man this forest is so dense). From here you have 2 roads one going to Ooty and other to the state of Kerala. We took a halt at the Forest Office before entering the forest so that we would get an idea about the journey ahead of us (Whether it is safe).
Me George of the Jungle ..!!! (No Way)
As I said earlier this is a conjunction of three forests Bandipur (Karnataka), Madhumalia (Tamil Nadu) and Wynad Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala. Before we took off for this 4hr of extreme forest we took a cup of Tea at the Nair’s Chaya kadia (Nair Tea Stall). This reminds me of a joke we used to say” When the American’s Landed on Moon, they found a Nair Chaya Stall waiting for them “. (No Offense I hope ).
The forest officer gave us some guidance before entering this Forest Zone:
Don’t use horn while driving.
Don’t light any smoke or cigarattes.
Drive at a very average speed.
Animals might be crossing roads.
Don’t flash lights on the Animal.
Man these advice did make me a bit scared but we were awaiting an adventure. So at around 11.30 in the night our car entered the forest and the pitch-dark night was making us more and more scared, driving through this absolutely narrow road was very exciting. Suddenly the truck in front of us stopped and we had to wait, no doubt we didn’t open our windows and after few minutes we could see large herd of elephants crossing the road. Man what a sight!!!. Always watch on both the sides you might see some animals, like Bison, stags, sambar and at one point you come across a small lake on the left-hand side, which is a place were animals come to have water (If you are lucky enough might see some wild cats). So after a 4hrs of journey we crossed these jungles only one question came in to my mind?
”How the hell does Veerapan Stay in such an environment were you cant see a person standing next to you.”
My Native…
We reached Kochi in round about 2 days with lot of stoppages. All the Malayalli(People in Kerala speak Malayalam) guys in their traditional white shirt and a white Vayshti(Dhoti) with a Bata bathroom slippers. I am from Palakkad but have never seen it. Palakkad shares the border with Tamil Nadu and Kerala and here people speak both languages. Always I have heard from my mom about the beauty of this village(It must have been a village long time back but now it is a full-grown township). I took one address from my mom and she told that they are our distant relatives and I could stay at their place. Man finding address in Kerala is a little tough job because 10 people will give you 10 different directions. But some how I got the address and it was indeed in the out skirts of Palakkad. I reached out at a house and an old man from his 70’s came out and I asked him whether he knew my mom. (though he spoke absolutely pure Tamil which, was hard to understand for me at least) but after 15 grueling min he got some idea about my mom. The house was a typical keralite house with a big warranda , bathrooms outside and pretty huge rooms with big pillars and I couldn’t believe a river flowing behind the house. Man I was waiting for this day. Though I never thought I would live like a king, these people really treat a guest like a god sent and I was pretty sure I had gained at least 5 kilos in the 3 days of stay with different delicious food being served after every 1hr.
“It is so sad we people in cities have lost the warmth towards our neighbors, friends and even relatives. Here we are always looking to cut each other and go ahead.”
Temples they built…
After that nice stay at my relatives place of I moved to the Land of Temple, Guruvayur, also known as the Dwaraka of the South, is one of the most important pilgrimage centres in India. The temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna and the idol is said to have been worshipped by Lord Brahma himself at Dwaraka. There are many other temples around Guruvayur. Lord Shiva''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s temple at Mammiyur, the Parthasarathi temple is a temple of Venkatachalapati of Tirupati. Tamarayur Vishnu temple.
These architectural wonders are really a treat to watch and the typical Mrudhangam being played at all the temples does gives you a trans-galatical journey which can be never matched by any modern trance music .
Palace they built
As I am running short of space let me give you in short other places I visited.
Mattancherry Palace
Jewish Synagogue
St. Francis Church - Built in 1503 by Portuguese Franciscan friars, this is India''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s oldest European-built church.
Parishath Thampuran Museum
Castaway…
I was said that apart from the backwaters, beaches of Kerala are also well known. The 600km of coast which, Kerala has got is well divided by many sandy beaches. Kovalam is the most popular beach resort and man it did had lot of rush. Some of the other beaches you can visit are Kappad Beach & Alleppey Beach. Don’t miss the nice Ayurvedic mud treatment, which act as a great body refresher.
There are some things, which are close to Kerala, and you can’t take away:
The 100% literacy rate
The Dhoti wearing guys(Even in the Cities of Cochin)
Beaches, Waterfalls & the Backwaters
Kathakali Dance
Coffee & Tea
Most important, (Ambi) Ambassador Car. (This is the most popular car with our Keralite Friends, You can find this everywhere and anywhere)
