...

Kerala, or "God's Own Country" was mythically formed out of the sea when Parshuram, a reincarnation of Vishnu, threw his axe into the ocean. New genetic evidence reveals that the the first humans to migrate out of Africa settled here possibly 80,000 years ago when the shorelines of the world were far different then they are now. The first human ritual (a mantra perceeding teh Dravidians or Aryans), is still performed once every 12 years; western anthropologists theorize this mantra, consisting of pure sound with no inherent meaning, is older than language itself, man's first form of music. You can see the layers of history in this place that later became a major ancient trading post connecting Greece and China, a welcome place for refugees, the land of great Hindu Emperors, and areas that stayed pretty much independent of all foreign conquers until India's independence. It was the first democratically elected communist government in the world (the communist party still holds the majority). Interestingly, on the verge of Indian Independence, it had some of the worst poverty and health issues, and is now one of the most well off states with the highest literacy rate in the country (90 somethin percent). Britain's Michael Wood calls Kerala "nothing less than the laboratory of the human race".

The coast is very unique, not only lined with beaches, but has an area known as the "backwaters", an inland area of lagoons, canals, and lakes. We stayed one night on a houseboat (a floating one bedroom resort), that had a "captain", a crew, and a chef (there was more of them then there were of us, it was only me and mom). We floated down canals lined with bungalows, huts, rice patties, and huge coconut groves. Again, I would love to show pictures of a very unique place that most people don't even know exists, but they are gone except a few. It was very peaceful bar the occasional water bus that was blaring South Indian music. It was also interesting to see how people lived in 10 feet of reclaimed land in between two canals or a lagoon. We spent the next night in a resort on an island in Allepey, "India's Venice", as it is called. It is completely different then Venice, but the town is connected through canals and such. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant which was pretty fancy (or tried to be) but oddly played songs like "You and me baby aint nothing but mammals..." and "Johnny doesn't know", which was really awkward.

We took a day trip to the port town of Cochin, the best town to see the layers of history first hand. Chinese fishing nets from ancient times still line the coast right outside the colonial Portuguese fort and boardwalk/fish market. Vasco de Gama's original place of burial is down the street from St. Thomas's church and "Jewtown". Christians (lead by St. Thomas) settled in the area in the first century AD and Jewish refugees fleeing persecution came around the same time. The descendants of these same Jews run the famous and colorful Jewtown Market that has all kind of handicrafts from across India. We also stopped by the Mattancherry Palace that has some intricate Medieval-aged Hindu murals on the wall, some of the only ones left of their kind in India (the place was filled with young school children who seemed bored with the palace and insistently wanted to give high fives). We ended the day in "New Town", which was a modern day city, so mom could look for silk saris (without a book and the free drinks they serve you, I would not have survived the shopping).

In the Capital of Kerala, Trivandrum, we got to experience the Sri Padmanbhaswamy Temple (some parts of the temple are said to be at least 2,000 years old). It was open to practicing Hindus only, so we had to rent some lungis, pretty much a sheet to wrap around your waist, and men had to go shirtless. We stood in a long line (yes, a REAL line, that worked!!) that weaved around carved stone columns and murtis and through open courtyards with wandering cows.
On the way to our beach resort, we stopped at Varkalla beach, known for its red cliffs, and had lunch in an open-air place on the beach. There was a group of American students studying abroad eating with some French dudes. Sadly, there was a loud American girl that was rambling on and on to the French about how America is the greatest, and how it meant soooo much to every American that they had a Black president, and how American girls are the most adventurous and how she thinks she experienced the true, real India (as she sits at a beach resort with a table full of Americans). She was definitely "that girl" you probably want to strangle in your classes, haha.

But the beach was beautiful and our last stop was at Kovallum beach, where mom and dad went on their honeymoon thirty years ago and where the Beatles escaped to in the 70's. The beach was packed with Indians and Europeans, lined with shops, restaurants, and hotels, and clogged with huge fishing boats. Mom was kind of shocked at what it had become, saying it was a deserted, natural beach thirty years ago. It was still cool to watch the fishermen fishing the same way they have done for hundreds and hundreds of years, and the view from the lighthouse was amazing. I also still find it funny that Indian men are welcome to hit the beach in their tighty whities yet women swim around fully clothed. For the first time though, I did see Indian women in bathing suits on the beach.

The resort we stayed at was nice and we celebrated Republic Day (January 26th) with a flag ceremony in the morning. They had all the security guards dress up to try and march like military men. They were all off count, arms swinging at different times, and when they went to turn, it literally looked like the three stooges, but it was still a nice ceremony. The temple next door was also celebrating some festival, and had speakers all through the area with someone singing (or screaching) the Ramayana from like 4 in the morning until 11 at night, which was a little out of control.

I really enjoyed the history and layers of civilization of the state and the coastal area is a real natural wonder. I hope one day I can go back to Kerala, but the final destination of our trip was by far my favorite place in India so far, so stay tuned for the trip to Karnatika.