Wander Woman

I'm obsessed about all things Kerala. The mountains, the beaches,the houses,the greenery.Its a photographer's paradise.Each place has a story,a background that mesmerises.And the scenery is breathtaking.Any which way you go, there is a breathtaking view. The hills of Munnar,the backwaters of Alleypey.No wonder they market the place as God's own country. We traveled a lot throughout Kerala. Despite that we missed several places. I really wanted to stay in Tharavad,the traditional Kerala house. I also wanted to go through the backwaters of Alleypey to lake Ashtamudi. Maybe some time. We also picked up some really good furniture from Kochi. I really like the antique look, but dont have enough money to afford authentic ones. Jew town in Fort Kochi is a great place to collect old items. But that is only if you have time. I,once fell for a Buddha bust, which the shopkeeper earnestly told me was a real antique piece and quote some 12-15 thousand rupees.for it. Fotunately I wasnt ...

I fell in love with the kasavu saree the moment I laid my eyes on it.Its such a great combination of simplicity and grandeur. I used to call it the Kerala saree or Mallu saree. It was much later that I cam to know that it was called kasavu saree, kasavu being the golden border that runs along the length of the saree. This is the traditional  handloom saree that Malayali women wear for festive occasions irrespective of religion or caste. I have seen women wearing this saree for temple festivals as well as when going to church. Its a completely white saree with a thin golden border. Sometimes threads of other colours are woven along the border and sometimes there are patterns etched on the pallu. But the overall look is simple. Onam celebrations Kasavu Saree My friend told me that earlier (in days of yore), women(especially women of lower castes) were not allowed to wear an upper garment and the saree was just worn as a skirt. I believe this was the just cause of a revolution and ...

When I first heard o Fort Kochi , I thought of it as a real fort. I was so used to forts of Rajasthan.The rajasthan forts are magnanimous and is a pure display of wealth and power. Fort Kochi was a far cry from that.There was no fort at all!! It was a peaceful little place with a hip crowd,mostly tourists. You could lose yourself in the place and nobody would give a damn. And then I discovered Jew town, snaking my way through bazaar road. The walk is lovely flanked on both sides with age old buildings and quaint eateries and curio shops tucked away in obscure corners. Every visit to that place opened up new vistas for me. Jew town currently has five or six Jewish families living there and thousands of Kashmiris who have set up shop and who sell the most awesome antiques. On Bazaar road(which extends from fort kochi to Jew town) is the famous spice market. The entire road is filled with the wonderful smell of spices and you can see the famous spice merchants at work. Jew town i...

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.

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 ...

The Aranmula Mirror is unique to Kerala. in fact, it is unique to Aranmula. Aranmula is a small town centred around the parthasarathy temple. this temple is along the banks of the Pamba river. This mirror is not made anywhere else in the world. The uniqueness of the mirror is that it is not made of glass. It is made of a strange alloy of bronze and tin. it is polished to perfection and hence does not have any aberrations. therefore the reflected image is considered to be the purest image and is considered to be very lucky. The secret of this alloy is known to only a few families in the village. They continue the tradition of making this mirror. This is one unique thing about Kerala and a must have as a souvenir.