A weekend, last year, found us in ‘The Venice of the East’ in ‘God’s own country’-Kerala and it has every reason to be called so with it’s pristine backwaters, narrow canals, coconut lagoons, paddy farms, fish farms, villages, cultural arts, and festivals – which are of international fame.

Alleppey’s (Alappuzha) main attraction is the famed backwaters with the most enchanting scenery of palm-fringed banks, islands, quiet water-bound villages and little boats ferrying local people.

We started our day with a delicious breakfast consisting of Puttu (a rice and coconut preparation) and bananas, a plate of Kerala banana bhajiyyas and Filter coffee. We drove down to the starting point of our back water cruise. While we waited for the boat and the boatman we had a glimpse of the local village life. It seemed so untouched by modernization. A few yards away was a hut with a low entrance with thatched roof and walls. A woman sat there in Traditional attire of Kerala fisher folk- a lungi called a ‘mundu’ and a blouse,  weaving a choir basket while her kids chased hens and chicks in the front yard.

Our boat came and the boatman introduced himself as Thomas. The boat was a traditional make of solid wood covered by a bamboo canopy and long stout bamboo oars.

Kerala is one place where everything around shouts ‘Green’. The palm grooves, the paddy fields, and now even the reflection of the palm trees in water accentuated the effect of the therapeutic color. The boat moved slowly in the placid waters and having come from crowded, noise polluted cities we hungrily soaked in the silence and the peace of the surroundings. Apart from the sound off the oars slicing the water the only other sound was that of our own breath. You feel transported into a surreal world of beauty. Beyond the palm fringes on the canal were paddy fields where flocks of storks pecked at insects. We were first taken to a fish farm where prawns and different kinds of fish are bred in the off-season. The fish farms are owned by rich farmers and the fish and prawns grown here are mainly exported and are a flourishing trade

Curious to know effortlessly the oars cut through the water, I asked Thomas to allow me to try. Within the first move, I was puffing and panting, for the oars were heavy. Thomas demonstrated the knack of doing it and after a few attempts I decided to reserve my energy for something better. During the ferry ride we crossed other fisher folk who were either on their way to work or were returning home with baskets full of oysters, clams and prawns.

We stopped for a break at one of the villages where we were served sumptuous traditional Kerala food on a banana leaf.  Kerala food is simple, healthy (there is hardly any masala or oil used), lightly flavored (so as to retain the taste of the vegetables) and delectable.

We were also taken to the hub where Coir fiber, coir yarn, coir mat, coir ornaments / handicrafts are made by the local people. Thomas showed us his house on the way and asked us if we would like to sample home-made toddy. We agreed and he quickly stopped the boat and got a pitcher full of the locally brewed drink made of tender coconut water. You need to acquire a taste for it. It was very fermented, as toddy should be and I couldn’t get myself to drink beyond the second sip.

We ferried further down along the breath-taking canal all the while wishing the ride doesn’t come to an end.

We came with captivating memories framed in green and with a resolve to visit the place for a longer stay.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 at 10:22 pm and is filed under Coastal Holiday. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.