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Not sure if we were yet able to get an extension on Col's visa, we left Bangalore to make the most of Kerala for the remaining time we might have.
We arrived in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram (the British renamed Trivandrum) in the late afternoon. Following the ubiqutuos tour of potential places to stay we settled into our 3* hotel quickly.
In the evening, we strolled through the city's main street (every city in India has a Mahatma Gandhi (MG) Road) and stumbled upon the first of our many rallies in the city. The rally was energetic and passionate with songs, chanting and drumming .... with Che Chevera banners and the hammer and sickle flags flying high... yes we had firmly arrived in the democratically elected Communist (Marxist) Party state of Kerala. We were perplexed by the seemingly welsh banners DYFI everywhere supported by reams of young people marching. Later we discovered this branch of the marxist movement was everywhere in Kerala and the acronym stood for the Democratic Youth Federation of India.
We were pleasantly surprised by this and if that wasn't enough the moon and planets beamed a glorious smile down on us (see picture). The next day we chanced upon the NCDA, a regional office of the National Cooperative Development Agency funded by the state government (a concept that we in the UK love to see).
Sundeep managed to wrangle a last minute meeting with the Chief Executive and two directors. They made room in their busy diaries and sat us down in the office for an informal chat about what they did and the movement in Kerala. We found out that the co-operative movement in Kerala is strong and proud of its roots within a Marxist philosophy. The Chief Executive saw opportunities in the current market economy to create and sustain co-operatives, seizing on ways for people to work together and make the most to meet their collective needs. The most stark difference was that cooperatives including banks were state funded and in particular based on sustaining agriculture in India with agricultural banks being authorised to make loans that would see profiteering banks shaking in their boots.
The conversation certainly relit Sundeep's fire that there are people out their trying to create alternatives to the mass globalised short-term profit making culture that has been so prevalent in other parts during our travels. The chief exec seemed to link the decline of socialist politics with the capitalist destruction of the family. He thought family structures were the backbone to creating, nurturing and sustaining a cooperative vision. We were not so sure about this but it's food for thought.
Our business in Trivandrum concluded with a visit to the tailors to order some cotton suits and an overpriced airfare to Sri Lanka to apply for a visa for the next part of our trip. We then set off in hot pursuit of the Kerala that everyone described as fantastic.
Our first stop Kottyam proved far from this idyllic Keralan reality. We used it as a stopover before heading off for the hills to Kumily and Periyar National Park. We could wax lyrical about Periyar; the bus journey through the tea, coffe and spice plantations, the landscape the hills and the wildlife park. It was beautiful albeit cold and damp in our homestay. We went on a day safari and tracked wild elephants, monkeys, giant squirrels, all manner of birds and of course leeches. Have a look at the pictures to get an idea of what we saw. It revitalised our senses and refocussed us on seeing the beauty in our surroundings. We spent one evening enjoying some 'traditional' Kathakali which was something particularly aimed at tourists we thought - but also, according to the literature it was an effort to revitalise traditions that were fading due to the development of India.
We then headed to the Malabar Coast to Kannur. Another idyllic spot with wide expanses of sandy lonesome beaches and the brilliant blue waters of the Arabian Sea. Staying at a small homestay with good homemade food with other travellers, we were able to relax and enjoy the scenery. The Malibar coast is stunningly beautiful - its serene beaches and clear blue waters are enticing, its truly beautiful, partly because it's not suffocated with resort hotels and short-term holiday packages, just stunning white sand with local people making a living from the land.
Whilst there we witnessed the local festivities for a housewarming using the ancient 'Theyyam' custom/ritual complete with drummers and singing (predating Hinduism apparently, forbidden in temples because of the liquor offerings to the deity, but there is an attempt to bring it back to life in Kerala as it senses it's loss of the past and the value of indigenous communities and their cultures) which culminated in the actor being possessed by a deity who then spoke through him to a line of attendees each of whom brought a problem to him. Usually the trance states are achieved after hours and days of performing the rituals without stopping we were lucky that it took about four hours or so. Sundeep had quite a long consultation and was not sure what the deity said but certainly sensed the intensity of the liquor in his rendition from the gods. The family were incredibly welcoming, as was everyone in Kerala, and very warm towards the bunch of tourists that arrived to witness the ritual.
Leaving Kannur we boarded a third class train carriage to Caligut or Khozikode. Not much to speak of there for us apart from a less clean coastline with the illustrious blue sea. Our main adventure was trying to post a package to England which was a bureaucratic nightmare that took hours and a visit to the tailor's again. From here we set off to Cochin, which was splendid and scenic once again. We were enthralled by the fishermen and their catches which included sharks.
In our last few days we spent our time in Kovalam with the package holiday makers at the beach. Once again the sea and the sandy beach were stunning. Our room overlooked the beach and each evening we enjoyed the sun setting across the Indian Ocean amongst the Indian tourists making the most the warm water.
In the four weeks of Kerala, our lasting memories of it are the hills, the wild elephants, the Kerala paratha, the irony that the tea and coffee that is grown and exported across the world is not as well made as other parts of India we had been! The warmth of people and the kindness shown will not be forgotten quickly... it is very welcoming of visitors, a lovely place to holiday with fabulous landscape.
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