Sipping chai in a Kettuvallam (houseboat) as it glides on the calm and serene waters; numerous mangroves and coconut trees that dot the landscape, time standing still – the setting is picture perfect. This tranquil image is more than enough to attract a city dweller who suffers from a chronic too-much-of-traffic-need-a-holiday migraine in our chaotic metros.

Kerala Tourism has done its job really well. After having visited the hills and tea estates in the northern part of Kerala, ‘God’s Own Country’ still beckoned me to visit the beautiful backwaters of the south. When the time came for us to take a family holiday, a lakeside resort in Kumarakom was what we chose. My Malayali friend had remarked that such resorts represent the rich tourist’s ‘gated Kerala’ and the ‘real’ Kerala was always shielded from the visitors. I was about to find out soon enough.

Kumarakom is easily accessible from Bangalore. The state transport corporations and private operators run comfortable A/C buses for the overnight journey from Bangalore to Kottayam, the nearest city from where one can take a taxi or another bus to Kumarakom. If you book in advance, the Kanyakumari Express from Bangalore to Kottayam is perhaps the most convenient way to travel. The quickest option is to take a flight to Kochi (Cochin) and hire a taxi from there to Kumarakom. We chose the third option as we wanted to maximise time spent in Kumarakom.

As I sat in the taxi from Kochi to Kumarakom, I had some conflicting emotions – happy that we were on a well-deserved holiday but apprehensive of a touristy and sanitized resort.  The ride to Kumarakom was a blur of coconut trees, paddy cultivations and near misses. It reminded me of the Formula 1 races we watch on Sundays. Do all the coastal drivers learn from the same school where Schumacher and Hamilton learnt to drive?

The resort

(courtesy: www.makemytrip.com)

Kumarakom is one of the tiny villages that dot Vembanad Lake. The chief occupations in the area are paddy cultivation, fishing and coconut plantations. The place would have stayed as such if Kerala’s tourism industry had not made it famous. The fascinating beauty of the lakes and lagoons was intelligently positioned for the drove of tourists who love the relaxing ambience of the backwaters. Even though there are innumerable resorts right along the lake’s coast, weekends and long holidays are especially busy times and we were lucky to get a booking in one of them, the Backwater Ripples.

At the end of a longish journey we ended up at the resort two hours late, and I couldn’t wait to hit the shower. Not before a lady in a traditional white-and-gold saree applied ‘chandanam’ on our foreheads and did an aarti. Visions of the welcome received by visiting cricket teams and foreign delegates flashed across my mind. This simple Indian welcome has become so touristy and synonymous with foreigners that I had forgotten one could greet our own people this way.

Backwater Ripples is a lovely resort. Facing the lake, it’s a more economical option compared to the spectacular Radisson and the famous Taj next door. A swimming pool on the very edge of the resort, almost touching the lake bed gives a feel of swimming in the vast lake. Predictably, the resort also offered the famous Kerala ayurvedic therapies.

Curiosity drove me to the massage parlour and some simple marketing by them made me try some treatments. To their credit, they were quite good and professional. The medicated oil that they sold also provided some relief to my parents’ rheumatic problems back home in Bangalore.

The day we arrived at the resort, we took a complimentary boat ride on the lake. Vembanad Lake is the longest and largest lake in Kerala. The lake is fed by many rivers that rise in Western Ghats and flow westwards to join the Arabian Sea. Cities like Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Kottayam are set on the periphery of this scenic lake. Watching the lake’s coast, in Kumarakom, with its many beautiful resorts, the monotonous drone of the motor, the slight breeze in the twilight can be very hypnotic. I retreated gently into a mood of idyllic tranquillity.

Kumarakom Village

A walk through the village is one of the activities suggested in the resort’s guidebook. “Oh! That’s for the foreigners ma’am. They are interested in such things. Of course we (Indians) know all about it.”, the dainty receptionist explained smilingly when I asked for details. Well, being a city-bred person, I did not know ‘all’ about rural life, and therefore forced my husband to leave his book and hammock aside and walk through the winding lanes of the village. I was determined to explore the Kerala, beyond the resort.

Life in Kumarakom revolves around the lake water. The lake provides them Karimeen (fish) and is the main source of water for the paddy cultivation and the coconut trees. The water is everywhere. It lazily meanders around homes, in front of the doors and into the fields. Most houses have a basic bridge that consists of a rope to hold for support and a coconut tree trunk as the base! Can’t be easy to get back drunk late at night if one isn’t used to tight-rope walking.

Some bigger homes have better concrete-looking bridges. As is typical with India, the water of the lake is used for bathing, washing utensils and sadly, also as the only sewage outlet. With all the money from tourism, why can’t the Government invest in good sanitation? The roads were also a let down. Being a preferred holiday destination for politicians and film stars, I had expected better roads atleast.

A few churches dot the village scene, an indication of local religion of the land. Along the main road connecting Kumarakom to Kottayam, new spacious houses were under construction and I could spot television sets in many homes. Clearly the local people are earning extra income through the thriving tourism and are well-connected to the outside world. One of them showed us how to temper a bamboo stalk to make it straight and use as an oar for the small boats. These boats are used to navigate through narrow moats and carry clay that are used in pottery.

I couldn’t help feeling that Kerala has succeeded in convincing its rural citizens that by parting with their lands for building resorts, and attracting tourists, their lot could also improve. Further up north on the Arabian coast, the same effect hasn’t yet been achieved in Karnataka, which perhaps has exactly the same set of attractions to offer to tourists – the backwaters and coconut tree-filled landscape. To their credit, Kerala has also not gone overboard as Goa perhaps has. The tourism industry realises that its charm lies in retaining some of its old world character.

“If anyone tries to lure you for a boat-ride up the lake, you should bargain heavily”, advised our rickshaw driver while swerving to avoid a moon-crater like pothole on the road. We were clinging for dear life on the way back from Kumarakom’s bird sanctuary. The sanctuary is huge and one of its main visitors is the Siberian crane. Atleast that’s what the board says. Visiting this place at 10 am, there was not much chance of spotting any.

The rickshaw driver acted as our self appointed guide, so I ventured to ask him a good place to taste the local cuisine. The Kerala restaurants in Bangalore list mouth watering menu of appams, idiyappams, stews and sea food.

But here in the small towns and villages, we learnt from him, it is mainly chor (boiled rice) or parotta (not to be confused with the Punjabi paranthas) with Karimeen (fish) curry.  Having tasted parotta in a highway hotel, I did not want to try it again. However if you are a non-vegetarian and love sea food, you might like the Karimeen they offer.

So we decided to pamper ourselves with the exotic cuisine back at the resort. Anticipating a lunch of appams & stew, we were easily shocked that the lunch buffet was entirely North Indian – rotis, sabjis and pulao. The largely North Indian tourists, we were told, love Kumarakom but prefer North Indian dishes. Disappointed but determined we requested the chef for an entire coastal spread for dinner.

(courtesy: Wikipedia)

The request was serviced and later that night, having a sumptuous dinner of appams, stew, chor and rasam, it still wasn’t the same. From the banquet hall, one could hear loud Bollywood music for a party of techies from one of the many IT firms from Bangalore. A family from Delhi next to us were feasting on rotis and alu curry.

Though we witnessed a Mohiniattam by a graceful petite Malayali danseuse after the dinner, my friend’s remark about a ‘sanitized’ Kerala rang in my ears. However Kumarakom, just like any other town or village in Kerala, exists beyond the beyond the resort’s beautiful setting. Venture out and observe through a traveller’s critical eye. Enter in and get pampered like a Bollywood star. Best of both worlds.

Here’s some pictures I clicked on the Hunsur road, off Mysore, during a recent trip to Coorg.

Off the Hunsur Road

Caught in hay while the sun shines

Haystacks – Hulkuris – a common sight in the villages

Bannikuppe Avarekai Santhe

School bags heavier than buckets?

Opposite Suntikoppa Bus Stand

Condiment Shop – being replaced by branded chains in Metros

Going back to the past on two feet