ooty and onwards to kerala

I meant to update the blog yesterday but I was drunk on coconut beer so judged it best to leave it. More of that in a moment.

On Monday I left Mysore by bus and made the five hour journey south to Udghagamandalam, more commonly known as 'Ooty,' a hill station in the Nilgiri Hills which sits at an elevation of 2240 metres above sea level. Ooty turned out to be rather a disappointment and I stayed only one full day. It lacks the beauty and magnificent views of the Himalayan hill stations in the north, and the pretty old Raj-era buildings which made the place famous have given way to a rather dirty and unplanned modern urban sprawl. It also rained most of the time I was there, which contributed to the atmosphere being rather glum and gloomy. Whilst in town I visited the Botanical Gardens, St Stephen's Church, the Centenary Rose Park, the Thread Garden, and the Boathouse and Lake. I also met a local farmer in the Sanjay Hotel Bar during the evening (I never caught his name) and he invited me to the cinema with him. I agreed and we went to see the newly released 'Sivaji' starring Tamil superstar Rajini. The film has been all over the news during the last couple of weeks, because it has the honour of being the most expensive Indian movie ever made. It has taken Rajini almost two years to produce it. It took me almost as long to watch it, and it was brilliant. Rajini is quite a piece of work, and deserves a separate blog entry (which I will write at a later date).

On Wednesday I moved, again by bus, into Kerala arriving at my destination, Fort Cochin, after an eleven hour journey involving two buses, an autorickshaw, and a cross harbour ferry. The journey down through the hills and then into the wonderful lush green overgrowth and waterways of Kerala was stunning. Kerala is packed solid with tall palm trees which make way only for clean looking rivers of all sizes or odd clearings for rice fields. It's a very beautiful part of the country, and I am already pondering whether this might be one of the most beautiful areas I've ever been to. It's also a very progressive area of India: Kerala had the first democratically elected communist government in the world, the land is distributed with some equality, infant mortality rates are low, and there is a healthy arts and painting tradition here combined with a 91% literacy rate (the highest in India). It's an eclectic place very unlike the rest of India: one of India's only synagogues is to be found here, as are Chinese fishing nets, mosques, Dutch palaces, and Hindu temples. Fort Cochin itself is a small island just a few hundred metres off the Keralan coastline, an unlikely blend of medieval Portugal (Portugese traders have played a big part in Keralan history), Holland, and an English country village. Most people traverse the narrow streets either on foot or by bicycle, and the atmosphere is peaceful and quiet (more so because it is off season) and rich with history. I am staying at the Elite Hotel. The hotel is nice but the staff have marred this by treating me with obvious indifference (perhaps because it is off season?). Since my arrival I've visited the Pardesi Synagogue, Jew Town, Mattancherry Palace, St Francis Church, Santa Cruz Basilica, and the Chinese fishing nets. Fort Cochin is one of the only places in India to have a Jewish community. Alan Whicker came here 30 years ago and filmed a documentary about them which I watched just before I left the UK for India. He remarked at the time that they were dying out and few in number. Well, they're still here 30 years later, still holding on in India, although today in 2007 the community numbers only seven people and the Pardesi Synagogue does not have an attached Rabbi.

On the ferry over to Fort Cochin I met a man called Pai who struck up a conversation by asking me about the Beatles. He walked me to my hotel from the ferry and I visited him at his family home yesterday afternoon. We both got drunk on toddy (the famous Keralan alcoholic drink made from sap tapped from coconut palm trees). Pai gave me my first glass of the stuff saying, 'yours is the freshest, you've got the fly.' I looked down to see a dead fly in my drink. Pai smiled. I braced myself, and drank. It's potent stuff with a bit of a burning after taste. I had a lovely afternoon chatting with him amongst other things about his love of Mr Bean. His mother and grandmother were also at home but they spoke no English so Pai either translated for me or we communicated more simply through gurning facial gestures. They seemed delighted that I had visited them in their two room, blue, tin roofed, village home. I scored points with Pai's Mum by asking whether or not she liked Rajini - she turned out to be a massive fan. I retired back to my hotel around 5pm before I drank too much and couldn't find my way back, and pleased that I had finally visited a 'real' Indian home.

The monsoon has hit Kerala hard and I have been quite amazed at the amount of rain that has fallen since my arrival here. It's rained and rained and rained. I've had to make my visits and investigations during the breaks and recesses. It can go two or three hours before it buckets down which is sufficient time for me to get about, and so far it has all worked fine. While it is raining I watch from a cafe or read in my hotel. Just watching and witnessing this level of rainfall is in itself an interesting experience.
Tomorrow I will move an hour south to Allappuzha, which is better known as Alleppey, and then after a day or two there south to one of the Keralan beaches - most probably Kovalam.