Kerala…South-west India Copyright Geof Prigge
geofprigge@yahoo.com.au
www.geofprigge.com
Catching a ferry from Cochin and heading south along the waterways of Kerala achieves two things. One is that you are able to experience the lives of people who live on the riverbanks, sometimes on plots of land no larger than a small boatshed. They fish, they farm on adjacent plots and have survived this way for millennia. Secondly, you’re able to escape the oppressive humidity, and for a time enjoy the wind cooling your body.
On board these ferries, when they know you’re an Aussie, they become so welcoming. Perhaps it was our involvement in giving assistance far and wide after the tsunami that makes them friendly to such a degree. Effects were felt as far away as Kenya, and so here too in Kerala, there was damage. What we were shown on tv was only part of the story. The suffering has been enormous. But with hard work, things are returning to normal.
The Arabian Sea is still to the west, the Western Ghats in the east. This part of India is a unique place networked by four rivers. There’s exotic wildlife, lush hill stations and plantations, serene beaches, tranquil backwaters, huge colourful festivals and an amazing history.
Opportunities abound when you go ashore. You can stay in a traditional hut on the plains or search for wild orchids, giant tree ferns, rhododendrons and nearly a hundred different species of butterflies. Some visitors choose to simply meander through cardamom plantations and bathe under the cool waterfalls.
Kerala has nurtured a relationship between people, birds and nature involving the local community in the joint management of the forests, the coastal region and the ecotourism within. It’s unlike other states in India. Kerala makes up just one per cent of the total area of India, however with the highest literary rate in the country and the cleanest environment, this waterway and the surrounding countryside is very attractive, much of it almost totally unharmed by the tsunami.
The state stretches for about 575 kilometres along the Malabar coast on the western side of the Indian peninsula and it varies from 30 to 120 kms in width. The state has 14 districts and the capital is Thiruvananthapuram.
The most important of the rivers are the Periyar, the Pamba and the Bharatha Puzha. If you choose one of the riverboats to stay aboard, you’ll find they are exotic houseboats converted from jack-wood kettuvallam boats which in the old days transported spices and rice throughout the region. If you’re a birdwatcher, you may be lucky enough to see the Nilgiri Pipit or the Laughing Thrush or the Malabar Parakeet as you meander around the waterways.
Kerala’s outer coast is beautiful. If you’re sailing, drop anchor and go ashore. You’ll discover sand dunes, lagoons and backwaters. You’ll see men, women and children in simple canoes slowly moving along, working and living on these enchanting backwaters. The silence will only be broken by the frequent flutter of cranes perched on the embankments or by children laughing as they play.
