Day Seven. Captivating Kerala. Departure from Cochin and Drive to Lake Vembanad:

Thursday, January 15, 2026:

Departure from Cochin and Drive to Lake Vembanad:

Today was a far more relaxed day and quite the opposite of the highly active time we’d had yesterday. We awoke in our Fort Bridge View Hotel, showered, dressed and had our stuff all packed away before we went downstairs at 8.30 am to eat breakfast, check out and leave.

Breakfast was a repeat performance of our repast yesterday: masala omelettes with three slices of buttered toast and coffee. It was enough to fuel us well for the day as our next meal would be a rather late lunch. We had instructed our driver, Shiju, to return at about 9.30 am to pick us up from our hotel after eating his own breakfast. And, promptly, he arrived at the appointed hour. We checked out, thanked the manager for a comfortable stay and left.

The Long Drive to Lake Vembanad:

The next item on our agenda was a two night stay at Lake Vembanad, which involved a three hour drive from Cochin. This was a distance of just 50 kms (or about 25 miles), but given that most of it would occur through small villages, narrow roads and little towns, it would be slow going. We did not expect to get there before 12 noon (and we left just a little after 9.30 am).

The drive was very pleasant, I have to say. For me, the greatest part of traveling by road anywhere in the world is the opportunity to see local life as it is lived in the area. This is the sort of experience that jetting over lands in an aircraft, thousands of miles above real life, can’t ever give you. We passed by small rustic dwellings, miles of agricultural plantations growing rice, coconuts, spices, arena nuts, ice-apples, etc. We saw many toddy-tapping trees whose sap is collected to make a fermented drink called toddy. This is used as a leavening agent in a lot of the South Indian flatbreads. It gives the bread a tangy flavor. We also passed by dozens of churches in various Cristians denominations including ones of which I had never even heard such as the Knayas and the Foranes. We also passed by scores of newly-built bungalows or cottages—all made with the new money that is remitted by Keralites who live and work in various parts of the world (the UAE and other Middle Eastern nations, the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, etc). This newly-generated wealth is certainly enriching the coffers of the state which is extremely prosperous. I did not see a single beggar during our entire stay in Kerala—or even a really poor person. People seem to be economically well-contented, no matter their profession in life. We also passed by many small wayside shacks selling tender coconuts and we stopped at one of them to sip cooling tender coconut water. We saw loads of hybrid coconut trees that are really short—no more than six to seven feet tall but already fully capable of producing saffron-colored fruit which you can literally just reach out and pluck off. It is amazing what genetic engineering is doing to agriculture in India and in Kerala, in particular. Meandering through these fields and farms gave us the opportunity to see how common people live in the rural areas, far from the madding crowd of traffic and horns, expensive important merchandise and gold ornaments—for there are literally hundreds of jewelry shops selling 24 carat gold in Kerala. Amazing!

Eventually, we arrived at Lake Vembanad which involved driving across a really long and very broad bridge over a water body which resembles the sea—it was that vast. At the banks, we saw Chinese fishing nets and realized that lake fish is caught daily. We also saw our very first houseboats on the lake and became excited as our first excursion of the day would involve a ride in a houseboat.

A House Boat Stint on Lake Vembanad:

My school classmate Rachel who lives in Kottayam, not far from Lake Venbanad, had put me in touch with a man who hires out his houseboat for short or overnight stays and I had been communicating with him for a week. His name is Crispin Kodianthara and he instructed our driver to arrive at a restaurant called Menani from where his contact would come and pick us up and take us directly to the houseboat. We followed his instructions meticulously and, true to his word, his contact, a man named Ajish Kunnikutan, arrived at the restaurant on his motor bike and told our driver Shiju to follow him to the spot at which we would board the houseboat.

And, about twenty minutes later, we were on the banks of a river where a small houseboat was moored. Ajish turned out to be a very nice man who spoke very good English. For Rs. 7000, we had hired his houseboat to take us on a four hour cruise around Lake Vembanad and the little islets that are part of the famous tour of the Kerala backwaters. This is considered by many visitors to Kerala as a highlight of their stay in this state. This four hour cruise also included lunch on the houseboat—all of which seemed to us like a good deal.

Accordingly, we boarded the houseboat. It was a very modest affair—nothing like the posh ones of which we had seen pictures which have multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, a second balcony tier, etc. This one was a single level vessel with a single bedroom with attached bathroom. We were able to use the rest room right away and then seat ourselves right behind our driver (Ajish) as our cruise began. There was one more person on board, also named Shiju, who assisted in navigation, anchoring, etc. Ajish kept up a steady commentary as we left the mooring and passed by colorful human life on the river’s shores. And then, about twenty minutes later, we were on the huge lake itself, passing by other houseboats and other river craft—there were ferry or taxi services to help the local people get from one shore of the lake to the next.

Throughout our cruise, Ajish kept up a steady commentary. As he is a bird lover and bird watcher, he particularly pointed out to vast numbers of birds that flew all around us: common ones like pond herons, white egrets, loads of seagulls, black cormorants, loons, terns, etc.—even ibis. There were also a couple of really gloriously vivid turquoise-blue kingfishers. We also saw some migratory birds that had arrived from Siberia. We saw some horn-billed birds that were really striking. I loved the bird-watching part of the cruise of all other aspects as this offered an element of nature study that I had not expected. As part of the cruise, Ajish allowed us to the take control of the steering wheel ourselves—which offered some nice photo ops.

Departure from Cochin and Drive to Lake Vembanad:

After two hours, we pulled into a small rivulet which was like an island. Here Ajish told us to take a walk on our own while he got our lunch ready with his associate who cooked in a small kitchen on the island. Llew and I thoroughly enjoyed our 20 minute walk past rice paddies, darting birds and small shops selling local produce (tea, honey) and handicrafts. Kerala is so green and so thick with vegetation that it is truly a pleasure just to loiter around these rural areas, looking at wild flowers, listening to swooping birds as they call to each other or fish for food, etc. The temperature was a bit warm but under the shade of these trees, it was really cool and pleasant.

After our little walk, we made our way back to our houseboat where lunch was all laid out for us on the traditional green banana leaves. There was the thick country-style rice for which Kerala is famed, plus river-fish curry (caught freshly that morning), chicken curry and a platter of delicious, marinated and fried prawns with crispy onion and garlic. Oh my! It was all so delicious and made more flavorful by the river air and our green, serene surroundings. Truly, lunch on this houseboat was one of the highlights of our trip—and there were many.

The Houseboat Cruise Continues:

With Lunch all done and cleared away (there were little yellow bananas for dessert, by the way), we continued for the next two hours of our cruise. I took a short twenty-minute nap as is my wont, in the bedroom on the houseboat. It was a really lazy way to spend part of the afternoon and I enjoyed it completely. For a while, I lay down on the bed and watched the river banks glide past me. This time, Ajish steered us away from the lake to the narrow canals or backwaters. This allowed us to take in rural life on the lake’s banks. We saw people go about their daily activities—cycling to the nearest shop to pick up bread or milk; washing their clothes in the river; hanging them out to dry; sweeping their front yards by their little mud or stucco homes; feeding their domesticated fowl (hens, ducks, etc). We even saw white-headed, brown eagles fly high in the sky and then come to rest on the coconut trees.

Yes indeed—we also saw a steady steam of bird life—from mallards and ducks that swam right by our vessel to kingfishers ducking from the trees into the water as they looked for food. We saw hundreds of egrets in the fallow fields pecking for grubs in the freshly mown earth; we saw men climbing coconut trees and bringing down whole bunches of ripe fruit. It was indeed a most wonderful sight as we took in a white-washed church on the lake’s bank (so picturesque and pretty), little bridges that spanned the river and under which we steered ahead. It is these priceless scenes that will stay with me forever when I think of my travels in Kerala.

And then, before we knew it, our four hours were up and Ajish was steering us back to our original mooring. We thanked him very much for being a great sailor as well as for looking after all our needs during lunch and after. We made payment to him and reconnected with Shiju who was waiting on the river bank to pick us up. It has been a tremendous cultural experience and we had enjoyed it fully.

Settling in our Heritage House B and B:

It was with some difficulty that we found our next place of accommodation. This was the Kodianthara Heritage House Bed and Breakfast or Home Stay which belonged to a man named Crispin Kodianthara who had communicated with me by phone throughout to guide us to his dwelling. He gave our driver Shiju the directions (in Malayalam, which we do not speak) on how to find his place (it was quite a production), but eventually, we did get there.

Kodiathara Heritage House B and B turned out to be a most delightful space. It is a 170 year old traditional Kerala home, built in the architectural style that is unique to this region, ie. it is built around a four-sided courtyard with bedrooms radiating from it. The house was clearly old as we could see as soon as we pulled up in the driveway and looked for the proprietor. A little boy named Zack was hanging around and when we told him we were looking for Crispin, he ran inside only to return, after a few minutes, to let us know that Crispin was changing his clothes and would be with us shortly. Little Zack turned out to be the grandson of Crispin (his daughter Mithila’s son) and he was the most delightful companion and friend over our next two days. Zack had a little bother named Zane and between the two of them, they entertained us thoroughly. It turned out that they were visiting from Perth, WesternAustralia, where they normally live. They were on their winter school vacation with their mother who had grown up in this home. It was ancestral in every sense of the word.

When Crispin arrived, he told us that he was the seventh generation member of the Kodianthara family to live in this home. He is a very worthy custodian indeed and is proud of this abode and treats it with the utmost reverence. In course of time, we met his completely gracious and most graceful wife, Sony, who made us our daily breakfasts and chatted with us in the King’s English. It turned out that she had majored in English Literature in college (in Bangalore) and had been an Engllish teacher herself (as is her daughter. Mithila). Overall, this lovely family, representing three generations, were our companions and hosts for our two-day stay and I truly wish we could have stayed longer. What I was left with was the feeling that we were being welcomed and hosted in a real, genuine Keralite home—not in some cold, impersonal five-star hotel.

Our own accommodation was a separate two-bedroom, two-bathroom villa—we, of course, used just one bedroom and en suite bathroom. There was hot running water, air-conditioning and a very comfortable bed. That is basically all you needed to be happy while on vacation. Birds continued to sing outside in the many tall trees as this place is surrounded by acres and acres of privately owned plantations (banana, coconut, spices). There is a rivulet of the backwaters that flows right through this property and a pond in which visitors could swim. There is a dog and ducks and hens all of whom are domesticated for their eggs. It is the job of little Zack and Zane to feed the birds and collect their eggs each day and they take great pleasure in their domestic tasks.

Crispin suggested we take a bit of rest and then offered us the opportunity to have dinner in his private club—the Kottayam Club, which was about a twenty minute drive away. He told us that if we mentioned his name we’d be given entry (even though we are not members ourselves). He suggested this as a good place to have dinner. And that was what we resolved to do after we’d taken a refreshing nap and were ready for the next stage of our day.

Dinner at the Private Kottayam Club:

Lovers of Literature might recognize the name’ Kottayam’. It is the scenic setting of Arundhati Roy’s best-selling and Booker Prize winning novel, The God of Small Things. This is Meenachil river country and you will find the river weaving in and out of the roadways in this part of Kerala. As described in Roy’s novel, it is exceedingly evocative of nature and really quite stunningly beautiful indeed.

We drove to the Kottayam Club only to find that a very big and very noisy wedding was in progress. It was then that I put two and two together and made the proverbial ten! I began to suspect that my classmate Rachel (who had told me that she would be at the Kottayam Club this evening for a wedding) would actually be one of the guests here. I decided to investigate. So after we entered, past the richly-dressed guests who were sipping soft drinks and juices and nibbling on snacks at the entrance, and after our entry was cleared by the manager, we found ourselves walking towards the waterfront past a long stretch of very well-manicured green lawn. At the end of it, right by the water, we found tables and chairs where we sat down and made ourselves at home. Sunset had just occurred so that twilight was falling fast upon the water and the land. I left Llew at the table and went in search of someone who could connect me with Rachel and Joe, if they were indeed at the wedding.

And guess what? They were! I found a couple of ladies and when I introduced myself and told them that I was looking for Rachel and Joe, they told me to wait for a few minutes while they went out in search of my friends. Just five minuets later, Rachel emerged, looking just lovely in a grand, off-white, silk sari. We had a lovely reunion with her and Joe and she urged me to come inside for the pre-wedding reception as she was related to the bride. Of course, we firmly declined as we were not dressed for the occasion and everyone else was dressed to the hilt. Rachel and Joe came over to the table on the lawn to meet Llew and chat with him for a few minutes which is when we also took a few pictures. And then they left us as we would be seeing him again tomorrow as Rachel had invited us to Afternoon Tea at her place. There would be adequate time for a leisurely visit then.

Dinner on the Lawns of The Kottayam Club:

On the lawns of the Club, we made ourselves at home with drinks (frosty G&T for me and a red wine for Llew) together with substantial snacks (chicken samosas, crispy bhajias) before we ordered dinner: a green salad plus Kerala’s famous Roast Duck (which was, funnily enough, roasted and then served in a tick gravy—so that it appeared more like a curry than a roast) served with puttu: steamed rice and grated coconut molded in a bamboo so that it came to the table in long tubes. It as quite wonderful indeed and eaten under the stars with the soft swoosh of swaying coconut palms all around us, it was like eating in Paradise—or in God’s Own Country, as the ads say.

Overall, it had been a most memorable day; But we were grateful to return to the homely comforts of our heritage house and to make ourselves fully at home under the covers as we called a halt to the day and settled down for the night.

Until tomorrow, see ya’…

Day Six. Captivating Kerala. A Day Spent Sight-seeing in Fort Cochin

Wednesday, January 14, 2026:

A Day Spent Sight-seeing in Fort Cochin

Our full-day of sightseeing in Cochin began early as both of us were up by 7.00 am. We showered and got dressed and decided to go out for an early morning walk to the waterfront so as to see the Chinese Fishing Nets and the Fish Auction in action. In any case, breakfast at our B and B only began service at 8.30am. This gave us a good 45 minutes to explore on our own.

Visiting the Church of St. Francis:

As daily Mass was announced at 7.30 am at the historic Church of St. Francis, we decided to begin our walk in its direction as this would ensure that it was open and would enable us to peek inside. It was just a few minutes’ walk from our hotel. Already we could see Western white visitors on the streets, all struck by the same idea as ours—to get some sights in before the day progressed too far.

A large sign post in the church compound outside informed us that this was the first European church built in India. It dates back to 1500 (Vasco da Gama landed in Calicut from Portugal in 1498). It was built originally out of wood by the Franciscans but was later rebuilt in stone and roofed with tiles by 1516. It remained under Portuguese control until 1663 when the Dutch took it over and converted it into a Protestant Church. After the British took control of Cochin, it was declared an Anglican Church (in 1804) and after the exit of the British, it was then taken over by the Church of South India who continue to administer it.

In 1524, when Vasco da Gama died, he was first buried in this church. But once he was hailed as the great Father of Portuguese Colonization, his remains were transferred to the Monasterio de San Jeronimos in Belem, just outside of Lisbon in Portugal where I had been fortunate enough to see the grand marble mortuary monument under which he lies permanently at rest. The original gravestone that covered his grave in this church has been retained here and is now mounted on the wall just at the site where his remains once lay. There are also other Dutch grave monuments that date to the 1500s and 1600s and are scattered around the walls in the front of the church. Other more recent mortuary monuments (dating from the 1800s and the early 1900s) can be found all around the rest of the church.

It is quite a simple church really with a typical Anglican design. There are large stained glass windows and a beautiful teak timbered ceiling. But, by my reckoning, the most striking features are the old colonial punkah or canvas fans that hang along the sides of the church. They use an antiquated pulley system to keep them working manually—now, of course, there are electric ceiling fans—but it was quite evocative to me to imagine the use of the punkah during long church services in the sweltering heat of Cochin summers. After we surveyed the other features of the church (Baptismal font, ornamental lectern, etc), we left and walked towards the waterfront past Bastion House.

Exciting Activity at Cochin’s Waterfront:

We were right on time to see the Chinese fishing nets in action at the waterfront. These are found all over Cochin—a legacy, I believe, of Chinese fishermen who had once arrived on these shores and used these contraptions to survive. They are built on the concept of the pulley system with large round stones weighing down one side and rising up as the nets are lowered into the water. The nets are then pulled up as the weighed stones go down. When we were there, not much of a catch was to be found and after taking a few pictures, we walked towards the auction stands where the catch was being sold to the highest bidder. It was fun to see the process and even more fun to walk along the pathway to see the displays of fresh fish and shell fish that were quite attractively sorted and placed for sale to daily buyers. Fish does not get any fresher than this, I thought, as I took a few photographs.

Breakfast in our Hotel:

As our hotel tariff included breakfast, we found patrons seated at tables in the dining area as soon as we entered. Our manager asked if we’d like our eggs boiled, poached, scrambled, fried or in a plain or masala omelette. We opted for the last and it arrived with three slices of buttered toast and coffee. Indeed, it was a very filling breakfast and it fueled us well for the rest of the day. It was not long before we set off. Calling for an Uber to take us back to Jew Town as the first item on our agenda today was the tour of the Dutch Palace.

Visiting the Famous Dutch Palace of Mattancherry:

Dutch Palace is so-called because it was taken over by the Dutch after their conquest of Cochin. It had originally belonged to the princely rulers of Travancore, but the Dutch acquired it from them. It is a stucco and teak building with two major highlights. The teak timbered ceiling is beautifully carved and ornamental. These are evident is room after room and as they are beautifully polished and maintained, I simply could not stop taking pictures of them. The second huge highlight of this palace is a marvelous representation of the entire Ramayana, the Hindu ancient epic written in Sanskrit, created through frescoes on the walls. As you move from room to room, you are fully taken by the detail of these frescoes, done in mainly four colors: red, yellow, black and white. Many of them are in such a fine state of preservation that you would find it hard to believe that they are centuries old. While there is some deterioration, for the most part, it is just brilliant in its vividness.

Other than the ceiling and the frescoes, this building houses a museum that contains loads of memorabilia of the kings of Travancore—there are a series of portraits, oil-painted by local and British artists, as well as arms and armor, maps (created by Dutch cartographers that quite graphically portray the entire Malabar Coast), photographs, costumes and accessories of royalty as well as photographs of the British officials who took over the administration of the region at the time. It really was a most worthy visit because there is so much to see and all of it is quite well organized and really very cheap indeed (a ticket to visit costs a mere Rs. 5—just pennies literally). We also had lovely views of Jew Town and the back of the synagogue from the windows of the Palace as it was the rulers of Travancore who had first given the arriving Jews the space to build their synagogue on palace grounds. It was a fabulous first stop.

Off to See Jew Town and the Synagogue by Day:

It is only a short walk from the Dutch Palace to Jew Town and we made a quick bee line towards it. There is a large arching sign over the street that leads to Jew Town and today, with most of the Jewish community having left for Israel, their homes have been converted into housing for the non-Jewish population while the ground floor space has been converted into shops. En route, we stopped in a passage way that houses more shops and a little cafe to order a ginger-lemonade that was most refreshing.

By day, the shops were full of tourist merchandise and tourists too. Indeed, the place was crowded with tourists, mostly white, and many seemed to be European Jews. As we passed by the same shops we had seen by gas light last night, we were better able to admire the tourist produce inside. The cobbled street and the gas lamps continue to give the place a very antiquated look and as we moved towards the synagogue, we realized that it remains the biggest attraction in the area.

The Jewish Synagogue is the second oldest in India. It was built by the Baghdad Jews soon after they landed on Cochin’s shores. They were granted land close to the palace and the Shiva temple by the rajahs of Travancore and while it was once a most vigorous center of Jewish community life, today it is mostly a tourist site. We left our footwear outside and went pas the large Star of David in the courtyard to enter the synagogue which is hung over with colorful glass lantern lighting. The main Altar houses the Torah behind an embroidered curtain and the pulpit from which the rabbi addresses the congregation is also a prominent part of this structure. However, to my mind, the most remarkable part of this building is the flooring which is made entirely of blue and white tiles in the design that has come to be known as Delft (meaning, from Holland). However, these tiles turned out to be made in Canton, China, in the ancient past. And I also learned that the West in general and the Dutch in particular, learned to make these blue and white tiles from the Chinese. The floor is, surprisingly, not covered with carpets or rugs—the hundreds of people, who come into the place actually walk directly on them. I cannot even begin to imagine the very slow damage that is being done to them. In fact, apparently, when the late Queen Elizabeth II of England, visited the synagogue in 1965, she is said to have commented that it was a sin to walk upon so gorgeous a floor. I could fully commiserate with her feelings.

Having taken a slow spin around the room to take in the various visual details of it, we walked towards the exit—only to run into Bridget White Kumar, the cookbook author with whom we had made friends at breakfast yesterday. She too was on a visit to the synagogue, doing some sightseeing before returning to Bangalore where she lives.

Taking is some of the Art Biennale at Ishara House:

Walking out into the cool sunshine, we stopped for about half an hour to take in Ishara House—an old Jewish mansion that is an art gallery today. Since the Cochin Art Biennale was going on, this place is an important site and we decided to go in to see the exhibition of broken mirrors by an Italian artist called Michelangelo Pistoletti. There were two other artists whose work was also in the same house, but the series of rooms at the back housed an exhibition about the people of Gaza, their recent suffering and their tenacity in the face of war and persecution. It would have been easy to spend much more time in this one site, but we were keen to take in a few more as long as we were able to see something of the Art Biennale. But first, we decided to stop for a ferry ride.

A Water Taxi Ride to Wellington Island and Back:

Our relatives had told us yesterday that Mattancherry, the area is that covered by these tourists sites, is the only place in India that can boast a water taxi or water metro service—this is a ferry that travels across the river going from one bank to the next. They suggested we take a ride on it to go from Mattancherry station to Wellington Island station, across the river. And since we were keen on checking it out, we took their counsel.

Accordingly, we walked to the ferry terminal at Mattancherry and bought our tickets for just Rs. 30 each (per ride). We had a half hour wait in the terminal which was spotlessly clean, superbly lit and well planned. We were also able to use spotless rest rooms here. So, in every way, this was a great rest stop for us.

When the ferry arrived, we piled into it, only to find that there were very few people on it. It is a small vessel but very well manned. It was only a fifteen minute crossing but it was lovely to see the port of Cochin ahead of us with a cruise ship actually docked in it as Cochin is a popular cruise stop on international cruises between Dubai and the Far East.

Once on Wellington Island, we discovered that there was, in fact, not too much to do. We did not realize that there were a couple of art installations right outside the ferry terminal there—had we known this, we could have used our time waiting for the return ferry to Mattancherry, to go and check out these exhibits too. Instead, we sat waiting for another half hour for the return ferry to take us back to Mattancherry. The ferry ride back and forth was a cool opportunity to say that we had been on India’s only water taxi and found it to be super impressive.

This item ticked off our To Do List, we hailed an Uber that took us to the other side of Fort Cochin. By this point, we were feeling a bit peckish and were all set for lunch. In about fifteen minutes, we were at the Santa Cruz Basilica where we alighted and looked on Google for the place where we’d eat lunch.

Visiting the Basilica of Santa Cruz:

However, when passing by the main gate of the Basilica, we found it open and decided to nip inside for a swift visit. Who knows when it would close again and we did not want to lose the chance to see it. So in we went.

After St. Francis Church, the Santa Cruz Basilica is the most visited church in Cochin—it is also a Catholic church and so attracts a large crowd. The church is quite striking visually as it has lovely ornamental ironwork on the iron posts that hold up the upper tier. It also has arresting paintings in the Renaissance style by the Italian Jesuit Antonio Moscheni and these can be seen as soon as you enter the church on the two chapels on each side. We made a prayerful visit and moved on as we were starving by this time and lunch beckoned.

Lunch at Fusion Bay Restaurant:

It was Menaka who had recommended Fusion Bay Restaurant as a good place to have typically Keralite food and, going by her advice, we used Google maps to find that the place was only a few meters from the Basilica. Inside, we found it to be a really small place with only a few tables and covers. It was rather late and that explained why we were seated immediately.

The menu was indeed quite varied with Indian and Continental delicacies. We ordered the Duck Roast as I was very keen to try it—it is also one of the specialities of Syrian Christian Kerala. Sadly, it was all finished by the time we ordered it. We had no option but to settle for Prawn Curry and Chicken Stew which we ate with appams. Of course, as in the case of every meal we had eaten in this state, it was grand. There was really nothing to complain about. Service was good and attentive and the people are generally very kind and mild-mannered and eager to please. We finished our delectable meal, used the rest room again and decided to nip over to the Gelato place called Gelato Pillai that was actually right across the road. And there, in the cool, air-conditioned comfort of an ice-cream parlor, we ordered peanut butter, Alphonso mango and chocolate gelato—yes, we were able to sample three different scoops and they were all really good. It gave us a chance to take another seated break as we would be spending the rest of the afternoon on our feet as we perused the offerings of the Cochin Art Biennale.

Sampling the Offerings of the Cochin Art Biennale:

Cochin Biennale is now so well-known that it attracts artists and art-lovers from all over India for a a month of browsing and perusing of interesting art works from India and around the world. There are many venues—about12 scattered all over Cochin, with many of them in Fort Cochin itself. There are two venues that present the works of multiple artists—Aspinwall House and Pepper House. And so we made a bee line for Aspinwall House first.

bought our tickets at the ticket counter outside Aspinwall House (Rs. 100 for each of us for the entire day and valid at all the venues). As soon as I entered the main gate of Aspinwall, I remembered immediately that I had been here before and seen the Biennale a few years ago. Aspinwall House is also architecturally very interesting as it is one of those old colonial offices-cum-warehouses that were very much involved in the colonial Tea trade. Cochin was one of the most prosperous of the South Indian ports as it did business with various parts of the world. The beautifully laid out buildings that make up this complex still bear signs of the commercial activity of that period although the structures themselves are pure white, punctuated with balconies, a second story that offers another large balcony overlooking the river and rooms in which the artists’ offerings can be shown off at full advantage. We perused all of the work and found most of it to be highly avant-garde. So esoteric were most of the art exhibitions and installations and so huge the variety of media being used that I have to say I did not respond or connect with very many of them. Still, it was good to be able to see what modern Indian artists are doing and how they were able to interpret the venue and theme of the exhibition which this year is “For the Time Being”. This can be interpreted variously, of course, but in its simplest form it means that by the end of the one-month show, the original and initial exhibits could have changed completely.

After Aspinwall House, we walked for about fifteen minutes to get to Pepper House. As its name implies, it is a similar (if much smaller complex) that was once active in the trade—this time pepper and other spices. It is constructed around a verdant courtyard and here too, the visitor goes from one room to the next trying to figure out what each of the artists is trying to say. Messages were mixed like the media they used and the curatorial notes were very helpful in allowing us to interpret what was being portrayed This building took us about half an hour to go through as we really did not stop for too long anywhere. There was one more exhibition I was keen to see and that was a bit distant—the last exhibition of the famous Indian artist Vivaan Sundaram. Since the show closed at 7.00pm, we needed to hurry to catch his show too.

Another Uber took us to the Cube Art Space where we then spent the next half hour in the company of the late artist Vivaan Sundaram. This exhibition has been curated and created for one of the cities of the Middle East (Qatar, I believe) and it was from there that it had traveled to be presented here. It was a sample of the last work that he had done—and it contained photographs of his own surgery performed upon his own body by a group of surgeons after he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. It also featured paintings and sculpture and as one moved from one room to the next, you had absolutely no idea what awaited you. It was, to my mind, rather gruesome and I must admit I did not enjoy the experience at all.

This Cube Art Space also contained the work of other artists—so, on the whole, we saw the work of at least fifty artists in the space of a single afternoon. Needless to say, we were well and truly exhausted by the end of the day as we’d started super early and had covered a great deal of ground. We were so ready to return to our rooms for a rest, a drink and then a thought about where we would eat dinner.

Dinner at Kashi Restaurant:

We called an Uber and in about fifteen minutes, were back in the comfort of our room in our hotel. It was time for a nice cup of coffee which we brewed and, a little later, for a drink and a nibble on banana chips and nuts. While relaxing, we looked for a good place to eat nearby as we were too beat to go too far away. We found a place called Kashi, that was literally on the next street, raved about on Trip Advisor and that was where we chose to eat.

We were disappointed. In deed, it was the only meal on our entire trip that we really disliked. First of all, I was hoping to find an enclosed AC-ed space, only to find that it was located in an open-air garden, as it were, with just a make shift canopy covering the top. The place was ridden with mosquitoes which made seating very uncomfortable. It specialized in Continental food and we decided to take a break from typical Keralite food to eat something more familiar. We chose to have the Beef Sizzler as we both love sizzlers and as beef is not available in Maharashtra. Well, we were sorely disappointed. Portion-size was small compared to all other sizzlers we’ve ever ordered. Normally, it makes a very substantial meal for two as it comes with the protein of choice and a host of grilled vegetables plus potatoes (either chipped or mashed). We asked for our steak to be done medium-rare but it was more like rare and the center was barely cooked at all—not very pleasant eating. The accompaniments were very sparse—yes, there were mashed potatoes but the portion size was much smaller than usual. Other veg hardly filled the spot. The dish was accompanied by a mushroom-mustard sauce which happened to be absolutely tasteless—no flavor at all—neither of mushrooms nor of mustard. Just a bland off-white disappointing sludge. I asked for mustard to be brought in a little cup for me and this made the steak palatable. We asked for barbecue sauce or steak sauce and there was none available. Overall, a thoroughly disheartening experience. Oh well…service was good, but it was with relief that we paid the bill and returned to ur hotel. I guess the moral of the story is ‘when in Kerala, eat Keralite food’.

And on that somewhat dreary note, we walked for about five minutes to return to our hotel and bed down for the night for a much-deserved rest after what had been a truly stimulating day.

Until tomorrow, see ya’…

Day Five. Captivating Kerala. Participating in the International Anglo-Indian Conference and First Glimpses of Cochin

Tuesday, January 13, 2026:

Participating in the International Anglo-Indian Conference and First Glimpses of Cochin

Today was devoted entirely to my participation in the International Anglo-Indian Conference—the very reason that motivated this trip to Kerala. But first, breakfast. It had been a very comfortable night and both of us had slept well. We awoke, showered, dressed and turned to thoughts of food. Our hotel tariff included breakfast—so we returned to the Rooftop Restaurant of our hotel and prepared to have a really good breakfast.

Breakfast at Hotel Presidency:

breakfast, we ran into Bridget White Kumar, the renowned Anglo-Indian cookery book author, whose books I had once owned in Connecticut. We struck up a conversation with her and joined her at her table as she was seated alone. The buffet was laid out just steps away from our table and we made several trips to enjoy its offerings: I began with Idiappam (which is a noodle-shaped dosa made with white rice flour) which is traditionally eaten with Chicken Stew. Now Kerala is famous for this combination and I had been longing to enjoy this dish. The chicken stew is made with coconut milk which gives it a wonderfully creamy texture and very unique flavor. It was indeed as delicious as I had imagined. Next, I went on to eat the idlis and menu vadas served with spicy sambhar (lentil stew) and coconut chutney. Then, I brought myself a glass of mango lassi to the table and I finished off with a plate of fresh fruit. It was one of the best breakfasts I had eaten on the trip so far and I relished it fully.

Off to the Conference:

Luckily, our Anglo-Indian Conference was in a place called Ashirbhavan which happened to be a Christian Pastoral Center just a ten-minute walk away. Equipped with my paper and my flash drive which contained my Powerpoint presentation on it, we left our hotel at 9.15 am to be there by 9.30 am so that we could sort out all issues related to technicalities.

We were among the very first to arrive at the Conference hall. I was delighted to meet my colleagues, Brent Otto and Robyn Andrews, both of whom were already there and adjusting the projector. We greeted each other fondly and then took our seats. More and more people piled into the hall and everyone was very friendly as almost all of them had registered to attend the entire week’s activity related to the Anglo-Indian Reunion. This event brings Anglo-Indians of the diaspora, who are scattered all around the English-speaking world, to the spot where these reunions are held once every two years. The reunions include religious, social and intellectual activities, including a Research Showcase and a Research Workshop. I have made presentations at these Reunion Conferences in Calcutta and Chennai in person and in Canberra, Australia, by zoom. I was very pleased to return to the Conference, this time in Cochin, as apart from enabling me to showcase my own recent research activity, it allows me to meet with many of my scholar friends who work in the same field of inquiry such as Uther Charlton-Stevens, Dolores Chew, etc.

The Conference began with the Welcome Address and in the middle of the preamble, my cousin Blossom and her daughter Menaka walked in. They had scheduled a visit to Cochin at this time to coincide with the famous Cochin Art Biennale which they too attend every two years. This time, the Biennale happened to coincide with the Anglo-Indian Conference and they were very pleased to be able to attend both.

The sessions went off really well and, as usual, were highly informative and enlightening. I learned a lot from them and became familiar with the manner in which the Powerpoint projection worked as my session was the last—scheduled just before we broke off for lunch, In-between, we did stop for coffee and cookies and this gave us an opportunity to socialize with so many of the scholars whom I happen to know well including those I was meeting for the first time.

My own session was a bigger success than I had expected. I presented a personal and professional profile of the late Deryck Jeffereis, an Anglo-Indian stagecraft artist who had impressed Bombay with his talents and vision as a set and stage designer, lighting expert and production manager from the 1940s until his death abut fifty years later. I had communicated with his sons Yohan and Renana, based in the UA, who had sent me audio recordings and family photographs that I was able to use as part of my Powerpoint presentation. It struck a chord with many attendees as Jeffereis is not very well known and his low profile has kept him out of the limelight for decades. I had a wonderful response to my presentation with many folks coming up and telling me how much they had enjoyed it and the Editor of the monthly magazine, Anglos in the Wind, Harry McLure, immediately commissioning a feature story on the same individual for his magazine. I was thrilled, of course, as I felt that my attendance and presence in Cochin had not been in vain.

Right after my session, the company broke up for lunch which was served in a dining hall just below us on the ground floor. We reunited with Blossom and Menaka as we sat down to eat together from a selection of dishes that were dished out by the nuns of the convent close-by who had been assigned the catering for the week’s events. It was a great opportunity for us to catch up as well as chat with other participants that we met, many for the first time.

Following lunch, Blossom and Menaka left and returned to Fort Cochin where many of the venues of the Art Biennale were scattered. Llew and I returned to our hotel to check out and call an Uber that would also take us to Fort Cochin where our next hotel was located as we too wanted to catch a bit of the flavor of this beautifully antiquated part of Cochin before we lost all light. We made plans to reconnect with Blossom and Menaka once we were at our hotel.

so, at about 4 pm, we were at our next hotel, The Fort Bridge View Hotel in the very heart of Fort Cochin, just steps away from the waterfront where the famous Chinese Fishing Nets are located. We checked in, called them to let them know we had arrived and then Llew and I sat down to have a cup of coffee in our room. About a half hour later, they joined us in the lobby and we began our exploration of Fort Cochin on foot.

Initial Exploration of Fort Cochin on Foot:

Fort Cochin has a very long and illustrious history. Its Western imperialist history begins in the 1500s with the arrival of the Portuguese in India. Vasco da Game landed not far from these shores at a place called Calicut and with his entry onto the scene, the colonial history of India began. The Portuguese were followed by the Dutch (who took control of a royal palace in the area) and the French. However, the Baghdadi Jews had arrived in Cochin long before the Europeans and they have left their mark in an area know as Jew Town.

As soon as we left our hotel, which was really quite ideally suited to rambles on foot, we made our way to the waterfront to see the Chinese fishing nets. These are in operation in the early morning when the daily fish auction also takes place. On inquiry with the local fishermen, we discovered that one must be at the venue by 8.00 am to see the fresh catch come in and witness the auction haggling for various lots of freshly-caught fish. That scene taken in, we walked just a few meters away, along wonderfully leafy avenues lined on both sides by well-established trees, past Bastion House, which houses a permanent exhibition on the history of Cochin. We arrived, in a few minutes, at St. Francis Church where Vasco da Gama was first interred (before his remains were transported to Belem, outside Lisbon in Portugal). However, St. Francis Church was closed at this hour and the notice stated that it would be open, the next morning, for Mass. And so Llew and I resolved to aware early and catch the fish auction as well as the interior of the church.

At Menaka’s suggestion, we then called for an Uber to take us to Jew Town, the most evocative and picturesque part of Fort Cochin as she felt that the atmosphere by night would be different from day light hours. We went along with her plan and the four of us reached the center of Jew Town, about ten minutes later.

Exploring Jew Town by Night:

It was really very atmospheric to stroll through Jew Town at night. The area is so-called because it was a Jewish stronghold until the creation of Israel which caused large numbers of Indian Jews to emigrate. Rumor has it that there are now only 12 Jews left in Jew Town. This area boasts the first arrival of the Jewish community from Baghdad and the place where the second Jewish synagogue was built. It still stands and is one of the largest spots of tourist interest in Kerala.

We walked down the street leading to the synagogue. This is lined on both sides by upscale shops selling clothes, jewelry, art work, Indian handicrafts and the like. A shop of more interest that the others was once the home of a woman called Sarah Cohen who became famous for her hand embroidered linens—towels, table napkins, tray cloths, etc. We entered her home and found that it contains a small museum filed with memorabilia from her own life. The man she trained and adopted and to whom she passed on her legacy still runs the shop. We shared a few words with him before wending our way deeper down the road.

A few minutes later, we arrived at the Synagogue which was closed, as expected. We took few pictures and just when we were on our way to have dinner, the heavens opened and it began to rain quite heavily—rather unseasonably too. We sheltered under a store awning for a few minutes before deciding to brave it and make a run for the restaurant at which Menaka had made reservations for us as she was taking us all out for dinner.

At Ginger House Museum and Restaurant:

In fact, our dinner reservation had been made at a place just on the next street and within a few minutes, we were there. Menaka had chosen an absolutely lovely place. It is an old seafood restaurant that sits right on the Cochin water front, facing the river. The approach to the dining area is itself very pretty with soft lights along the path and many beautiful antiques and handicrafts decorating the space—all of which are for sale. We were seated at a table right by the water and, in a few minutes, had ordered wine, beer, shandy, etc. to get us going. The Beef Roast, the Prawn Masala and the Vegetable Stew with the fluffy appams we ordered were just superb…it is really hard to have a bad meal in Kerala, to be honest. Best of all, we had a really fun time together, catching up on our lives and talking about our upcoming travel plans. We fell really grateful that we were able to spend this time with each other in this way and savor the joy of meeting even if two or three times a year because of the various locations in which we live.

And, on that happy note after Menaka paid the bill (refusing to let any of us pitch in), we called another Uber and returned to the other side of Fort Cochin where we parted company—going to our separate hotels—and made ourselves ready for another good sleep.

tomorrow, see ya…

Day Four. Captivating Kerala. Exploring Periyar Wild Life Reserve in Thekkady

Monday, January 12, 2026:

Exploring Periyar Wild Life Reserve in Thekkady:

We awoke in our Dale Dean Cottages B&B and after showers and dressing, decided to go out in search of breakfast. This was the day devoted to seeking and, hopefully, finding wild life…but first, we needed to fortify ourselves with a good breakfast. A Google search led me to a place called Misty Green where someone called Aunty Maggie was supposed to provide home-cooked, typically Keralite breakfasts. Well, suffice it to say that we had a very nice personal encounter with a lovely couple, Felix and his wife, Maggie who run a Home Stay and, as part of it, also provide breakfast to their residents. After making the journey and being told that breakfast was not available to non-residents, I told Felix that we had driven a long way in search of his place and, taking pity on us, he and Aunty Maggie decided to provide us with one.

And so, we were seated at a very nice homely dining table in a private house and looked after by a delightfully friendly landlady called Maggie. She served us Puttu—this is a typical Keralite delicacy which consists of steamed rice and grated coconut cooked either in bamboo or in coconut shells. To go with the puttu which is either served in the shape of a small mound (the coconut shell) or in long rolls (formed by the bamboo molds), there is a lentil curry, papad and small, ripe, yellow bananas. To top this off, there is really lovey steaming coffee and we had two cups as it was so good. For this abundant and very tasty meal, Aunty Maggie charged us just Rs. 150 each. She also gave us a sample of her own homemade chocolate studded with nuts and rice crispies—but, in the end, as it is our preference, we bought a bar of her dark chocolate. Thanking both Felix and her very much for accommodating our request and serving us a freshly-made breakfast, we were on our way. Thankfully, they had told us what to expect when going into the forest.

Exploring the Periyar Wild Life Sanctuary:

So, it turns out that we needed to park our car in the car park and buy tickets to board a bus that runs every 20 minutes (Rs. 75 a ticket) to take visitors deep into the forest. It’s a lovely way to leave the town of Thekkady behind and enter the forest where the vegetation is so thick that sunlight barely penetrates.

Once inside the forest, you are expected to buy another ticket for the Periyar river cruise which is one of the ways in which you can see wild life. The other way is to hire a safari jeep that goes deep into the roadways of the forest. I suppose one has greater chance of spying wildlife when they are asleep or hiding away from the public. But these jeep safaris are far more expensive than the boat ride.

Buying our tickets, we sat for a while awaiting the arrival of our boat. This gave us the opportunity to enjoy the peaceful, calming ambience of the forest with the Periyar river stretching out before us, its banks already showing evidence of a lone deer who had come to drink at the water’s edge.

About a half hour later, wee were boarding our cruise boat (two-tiered…we were on the main level) and were donning our safety jackets. Once they were on and all passengers were aboard, we set off to see wild life. I have to say that Peruyar is home to about 45 tigers but it has been a long while since a boat load of passengers have spied them. It is also famous for its herds of wild elephants, but these too remain elusive and probably can best be seen at dawn. By the time we set out, it was about 11.30am—much too late for the bigger beasts to show themselves.

All that said, we saw our fair share of animals. We saw several herds of samba deer, a large herd of wild boar and a huge number of birds of various kinds. We were able to sail very close to a black cormorants’s nest and to actually see the little chicks side it. It was perched high up on a tree stump that jutted out of the water. Yes, it was all very peaceful to simply be out on the rive surrounded by the sights and sounds of the jungle. So while we did have some wild life sightings, I do believe that it was the experience of being in that spot at that time that made our excursion really worthwhile.

Drive from Thekkady to Cochin:

Having checked out of our Dale Dean Cottages B&B in the morning itself, the end of our safari, following our return by bus to the car park where we met Shiju, meant that we were ready to embark on the next bit of our travels—our return to the city of Cochin. We had asked Aunty Maggie for a recommendation for a place to eat our lunch en route and she had suggested a restaurant called My Guest in a small wayside town called Pambanam where we settled down to eat Roast Chicken served in a thick and most delectable gravy with Appams—the lovely, fluffy rice pancakes that are really filling and more-ish. We downed this meal with bottled fizzy lemonade and then returned to our car, equipped with Toblerone chocolate for the road as our journey to Cochin continued.

Arrival and Dinner in Cochin:

By the time we arrived on the outskirts of Cochin, twilight was falling fast over the land. Shiju found himself braving traffic as he negotiated his way to the center of the city where our Hotel for one night was situated. It was called the Hotel Presidency and I had chosen it because it was a ten-minute walk to the venue for my International Anglo-Indian Conference which would take place the next day. Yes, we did have to fight through fairly bad traffic as we inched deeper and deeper into the city but it gave us a chance to see Cochin by night, to marvel at the modern city that it is, to comment on its affluence (it has many designer stores and all manner of modern merchandise, including imported goods, that can easily be purchased).

Finally, we did get into the little lane where our Hotel was located and after checking in and taking showers, all we were interested in doing was getting relaxing drinks in our rooms and then going up to the rooftop restaurant for dinner.

And that was exactly what we did. We took the elevator up to the rooftop and settled down at a table that offered a lovely view of the city by night. Sticking with the Keralite cuisine that was laid out before us (and because we do not get to eat beef which is banned in Maharashtra), we ate a lot of beef. This time, we ordered Beef Roast in Gravy with Buttered Vegetables and phulkas (small, dry chapatis) and fresh lemon sodas to wash it all down. It was a really terrific way to bring a day to a close and it was a relief to be able to simply take the elevator down to our very comfortable room where we made ourselves comfortable for the night

Until tomorrow, see ya…

Day Three--Captivating Kerala. Journey From Munnar to Thekkady

Sunday, January 11, 2026:

Journey From Munnar to Thekkady

We had a truly incredible day. Although most of it was spent on the road as we journeyed from Munnar to Thekkady (our next port of call), the drive was so adventuresome that it will always remain in our memory.

We left our Rheinburg House B and B in Munnar after thanking Kannan profusely for his service to us and told Shiju to take us first to a restaurant to have some breakfast as we were fully aware that there are not many outstanding eateries on the road. Accordingly, he took us to a place called Shree Krishna which offered ample parking space (which made life easier for Shiju). Llew and I chose to share the Chole Puri (Curried Chickpeas with large fried puris) and a Mixed Uttapam—which is a thick dosa flavored with a variety of vegetables such as onion, tomatoes, etc. We finished off with filter coffee (and although it was not decaf, it did the trick).

A Most Unforgettable Drive:

And so, with our tummies well-filled, we began our drive to Thekkady. I should point out that the distance was just 90 kms (55 miles) but was estimated to take no less than 4 hours. And we soon realized why. As we left Munnar Town, we drove higher and higher up the mountains past the most immaculate tea estates, each of which was scenic in the extreme because light mist was hanging over them. We found that loads of tourist cars and buses had stopped to take photographs against the backdrop of the dreamy mountains.

But as the day marched on, we found ourselves entering an area of heavy fog as mist gave way to near-invisibility. To make matters worse, the entire journey involves mountainous terrain. You go around and around sloping bends with sheer drops on the right hand side. Our driver was pushing ahead, just a tiny inch at a time, but was hampered in his concentrated endeavors by idiotic other drivers behind him who honked insistently or tore ahead of us at what seemed like breakneck speed. Llew and I have to admit that we were truly terrified. Eventually, after putting up with really anxiety-causing conditions for over half an hour and as the lack of visibility intensified, we requested Shiju to pull over in a safe lay-by and to take some rest while waiting for the fog to clear. I mean, we’re talking a real pea-souper of a day with no sunshine at all but just the cold fingers of mist wrapping themselves around us. What made the drive even more exciting was that we passed by packs of cheeky monkeys sitting by the wayside walls whose fur was wet with fog and whose faces had turned cherry-red against the cold.

After waiting for about half an hour and after the fog began to show just the faintest signs of dissipating, Shiju told us that he felt ready to continue. I had my doubts but I trusted his driving instincts and, before we knew it, we were on our way again, up and down the mountains. And just when one range of mountains ended, another began. It was amazing.

By mid-day, we had reached the valley and the most scary part of the trip had ended. On this part of the drive, we found bright sunshine to light our way and it was much easier to read road side signs and shop names. It was at this point that I discovered that we were no longer in Kerala. We actually stopped at a gas station to fuel up when I saw a large hoarding of Prime Minister Modi addressing the people of the state of Tamil Nadu about one of his welfare schemes. At the same gas station, we decided to stop for a much-needed cuppa and a snack of chocolate biscuits. It was while there that I entered into conversation with a young dad of two little girls who informed me that we had indeed left the state of Kerala behind us and had entered Tamil Nadu. He told me that we would stay in TN for just a little longer before returning to Kerala again. It was super interesting to know that we had crossed state lines and would do so again just a little ahead when we would re-enter Kerala. However, there were no signs on the National Highway saying, “Welcome to Tamil Nadu” or anything like that. It was just the sound of the language and the different script on the highway hoardings that told me we were in Tamil Nadu. So, as you can see, in little ways like these, it was a very interesting and eventful drive.

Eventually, we did make our way to Thekkady, more an area than a town. The biggest settlement is called Kumily and it was there that our next B and B was located. It was called Dale Dean Cottages B and B (also found through booking.com) and after we found the owner who showed us our en suite room (all of which was very much in order with a well-made bed and a spotless bathroom), we asked for suggestions for a nice place to eat a very late lunch.

Lunch at Periyar Tiger Restaurant:

The owner of the B and B, Dean, instructed our driver Shiju on how to find the place he recommended and about fifteen minutes later, we were sitting down to a very nice lunch. We were quite ravenous, having subsisted on cookies and snacks after our breakfast and were ready to attack some typically Keralite food. After surveying the menu, we opted for Keralite Chicken Curry (which was no great shakes) and a delicacy called Karimeen Polichattu (which is Fried Spotted Pearl Fish roasted in banana leaves). Since Llew does not eat fish, I had the large fish, served whole, after being stuffed with a spice mixture that gave it flavor and texture, all to myself. We also ordered Garlic Naan to go with our meal and lassis and indeed, it was one of the best lunches we ate in Kerala. Everything was bursting with flavor as the spices are so fresh and all dishes are made right on the spot.

By the time, dinner was done, we had about half an hour to wander around Thekkady and browse in the shops. The main market drag is highly touristic with many shops selling the same tourist merch that you find at every Indian beach resort or wild life reserve: loose, linen clothing (I bought a pair of loose linen, striped pants for Rs. 250), semi-precious jewelry, silver items, scarves, bags, embroidered clothing, Indian handicrafts and knick-knacks, etc. It was nice to have this half hour of wandering before our next visit.

Off to See A Performance of Keralite Martial Arts (Kalari):

One of the big attractions of a visit to Kerala is a chance to watch Kalari in action. Kalari is typically Keralite Martial Arts. I had seen such a performance in Munnar when I had visited with my friend, Michelle, while on the Fulbright Program, a few years ago. I was keen for Llew to experience it too—so I suggested we go to the Kalari Center and buy tickets. They were Rs. 300 per head and were highly popular. In addition to Kalari, the Center also runs performances of Kathakali, the typical classical dance form of Kerala. However, while the Kalari performance lasts one hours, so does the Kathakali and having spend the whole day sitting in a car, we did not fancy spending more than an hour there. Hence, we opted for the Kalari and thought we’d postpone the Kathakali for another venue.

To watch Kalari, you enter a large indoor stadium which has a deep pit built inside it. Spectators sit around the bleachers or stands and look into the pit to watch the performance. About six young men wow the audience with their prowess at fencing with swords, sharp harpoons, etc. There is also a segment devoted to long jumping over the backs of at least 7 people, many of whom are spectators invited to participate. The highlight is the performance of pyrotechnics where the athletes jump through fiery rings or hoops which become smaller and smaller as their skills are showcased. It was indeed a very good and very unusual display of skills and talents and we were quite happy to have witnessed the show

soon as it was over, we headed off for our car—Shiju was waiting for us and we drove straight back to our B&B where we sat down and had a drink on our own private balcony before we called it a night.

It had been a day devoted almost entirely to travel—but it was so full of unusual experiences that it made it all so worthwhile. Tomorrow, we shall actually explore the Wild Life Reserve that we came to Thekkady to see.

Until tomorrow, see ya.

Day Two--Captivating Kerala. Sightseeing in Munnar

Saturday, January 10, 2026:

Sightseeing in Munnar:

Awaking in our B and B, after a good night’s sleep, we showered, got dressed and set out for a very early morning start to a whole day’s sightseeing.

Off to Eravikulam National Park:

As we were headed to Eravikulam National Park which tends to get very crowded at this peak tourist season of the year, we needed to make a start at the crack of dawn. I had tried to get tickets to his place online for several days before leaving home—with little success. And so, it was necessary for us to get to the venue early before the crowds heaved. After an early start (we met Shiju at 8 am), we set out for the Park. I was surprised to find that it was less than a fifteen minute ride to the spot from the center of town.

As soon as we arrived at the spot, we parked our car and joined a short line to get tickets to a bus (run by the park) that takes visitors up to the spot from where they would have views of Annamundi Peak (the highest peak in the South of India). This is also one of the few spots in South India from where one can see the rare Nilgiri Mountain Tahr (Goat) whose natural habitat these Kannan Devan Mountains happen to be. If we were really lucky, we would see them. Our fingers were crossed.

We grabbed a chocolate muffin from the small snack stall attached to the big restaurant and equipped with those (as I did not want to enter the park on an empty stomach), we were ready to go. About ten minutes later, we were in a small bus with about twenty other people. About ten minutes later, past really beautiful mountain terrain, on narrow roads that were lined with fully established trees, many of which were lush with wild flowers, we arrived at the bus stop where we were required to alight. From there, we had to hike up a mountain for about an hour, going higher and higher, with the idea of seeing the Tahr.

Although it was a hike, I have to say that it was a very gentle gradient and we slowly, but surely, gathered height. As we climbed higher, we had the most glorious views of the valleys below us bathed in full golden sunshine. There were tea estates all around us, very thick vegetation in the form of tall trees, birds (and a bunch of bird watchers who had bazooka cameras and field glasses with them), hazy hills in tiers in the far distance but right behind us the peak—Annamundi—which in Tamil means ‘Elephant’s Head’. And, indeed, if you looked at it, from the right angles, it did resemble an elephant’s head.

We stayed in this spot for a while as someone told us that the Tahr were expected at 10.00 am. Of course, I was skeptical about this. Could the Tahr read the time? And where exactly would they be at 10.00 am? I put it down to hogwash and decided to simply enjoy the beauty and stillness of the spot. A park ranger soon pointed out black spots far away on the tallest mountain and assured us they were Tahr. And indeed, if you looked at them closely, they were moving objects. But soon, realizing that we would probably not get better views, we decided to make our way down as we had a number of places to see before the day ended.

And that’s when we had a most amazing sighting. As we walked down the mountain to return to the bus stop that would take us back to the car park, a whole flock of Tahr walked very casually right by us. Yes, we were stunned. They offered fine photo ops (which also encouraged a bunch of visitors to do really dumb things like walking within inches of them) and we took a few. Mission Accomplished! Our early morning excursion had not been in vain. With renewed vigor, we hastened our stride and got back into the bus, rode down the mountains to the car park, where we met Shiju and continued onward. It was time for breakfast as our hike (on an almost empty stomach) had depleted us of all energy and we earnestly needed fuel to go ahead.

Breakfast in Munnar Town at Sharavana Bhavan:

Sharavana Bhavan is a chain of well-known South Indian eateries—that, I believe, might be considered the equivalent of the US McDonald’s chain! They serve standard South Indian specialities and are extremely popular at breakfast-time. Shiju took us there and after entering, we found that we were pretty much the only patrons., I guess the early breakfast crowd had left and it was too early for lunch. It was, by then, about 11.00 am. Very soon, small groups of white tourists made their way inside as the place is well-touted in tourist guides such as Lonely Planet.

Llew and I each ordered a Paper Dosa (which is a gigantic, crisp Indian crepe) usually served with a spicy curry called Sambhar and coconut chutneys. We also ordered “Pineapple Lassi” which was warmly recommended by the waiter—but which we did not care for too much—it was a yogurt shake with pineapple juice. The crepe, however, was superb. It was crisp and filling and entirely hit the spot. When we were done with paying the bill, we left, content in the knowledge that we had many breakfasts ahead of us—at each of which we would try new items.

Off to Conquer Madupetty Dam:

Breakfast done, we resolved to see Madupetty Dam—which is one of the highlights of the town. As we made our way to the venue, we passed by mile after mile of superbly-manicured tea estates. Indeed, Munnar is nothing but tea gardens, now in government ownership mostly, but once owned by Scottish planters who had also planted these massive miles and covered them with tea seedlings. In fact, it would be fair to say that Munnar Town lies in a basin surrounded by the heights of the Kannan Devan Mountains that are completely covered with tea estates.

The road to Madupety Dan was well and truly jammed and it took us a very long time, moving at snail’s pace, to finally get there. Once there, all we did was take a look at the artificial Lake that was created when the river was dammed and to see boats (both row boats and peddle boats) on the water. The two of us alighted from the car and took a short hike alongside the lake’s banks, passing by beautiful clusters of wild flowers everywhere—tangles of morning glory in varied shades of mauve, and other wild flowers. We decided not to go boating as we knew that we had many boat rides ahead of us on our itinerary. It was good to stretch our legs and having done this, we returning to our car, after taking a few photos in a tea garden nearby.

Exploring Munnar Botanical Garden:

Madupetty Dam seen and after braving traffic on the way back too, we told Shiju to take us to the Botanical Garden which we had passed en route to the Dam. This was one of the treats of this day—the Gardens are beautifully landscaped in tiers along the side of a mountain. They are truly a gardener and flower lover’s dream and there is every imaginable flower grown, nurtured and cultivated here. This is a working nursery as well as a scholar’s lab and as we clicked pictures, there were some items that definitely caught our eyes: vivid roses the size of quarter plates, Pelican flower (that I had never seen before—it looked like a large spotted handkerchief), dahlias in the most amazing shapes and colors, huge Peace Lilies and also a flower that looked exactly like the English elderflower (but completely lacked any smell). I was excited to find elderflowers in India but on smelling them and finding them devoid of perfume, I began to believe that they might be from the same family but are not entirely the same. After spending about one hour in the Botanical Garden, we decided to move towards our next port of call.

Munnar’s Famous Tea Museum:

Yes, as I said earlier, Munnar is all about Tea—in fact, tea and Christianity. There are churches galore in this town, representing every Christian denomination. In fact, since Kerala is predominantly a Christian state, there is a church literally around every corner. But there also is tea. Loads of it. You can buy it by the kilo in the market in Munnar Town, in different varieties. And this is why the Tea Museum is so popular.

I had visited this place, a few years ago, and remember being entirely taken by it. It turns out that tea was first planted in Munnar by Scottish planters in the 1880s. They took up residence in the town and tried to replicate the feeling of living in the Scottish Highlands by building themselves little English cottages that were decidedly like English country estates. Inside, they filled them with fireplaces and mantelpieces (needed against the year-round cold) and with wonderful teak furniture that was made locally to English designs. Hence, in the museum, you find a lot of memorabilia from bygone days—things like clocks, time-stamping machines (for the employees to clock in and out daily), desks, chairs, lamps, loads of animal antlers on the walls (tokens of their skihari days when hunting and fishing were popular past-times in the mountains). There was also dozens of black and white photographs on the wall that recall their pleasures—golf, cricket, football, all played in the bracing air of this beautiful hill-station.

As part of our visit, we were led into an auditorium where we watched a lovely little documentary film on the history of Munnar, its tea-planting development as well as its flora and fauna and natural beauty. I learned a whole lot about tea planting, growing, harvesting and distribution and about the various companies (such as Tatas) that took over the business from departing Englishmen after Indian Independence. Yes, there was much to see and marvel at and I was really pleased with our visit.

As part of the Tea Museum, visitors can also see the making of tea—from leaf to packet. You are invited to enter a vast hall where massive tea-drying, grinding and filtering equipment is still used to process and packet tea. Indeed, tea is the world’s largest consumed beverage with China being the main consumer and India being second. Much of the world’s tea production comes from India which is a major export and important cash crop. I found all of us quite fascinating and was very glad we made the visit. At the very end, one enters the gift shop, of course, where you can buy tea in all sorts of avatars and also treat oneself to a drink of tea in the adjoining tea shop. It is all very well organized and the crowds move in quite an orderly manner. I wish I could have found an English-style tea room or cafe, but alas, there was only a counter-style place where you could stand and sip a cuppa. A bit of a disappointment at the end of a very good tour.

Off to the Attukad Water Falls:

The last item on our sightseeing agenda for Munnar were the Attukad Water Falls. The day had passed rapidly by and light was fast fading as we decided to go to the Falls. I remember having gone there, a few years ago, with my friend Michelle, and the grand impression that the site had left on me. And so, despite the fact that we had to drive a bit out of town and brave curving bends down a steep mountain to get to the bottom and despite the fact that twilight was setting in, I was determined to see the Falls. Once again, we were indebted to Shiju who did a great job taking us down the mountain to the spot where the Falls reach the valley bottom. We did see the actual Falls themselves when approaching this spot. But the main site is the river bed where there are gigantic boulders over which the river flows creating little cascades. The river was not in full spate which meant that the flow was very gentle. There is another little cafe at this spot, but having stopped here briefly to take pictures, we returned to the car and made our way back to town. Yes, there was a bit of traffic on the mountain roads at this time of day as people returned home after a work day, and night had fully fallen by this point; but we were not too far off and we reached Munnar Town in time for dinner.

Dinner at Guru Bhavan Restaurant:

As we’d only eaten Brunch today, we were starving by the time dinner time rolled around. Using Google, I found a warmly-recommended place called Guru Bhavan and it was here that we ordered Kerala’s famous Prawn Biryani with raita and Lassi to sip. It was very good indeed if a tad too spicy for us We began to realize that all Keralite food is heavy on the spice element as these mountains are covered with spice plantations: cinnamon, cardamom, any amount of pepper—in fact, black pepper grows almost wild in Kerala—plus cumin, coriander, nutmeg and mace, vanilla, anise, etc. You can buy packs of spices, well-wrapped to form gifts in the stores in the market and any amount of tea. Other items that are really popular are coffee and chocolate—for cacao also grows plentiful in Kerala and there are plenty of stores that tout “Home made chocolate”. I need not point out that Kerala is so green because so much of it is given to agriculture and coconut plantations are everywhere, This explains why tender coconut water is a very appealing and popular drink in Kerala and is sold all over the place.

With our dinner done, all that was left was for us to make our way back to our B&B—which was exactly where Shiju took us. We climbed the steep hill up to our place and reached our location, happy to find that the din of the church next door had finished for the day and we could bed down to a quiet night in weather that was cool and very conducive to a good night’s sleep.

Until tomorrow, see ya

Day One--Captivating Kerala Tour. Making a Mark in Munnar

CAPTIVATING KERALA—TRAVELOGUE

JANUARY 2026

By Rochelle Almeida

Llew had never been to Kerala, while I would be returning there for the fourth time. I had first been in 1984, then in 2011 and 2018. This time round, I was invited to present a paper at an International Anglo-Indian conference in Cochin and decided to use the opportunity to tour Kerala with Llew who made the choice to accompany me. Accordingly, I used Chat GPT for the very first time to plan an itinerary based on a ten-day break and then tweaked its suggestions to suit our needs.

Kerala is often referred to as “God’s Own Country” and by the time we were done with our travels in this state, we had to accept that the appellation is entirely appropriate. We had a really lovely time and returned home with beautiful memories of a very gentle place and very gentle people.

Friday, January 9, 2026:

Bombay-Cochin

As our Indigo flight was scheduled to leave Bombay at 8.10 am, we needed to be at the airport at 6.10 am. This involved waking up at 5 am, calling an Uber at 5.30 am and driving through the still-quiet streets of Bombay to get to the airport. Indigo recently had a major disruption of its service which had caused chaos in the lives of millions of Indians and although services had resumed, there were still some glitches to be ironed out. We were not surprised, therefore, to find that our flight was delayed by 90 minutes. By the way, we were airborne, it was about 9.45 am. This meant that we would miss a meeting with my cousin, Blossom and her daughter Menaka, both of whom were flying into Cochin at approximately the same time. Our delay meant that they waited for us for over an hour to enable us to grab a coffee together at the airport…but in the end, they tired of waiting and left. We would meet them, four days later, in Cochin once again.

The flight was short, comfortable and uneventful (until the very end—when something very unusual happened—more about that later). I know that flying down South offers passengers seated on the left side of the aircraft the opportunity to see the coast of Bombay pass down below. Hence, we had chosen our seats carefully. However, it was really smoggy and although I did get some pictures of the map of Bombay as seen from at least 20,000 feet above sea level, they are not as clear as I would have liked.

For the rest of the flight, after we left Bombay and headed south, we flew over multiple mountain ranges—all really picturesque and pretty as the early morning sun’s rays hit them. Llew and I had downed a cup of coffee before leaving home, so we were quite hungry by the time in-flight breakfast service began. However, we had already paid for a Chicken Tikka Sandwich which we really enjoyed with the airline’s famous Blue Tea (a delicious cinnamon and cardamom-flavored brew) and with that we felt ready for what the day would offer.

Viewing Cochin from the air when we were flying over it was a very interesting experience especially as we could clearly see Fort Cochin laid out before us. We could see the river that flows down to the sea and the two halves of the land mass that makes up this port area. A few days later, we’d actually be exploring this area on foot—so it felt terrific to see it from up there. We also saw maps made of this area in the 1600s by Dutch cartographers when they first arrived on the Malabar Coast. Their versions exactly mirror the land mass we saw below us.

An Unusual Landing in Cochin:

We also had a most interesting and unusual experience when we were landing at Cochin International Airport. We had made the grand descent and were actually parallel to the runway—in fact, just inches above it—when the aircraft suddenly picked up height again and became airborne once more! We had absolutely NEVER encountered such an experience in several decades of flying and the entire aircraft was stunned into silence at what had just happened. It was a good fifteen minutes later and, after we were very up much in the air again, that the Captain came on the PA system to inform us that there had been a technical reason for the second take-off. He told us that this was actually common practice and nothing to alarm us. I have to say that we were not convinced. Anyway, about half an hour later, after we had encircled the city for over twenty minutes, we made another landing—thankfully, it was safe and uneventful. We texted our relatives only to find that they had waited for us for a good hour and then left the airport—we missed them by a hair.

Getting out of Cochin airport (we had no check-in baggage but just a small carry-on each as we are notoriously light travelers), we found our private taxi driver Shiju waiting with a sign that proclaimed “Dr. Rochelle Almeida”. I went up to him while beaming and said, “Hello, that’s me”. The taxi service, by the way, had been organized by me while still in Bombay, through a Kerala-based friend, who had recommended the company (Vaz Travels). They had sub-contracted this 9-day trip to Shiju who stayed with us throughout. And so, within ten minutes, he brought our car, a white Suzuki, to the pick-up area and we were off and away. Hello Cochin, I thought, and Hiya Kerala. We had arrived and were ready to begin our travels.

First Destination—Munnar, Tea Garden Capital of India:

Once in the taxi, we stashed away our bags, put on our seat belts and were off. Now, the distance between Cochin and Munnar (our first destination) is just 126 kms or 78 miles. In the US, we’d have been able to cover this distance in a little over an hour. Here, it was estimated to take four hours as we’d be traveling through tiny little villages, narrow roads lined with shops and people and then through mountainous terrain with hairpin curves. Yes, it would be slow going, but we were in no hurry and were determined to enjoy the journey as much as the first port of call.

Lunch En Route to Munnar:

En route, we stopped for lunch as we started to feel distinctly peckish. Shiju found us a small restaurant where we opted for a typically Keralite meal: we had prawn masala and beef roast with Kerala Parotta. A word about these items: Kerala is one of the few states in India where beef is not banned (we do not get or eat beef in Maharashtra of which Bombay is the capital), Hence, when traveling, we do try to eat as much beef as possible. Kerala’s Beef Roast is legendary as is its Fried Beef (although this tends to be much more spicy as it is marinated overnight in a mixture of spices). The Parotta is also different from that of the rest of India. It is also called a Malabar Parotta—it is far more flaky than the usual and is structured in an interesting circular pattern. For dessert. we chose to share the Payassam—which is a typical Kerala pudding made with a different star ingredient (vermicelli, sago, wheat, dal or lentils) and coconut milk, sweetened with raw sugar called Jaggery. Well, this one was a wheat payassam and while it was very good, it was also a bit filling. We could not get through the whole cup although we shared it. Anyway, our meal was just delicious. We had it with lassi (we had decided to drink only bottled water on our travels—just filtered water, we felt, would not do) and soon we were off on the road again. This was the first of the many delicious meals we would consume as Kerala’s cuisine is legendary.

Arrival in Munnar:

About ninety minutes later, we arrived in Munnar. It was clearly evident that we were there as the first tea estates came into view and, on seeing them, my heart leapt up. Using the GPS, we arrived in Munnar Town and found the location of our first accommodation: the Rheinburg Town House B&B which was owned by Germans and run by a Keralite man called Kannan. After climbing up a really steep hill, just past the very center of Munnar Town, we arrived at the entrance where Kannan met us. He introduced himself to us and informed us that he would look after all our needs as he was the manager.

Kannan led us about 150 meters, past a small and very noisy church (apparently it was a religious feast and they were celebrating by making a most unbelievable din), into his property. It was a very pretty place indeed with a lovely flower garden in the front. However, we did not have either a garden or mountain view as we were led to the very side of the property and in through a side door into a very sparsely furnished room. I guess you could say this was a ‘no-frills’ place. But the bed and mattress looked clean and comfortable and the en suite bathroom was just as clean and satisfactory. As we’d only be there for two nights, we were not unduly concerned by the spartan accommodation.

The din from the church next door (shot through the air through a most powerful PA system) was unbearable and I was simply disgusted by the noise. I realize that while I can take air pollution, it is the noise pollution that drives me nuts in India. Anyway, Kannan assured us that it would stop in about half an hour and he was right. We sent him out to buy us cold tonic water (as we had stopped en route to buy ourselves a bottle of red wine and a bottle of gin) and since we were really too full after our rather late lunch, we merely nibbled on chips and nuts and got ready for bed. Yes, the cacophony from the church next door did stop in about a half hour and we had a blissfully quiet night’s sleep.

We would leave the bulk of our sightseeing in Munnar for tomorrow—so it was with very grateful hearts that we fell asleep.

Until tomorrow, see ya…