15 March 2013 Kochi, India

A visit to the Kerala Folklore Museum and Theatre today, arranged by Stanley. 20 minutes by car from Jasmin’s, but not in a tourist area, it is tucked away in a busy suburb. The timber building has been specially built, taking 7 years, by craftsmen including 60 carpenters, in the traditional style of Kerala. The inside is packed with a fascinating collection from Kerala’s past. The ground floor has some amazing life-size wood carvings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also a spectacular pageant of colourfully decorated effigies of gods and godesses, and images of animals, made for temple Festivals and Carnivals.

 

 

 

 

 

Also a large display of ancient Indian musical instruments, terracotta burial pots, a myriad of household items, paintings including this one on glass

And face art

I’m sure I’ve met this guy. Can’t quite place him though. Can anyone suggest who might have been the model for this?

The internal architecture of this building is beautiful and dramatic. Even the staircases are graced with exquisite carvings.

 

 

 

 

 

The first floor has loads of smaller stuff. I like the puppets

 

 

 

 

 

 

and masks

Sadly, many of the items on this floor are for sale, due to threatened foreclosure by the banks.

The whole of the second (top) floor is a theatre. It is a glorious room. Timbered interior architecture with carved detail (here is part of the ceiling) and hundreds of murals

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope someone is able to save this place.

This afternoon I get a tuk tuk into Fort Kochi and decide to try ‘Loafers cafe’. The orange cake with nuts is interesting. I do some more watching the world go by from the top left hand window.

Jasmin’s evening meal then an early night. I have to get up at 5.45 tomorrow morning for a 6.30 departure on a 2 day excursion.

All the Best, John

14 March 2013 Kerala on the train

Tuk tuk to Varkala train station, train to Kochi, Stanley’s driver meets and takes me back to Jasmin’s, all hunky dory and on time.

In the afternoon I walk into Fort Kochi. This time I have a proper look at The Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica. Originally built by the Portuguese, it was elevated to a Cathedral by Pope Paul IV in 1558. Demolished by the British, it was rebuilt 1887 – 1905 and proclaimed a Basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1984. It is an imposing building, and beautiful inside.

I walk through some of the narrow busy streets of Fort Cochin. Lots of small shops, restaurants and coffee houses. Here is a spice shop.

The ‘promenade’ is a stone path alongside the entrance waterway to the enormous natural harbour of Kochi. There are hundreds of stalls selling souvenirs, food, drinks, ice creams etc.. There are a few western tourists, but most of the people relaxing here are Indian families, couples and groups of young people. There is a happy atmosphere, so I sit for a while watching this Indian world go by. And I have a chocolate ice cream.

The ladies and girls are always smart and beautifully dressed here, in traditional long flowing saris, brightly coloured and spotlessly clean. The young girls are often traditionally dressed also, although a few wear jeans.

The men are much more varied in their dress, some have the traditional white robes, others wear giant nappies; But most wear western clothes, suits or jeans and check shirts.

Here is a crow.

Walking back to Jasmin’s, I watch a motorcyclist crash into a parked bike, fly through the air and totally disappear head-first into a ditch. Lots of people appear from nowhere to help him, but he climbs out on his own and is unhurt. Apples are rolling about everywhere, the crowd including me are trying to catch them, he must have been carrying a basket-full; I am smiling and trying not to laugh, it’s like a Brian Rix farce.

Wonderful meal with Jasmin, I chat with a French couple who are touring the South of India.

Good-night all, John

13 March 2013 Varkala, India

Many people, Indian and foreign, come to Varkala for Ayurveda treatments and to attend yoga retreats. Ayurvedic courses include various types of massage, dietry regimes, stretches, exercise and other stuff. I have not partaken myself, despite the many treatment centres offering their services.

This one is not far from my Chalet. They take it very seriously, linking the benefits to their Hindu religion and even having treatment centres in temples. I meet and chat with one lady who has health issues and is part way through a very expensive course of treatment. Her diet was very restrictive, despite her not needing to lose weight. It’s all about cleansing the body, so lots of foods banned. Certainly not for me.

Not much wildlife here, but today I meet a mongoose. Sadly it didn’t stop for me to get a photograph. My regular waiter by the sea tells me there are lots of them here.

I also meet a quite large lizard, but he doesn’t look very friendly.

I see a white egret, a beautiful, dainty bird, standing in a stagnant pool, hunting for its lunch.

It flies off just before my camera clicks.

The wet part of the beach has lots of holes. Crabs scurry into them as they feel you approach. I manage to get a picture of one, but it is well camouflaged against the sand.

Top right hand corner.

Lots of crows and feral dogs that yowl at night.

Tonight’s meal by the sea is Vegetable Mughlai. Carrots, cauliflower florets, beans and I don’t know what, cooked in a thick Indian creamy cashew nut sauce. I thoroughly enjoy it, I love these Indian sauces. With naan or roti bread and a cold drink, I am in heaven.

Good night all, John

12 March 2013 Varkala, India

This morning I watch the fishermen at work. On land they are hauling in huge nets, left in the sea all day and overnight, extending maybe 50 metres out from the shore. The two ends of their holding ropes are tethered to giant palm trees. One-man canoes monitor the net and it’s catch as they are pulled towards the shore by a dozen men.

Larger boats work further out to sea, they look to be very basic craft with maybe 10 men fishing traditionally.

Next I go in search of the Janardana  Swami Temple. I walk further than before along the cliff-top, until I reach a point beyond the southern end of the beach. The view of the whole beach from the edge of the cliff here is breathtaking.

I find the temple not far from here. It is a 2000 year old Vaishnavaite shrine of India, located near to Papanasam beach. I walk around the temple, I have to keep moving, the stone paving is so hot on my bare feet. This is an ancient place and I am not allowed to enter the building itself. The holy waters of the sea nearby wash away the sins of the living through bathing in them, and the dead whose ashes are scattered here. A family is standing in the shallow water where the beach meets the sea. Father, mother, daughter about 8, son about 4. They just stand there, all four staring at the sea in front of them. For a long time. I guess they are grieving and mourning a loved one whose ashes have been poured into the sea at this point. I can’t see their faces, even the children don’t move. It is a sad sight.

The imposing cliff face is even more striking from here.

I walk to the north end of the beach where I can relax and have a swim in the warm sea. Actually the swell and crashing waves are so strong that swimming is difficult, so most of the time I just stand or float about, enjoying the movement of the water.

Dinner by the sea is Chicken Shai Korma, pieces of chicken in a brown sauce containing coconut milk and cashew nuts. Delicious.

Good night and best wishes to you all, John

11 March 2013 Varkala, India

Long walk this morning, this time northwards away from the cliffs. I am walking on a brick and clay/sand path alongside the shore. It is mostly rock sea defences, with occasional beaches, mostly small, with fishing boats resting on the sand.

Then a beautiful deserted mosque, right next to the shore, isolated from any community.

Further along there are several small villages. I guess these are the homes of fishing families, owners of the boats and numerous nets.

As I walk back along the path, my view of the distant cliffs reveals just how precarious the shops and restaurants along the top are.

Later, on the way to the beach, south along the cliff-top path, I take a few photos from the edge. 

The cliffs are tertiary sedimentary formations which are a unique geological feature on the otherwise flat Kerala coastline. Known as the Varkala Formation and declared a geological monument by the government, they are unfortunately falling into the sea.

Here is a view from the back of the beach.

Plenty of sun and some white cloud while I am on the beach this afternoon. The sea is like a warm bath.

My evening meal by the sea is butter masala with chicken, the thick tomato and onion sauce is delicious, the chunks of chicken tender and tasty.

All the Best to you all, John

10 march 2013 Varkala, India

Breakfast by the sea, a quiet morning reading Ian Rankin, a walk along the cliff-top to the beach. The north end of the beach is where tourists and locals relax and play on the golden sand and in the sea. There are powerful waves and a strong undertow, Stanley had been right to warn me off going out too far. They lose swimmers every year here, despite beach ‘police’ who constantly blow whistles and wave furiously at people who stray too far from the shore. They are fully dressed in a proper uniform with no lifeguard equipment other than a sunshade and a chair so obviously have no intention of rescuing anybody. However their whistles are very loud and insistent.

I spend a very pleasant afternoon on this beach. It is Sunday and a lot of local youths are having a great time climbing on each other to make towers and running and splashing in the sea. All good fun, happy atmosphere.

The south end of the beach is used by Indians to scatter the ashes of their cremated dead relatives into the sea. Devotees believe that the strong religious properties of the water will extend to the souls of the departed. They don’t seem to mind us potentially swimming in their ashes.

Early evening I take a walk up the back street behind the holiday villas, very quiet with a few local people going about their business. The supermarket is about 10 ft. square, I buy water.

This evening I attend the Kerala Food Festival incorporating the Indian Classical Dance Festival in the garden of The Bohemian Masala. It’s Indian food of course, buffet style, so I help myself to a little of everything and find a table with a good, if distant, view of the stage. The setting is lovely, towering palm trees, flowering bushes and subtle lighting. I enjoy the Indian music as much as the dancing. Two ladies and a young man give solo performances, then a boy and a girl join the man in a coordinated display, all danced beautifully and rhythmically in time with the music.

A very pleasant day, good night all.