Travels through God's Own Country-I
Sep 30 2007 | Views 197 |
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Tags: blogprint Ernakulam Kerala greenery trees train journey drumstick coconut jackfruit sahijana traditional house coffee pepper climbers tharavad Fort Cochin Jewish synagogue churches chinese fishing nets backwaters
Tags: blogprint Ernakulam Kerala greenery trees train journey drumstick coconut jackfruit sahijana traditional house coffee pepper climbers tharavad Fort Cochin Jewish synagogue churches chinese fishing nets backwaters
It was the year 1974.
I was called for an interview for a post in Trivandrum,Kerala.
Ihad no intention of joining that post but the to and fro fare was being paid.
My friends and colleagues from Kerala had told me that Kerala was worth visiting.
So when the opportunity was thereI should make use of it.
And I did.
I took a train to Ernakulam.
On the way I passed through a number of other states.
But the impression of Kerala still remained imprinted in my memory.
I was thoroughly bowled over by the forest like growth of trees and plants,bushes and grass almost everywhere. It was greenery everywhere.
It was a total contrast to Tamil Nadu where there were large areas under cultivation and the trees visible were few and far between.
Although generally the colour of the skin was dark being closer to the equatorand the sun's rays affecting the skin,there were a few who were very fair and charming.
I was met at the Ernakulam station by a man almost my age wearing an openbush shirt over a lungi tied and reaching down to the knees. He was barefoot. At first glance I thought that the graduate who was to meet me had not come.
But he introduced himself to me in good English and put me at ease by telling me that whatever about his attire puzzled me was in fact a normal thing there.
With him I went to see the Fort Cochin area,the Churches;the Chinese fishing nets,the Jewish synagogue and the area around the backwaters,before heading over a bridge to the other island where his house was situated.
The St. Francis Church, Fort Kochi (Cochin)
Inside the Church
Colorful Peace
The Jewish Synagogue Cochin
The Paradesi Synagogue Cochin-- World Jewish heritage structure
It was a journey through greenery and a lot of water all around in lakes,backwaters and canals.
Soon we neared his house.
We had to walk through a narrow mud path through tall trees.
I started looking at the trees and noticed that there were tall coconut trees,jack fruit trees,mango trees;sahijana or drumstick trees and others.
There were big compounds around the houses and all were fully covered with trees and other plants.These compounds had creepers of pepper twining around the tree trunks. There were tapioca plants with characteristic yellow and green leaves and a peculiar trunk.
There were the broad leaved plants like the artichoke and the 'arvi'.
There were coffee plants.
The areas were mostlyin darkness except for a little light coming through the small gaps in the canopy of leaves far above the ground.
I felt so happy being amidst such greenery ofnature.
The houses were the traditional Kerala style houses called the "tharavads".
They had verandahs and raised plinth and sloping roofs with a very nice design.
Ultimately we reached his house which was a smaller "tharavad".
I was to spend a night in this garden of Eden and eagerly looked forward to what was to come.
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