of kids and keralites

my sojourn in kerala. i left with mixed feelings - excited at the prospect of a new state to explore, but a little disappointed to leave so soon after starting to feel settled in mumbai - and in the mist of ganesh chaturthi, no less, when the city's at its liveliest. still an adventure in a new place is always welcome in my book. so off i went.

a quick plane ride and in less than two hours i touched down amid acres of palm trees as far as the eye could see. i landed in cochin, and took the bus (as instructed) towards 'kokers theater' (you just never know what's going to be a landmark in this country), where i would get down. the bus ride took quite a while, crossing through all of ernakalum (the 'big city') and traversing bridges to get from one island to another. i began to get a little nervous, but sure enough the bus attendant showed me where to get down (no theater in sight) and in a few minutes i had found the homestead i had contacted the night before.

my wanderings that night were largely fruitless. i knowingly went in the opposite direction of the tourist town but, perhaps predictably, found little but small shops and locals confused at my presence. i also discovered the mosquitoes after realizing i had neglected to put on bug spray for the evening. i ate a quick fish curry in a place i eventually found nearby, all the while convinced i'd come down with dengue within the week. (update: so far, so good)

as my travel plans began to unfold i realized i'd likely be staying in cochin (really i was only in ft. kochi, the historic area) for about three days. so i decided to pace myself and take it slow. i started off at a leisurely 9:30 the next morning after renting a bike (bike meaning bicycle, not two-wheeler, which i was initially offered. oops.) from my hosts. i followed the owners' sons, who proudly trotted the bike - sorry, cycle - down the street to fill up the tires. and then i was off. i stopped for a quick breakfast of jalebis (my teeth are absolutely going to turn to mush in this country) and i was off.

what did i tell you? old doors

over the next few days i meandered all over the city, roaming here and there - stopping to take pictures, chatting with shop owners, eating wherever the food smelled best, and getting gawked at all the while. some of my favorite landscapes were in a village which i think is somewhere near jewtown (yes it's actually called this). give me any scenery that includes peeling buildings with old painted doors and i can be content for hours. or days, as this trip evidenced. i roved all through the streets and alleys, pausing every few yards for the inevitable photo, and in between dodged the potholes and uneven terrain of the variously paved and unpaved roads. (finally, all that biking through richmond is paying off!) i stopped somewhere in there for a biryani lunch, where i was quickly surrounded by about 20 men who demolished their heaping plates of steaming rice in no more than a few minutes.

typical streets of kochi

my days were peppered with sightseeing - the dutch palace (now museum - with impressive murals and other random artifacts), the synagogue (small and simple), the chinese fishing nets (not sure what the fuss is all about  - i suppose it's a sight to see these big things being pulled in, though i never did). but this was peppered with frequent stops for shopping and window shopping, and chai and postcard-writing, and an hour or two spent over ice cream gazing out onto the sparkling arabian sea.

media attention

and then, my last full day in the city i wandered about in search of onam festivities. this festival, ostensibly the reason i had come to kerala when i did, is basically a celebration of the mythical lord mahabali coming to visit the people of kerala. its lost any religious associations it once had, and is celebrated universally in the region. the king is welcomed in various ways but chief of these is the making of pookalam (designs made of flower petals) in the homes. though the festival has generally been more family-oriented, it's gradually becoming more of a community event.

flowers for all at onam

this was made clear to me when i wandered into the field behind one of the churches that day, attracted by the voices on the loudspeaker and the beating of drums. songs were sung and speeches were made before the flames of the diya were lit and the giant pookkalam was begun. this was by necessity a community endeavor - the ambitious size of the design (about 20 feet square) required plenty of people to cut flowers, place them in foam and arrange them accordingly. but it was clear the event was being hailed as an international one as well. this was clear as the foreigners were rounded up (myself included) to be interviewed about this and that and later - play musical chairs (we were confused about this, but they seemed just as confused as to why we couldn't rope more visitors, all grown adults, into playing this children's game).

thiruvathira, the traditional dance of kerala

though if it weren't for all this superficial media attention, i may not have met my friend mary, who lives nearby. i could see why they chose to highlight her, as she looked beautiful with her traditional white and gold sari and long, flowing hair. we chatted at length throughout the day, i visited her house briefly in the afternoon, and in the evening our conversations and malayalam lessons included more and more of the local retinue. kids from all over the town gathered and we communicated in winks, waves and the occasional flower offering. it reminded me so much of honduras - mosquitoes, bananas and all. right down to the community dance performance attended by villagers on plastic chairs. it was a lovely day of friends and new experiences. by the end i felt totally welcomed into this new community, though i had essentially just joined it that morning.

initially i had been a little concerned that i might be lonely traveling by myself for several weeks. but it's not the first time. and i discovered you're never really alone in kerala. there's always someone willing to help you out or fill you in and, failing that, about 10 people who want to ask you where you're from and what you're doing here.