Wander Woman

Kerala is the land of elephants,apart from being God's own country. Elephants are privately owned and used(for lack of a better word)for temple festivals(Thrissur Pooram). Elephants are very important for temple festivals. Without them,any festival is incomplete.It made me wonder about the origins of this ritual. This was probably initiated(by some very wise men) so that elephants dont end up on the endangered species list. So, On a bright sunny day, we set out for Kodanad Elephant training camp. Here elephants are trained to transport logs and do other types of work. We were told that we could bathe the elephants and play with them. We couldnt do that because we reached at the wrong time. Still it was nice to see the pachyderms. What was a little disturbimg was the "Kraal ". This is a sort of wooden cage where the elephants are kept. We did see a baby elephant inside one of them. Then we went to the river.Periyar. One of the best things I like about Kerala is its greene...

Pink Fiat I've noticed that Malayalis are very fond of the colour pink. Pink shirts,pink boots and even pink houses.I've seen it in all shades and variations and its not surprising to see men sporting candy pink shirts over their mundus. However, I was taken aback when I saw this pink car.

Attukal Pongala is the biggest congregation of women in India,perhaps in the world too. It is the celebration of the goddess Bhagavathy. Once a year, women from all over Kerala come to this temple, near Trivandrum, and worship the goddess. The gathering is so large that helicopters are used to shower flowers and holy water on the devotees. I was lucky to be in Trivandrum at a time when this fest was going on, though not for the entire duration. I heard that on the last day, the entire area around the temple is taken over by women and this place is used to cook payasam to offer to the goddess. Its like a mass communal cooking of payasam, which is then distributed among followers. I just had one nagging question in my mind. Its a temple of the goddess, worshipped by women and yet the priest or the person who heralds the rituals and festivals is a male. Considering that this is known as the 'sabarimala for women', wouldnt it have been appropriate to have a priestess? Here are a fe...

Today morning I saw these two charming girls dressed alike in Pattu Pavada. The Pattu Pavada is the traditional dress worn by young girls before marriage. Pattu means silk. My friend tells me that these girls are from the Ezhava community. Communal feelings run very strong among malayalees even if they claim to be very liberal. The dominant caste group are the Nairs . In my sociology class, I read that Nairs were the warrior class of Kerala. When the men went out to war, the women stayed behind and looked after the property. That is why the Nairs are matrilineal. The Nairs trace the ancestry to to Nepal. The Ezhavas, to Ceylon.The main occupation of this Ezhava community was toddy tapping. Among the Ezhavas is a sub group(caste???) called theeyas . They claim to have come from Kyrgystan.Theeyas were well versed in the science of medicine. And from them originated the dance form "Theyyam".The famous director MN Shyamalan belongs to this community. My source of knowledge is my...

I was going to office one day when I noticed a number of people clad in saffron walking in a single file on the road. They were chanting something and were also carrying something on their shoulders. On closer inspection, they turned out to be wooden crosses. I asked my friends about it and they said that these people were pilgrims to the Malayatoor church and that every year they make a pilgrimage bearing these crosses and walking the whole way from wherever they are. It surprised me to hear this because #1) They were saffron clad(saffron, btw, is a colour denoting Hinduism) and #2) They looked like the " bol bam " pilgrims of the north(of India) who also undertake a similar journey to a temple of Lord Shiva every year. Every Year thousands of devotees in the Northern part of India will take water from the Ganges and walk thousands of miles to pour that sacred water on a shivalinga. How come these customs are so similar when the people themselves are so far removd geographic...

When I first came to Kerala, I used to see these round vessels (of various sizes) kept by local people, mainly at doorways or gates. And I thought to myself "such aesthetical people.So nicely they adorn their doorways with fresh flowers".I asked the name and came to know that they were called " URULI ".It was much later I found out that these vessels are actually used for cooking. Fish and other non vegetarian items are cooked on Uruli . Earlier these vessels would be put directly on the fire on an earthen stove. Now they use it on gas stoves too. Most Malayalis do not cook in urulis anymore.Rather they fill it with water, put some flowers and put it on the doorstep. You can buy small earthen or brass urulis from Broadway, to take as souvenirs. The largest Uruli is displayed at a shop in Fort Kochi.

I was always fascinated by this bridge since the time I landed in Kochi. and this fascination hasn't dimmed as yet. In fact I'm fascinated and amused by most things around me and I consider it a good thing in retrospect. I love this old Thevara bridge especially because a train track (bridge) runs alongside and also because it offers a magnificent view of the channel. I resented the building of the new bridge and was happy that it took almost eight years to build. So anyway, I always wondered how it would feel to be passing on the bridge with a train chugging beside you. The train has to go really slow because the bridge is very old and doesn't have railings. Found that out the other day when a train was crossing the bridge. We literally felt the vibrations even though we were on the road bridge. Now, that the new bridges have opened up, they have closed the old bridge for people and evening finds many people indulging in fishing from this br...

I have a group of friends here who have been most instrumental in introducing me to the Malayali culture. It is to them that I turn when I need to learn the meaning of a word or when I need some Malayalam lessons. Words that I have picked up are edathu (left), Vallathu (right) and nirthu (stop) which are enough to direct my auto to the office everyday.So, I was just talking to one of them today and telling her that how Malayalis cant say 'sir' but instead pronounce it as 'saaaaar' when she told me that it is the custom here in govt offices to address everybody, including ladies, as 'saaaar'. I was in splits when I heard that. She told me that her mother works in a govt office and they often receive calls asking if 'Lakshmi saaaar' is available. Also, I got to know that a very arrogant, proud person is labelled 'decent' condescendingly. I think the meaning must have gotten subverted over the years and people of proud bearing are called 'decen...

In the last month Kerala suffered a lot from Load Sheddings. Load shedding is when electric utilities turn off the electricity. It is usually done to save money, units and pollution. Every day for half an hour, different places at different times, would be plunged into darkness. The schedule was already printed in the local newspaper, so everybody was aware of the timings and made arrangements accordingly.I like Load sheddings. I like to think that I can live without air conditioners and fans and made do with candle light, if I have to. I've seen people cursing and railing when the lights go off.I take a walk. It is beautiful on most nights with only the moon for company. I get to hear a lot of birds whom I havent heard before.And I like Candlelight. I like lighting scented  candles so that my house is filled with sweet fragrance. Since there is nothing to do at home , we all go out for walks. Its a good community feeling when neighbours chat up each other, otherwise people hardly ...

Fort Kochi is one of my favourite places and in that Jew Town and Princess Street are my most faourite haunts.   I love going for evening walks along the channel and having my cuppa in one of the various cafes and restaurants dotting the banks. Jew town still has a few jewish families living there. It is said that Jews came to Kerala as early as 700 BC for trade and some of them even settled here during the reign of King Solomon. The then ruling king gave them some land in Mattancherry and that is where they flourished till most of them migrated and some converted. But they still have the impressive Jewish Synagogue(AKA Paradesi Synagogue) with an 18th century clock tower.I love going to Synagogue and then walking back to the Dutch palace. Its a five minute walk and there are plenty of antique shops in between to spend your time in. I love walking into these shops and looking at things because most of them are sourced from old tharavus (traditional kerala houses). I ...

Varkala is one of the awesome(est) beaches I've seen. The sun,sand, sea and cliff. The cliff actually overlooks the beach and so in the evenings you can see a beautiful sunset from any of the various restaurants situated on the cliff.It is an ideal place to just sit and laze. However, if you HAVE to do something, there are various places of interest in and around the town of Varkala,like the Varkala Tunnel and the 2000 year old temple. There's also paragliding on the beach. As for me, I like to spend the entire day on the beach topped off with some delicious cocktails in the evening. Varkala is A four hour drive from my place and so we generally set out on the weekends. Once, when I was having breakfast in one of those open air cafes, my waiter pointed out to a school of Dolphins on their way to Quilon :) It was funny, but it got me really excited.One other time I almost caught a jellyfish but then it drifted away with the waves. There are many migrants from Karnataka who have...

Mararikulam is a tiny little white beach in the district of Alleypey. I've visited the beach a couple of times and am absolutely in love with the white sand. I love Marari more than Cherai because it is clean and relatively unpopulated, therefore quieter. It is just a short (and pleasant) drive away from Kochi. There are some great resorts lining the beach if you want to stay for a couple of days. We stayed at the Marari Beach resort and loved it. They have tiny cottages with open bathrooms. BY "open" i mean, open to the sky. Traditionally built, these cottages are great fun. They even have their own tiny little pools behind them. I must warn however that there is absolutely nothing to do here. The beach is quiet and the only activity is swimming in the sea. Go to Marari for some serious R&R. I love Marari beach because the sea here is blue and clean. If you're going on a short visit, it is advisable to carry your own food and water because there are no shops on...

The temple festivals of Kerala are quite intriguing. Temples here are divided on the lines of the deities eg, Krishna temple, Devi temple and Ayappa temple. I went for a local Krishna temple festival. I was surprised with the arrangements. The festivals generally span three or four days and elaborate arrangements are made for it. On this particular occassion i had the pleasure of seeing elephants and listen to the kombu(a wind instrument). The pooja started at around 9 in the morning and continued till 11 to the accompaniment of Madhalam(drums) and Kombu. I learnt that only a single community called Maraars are eligible to play these instruments and Maraar boys are trained from the age of three so that by the time they get to play these instruments, they have the rhythms by heart. It was a spectacle - a group of men playing these instruments in unison and three elephants in attention with the idol atop one of them. I did feel bad for the elephants though, because they stood for such ...

Kerala - Coconut country. When I first moved to Kerala, the abundance of coconut oil in everything,including food, sickened me. You see, I come from the eastern part of India where we use coconut oil only to condition our hair. To use it as a cooking oil was revolting. Plus its difficult to adjust to the flavour. Thankfully, after two years , I did. And I must say that even though I still use vegetable oil for cooking at home, I certainly don't mind eating food cooked in coconut oil when I'm eating out.In fact, I found that if you do not reuse the oil for frying, you don't even get the smell. People here use coconut oil for everything. They cook in it, they use it on their hair,they even use it on the skin. Coconut oil is used extensively for conditioning the hair. In fact, here in Kerala, people oil their hair after taking a bath. The morning shift buses are full of women going to work with oil dripping hair and a jasmine tucked very aesthetically. Malayalee women...