Good Morning Backwaters

The air was fresh and cool. I took a deep breathe to savour that special moment - the Blue Hour- as we started walking alongside the canal and paddy fields. That blue faint light - perched on the edge between night and day - heralding the new day. Filled with magic and potential, these moments of transition can re-energize minds and souls. Some were out on their morning walk like us. My host took me to the local temple where we lingered on outside to see locals arriving to pray - men in their crisp golden bordered dhotis (a hand woven cotton wraparound) and women, their hair decorated with strings of Jasmine, pretty in their cream saris. I saw food being cooked on huge utensils atop roaring fire. And I heard the priest singing, not chanting (the speaker was tied to a tree inside the temple) – what a voice he had. I remembered the priest of Champakulam Church in the wedding I had chanced upon in 2010. What a voice he had too - singing like a rock star, microphone in hand while conducting the wedding. I also remembered the bride who had a sip of water from my bottle – poor thing was thirsty- and whispered a Thank You. Do priests across Kerala have great voices?

We continued our stroll and entered the palatial; yet dilapidated house of the family of priests in charge of the local temple. It was a privilege passed down from one generation to the other. My host showed me what was once their kitchen and dining hall in the good old days – huge. At least 500 people could eat at the same time. The priestly class of Kerala – before the Communist party mandated that no individual could have more than 15 acres of agricultural land – owned hundreds and thousands of acres of farmland tilled by the masses who got a portion of the crop in return. With their land taken away, the priestly class – who were no less than landed gentry- were reduced to paupers overnight. Some saw it coming and converted their farm land into plantations- Spice, Rubber et al - which was exempted, but most didn’t. The sun was out. The soft rays soaked up the water in the canal as the mist rose from it. Streaks of sunlight beamed through the coconut trees and into the road as we continued walking. What a beautiful sight it was.

Soon I was introduced to the sounds of the backwaters – it began with a cage wheeled tractor preparing the wetlands for rice plantation. Its iron wheel was viciously mixing the water and the soil. And then I saw something really amazing - ducklings – at least ten thousand ducklings, yes ten thousand. They were quacking in the paddy fields just across the road. I was told they are worth at least USD 40,000. Duck farming in the backwaters is a traditional vocation. Once all the paddy is harvested just before the summer rain and fields are empty, thousands of ducklings make their way to the empty fields for their feed. For six months they are constantly on the move from one field to another. This long-winding feeding tour leads them up to the borders of Tamil Nadu or even beyond. By the end of the season which is during Christmas, they are finally sold for meat. Fascinating. So much similar to the Yak/Goat/Sheep herders of the Himalayas and the Rabaris of Rajasthan/Gujarat who traverse huge distances with their cows/buffaloes. Duck Roast/Curry is a delicacy of the backwaters and a cooking class can be organised in most backwater homestays.

The lottery ticket seller came on a moped with his speakers blaring in Malayalam (the local language) - “Not to miss”, “Last day to buy — tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow”, “Win-win everyone”, “Tomorrow is your day”, “All you need is to buy one”, “Chance of a lifetime” — the magic promise: “Rupees 1 crore” (USD 1,50,000) – my host translated for me. The lottery business in Kerala is run by the government and was started in 1967 – a first in India and that too by a Communist government. It soon became a model for other states in India to follow. The Kerala State lottery now has over 500 employees to run the show and an annual net profit of USD 14,00,000. From daily wage earners to people driving fancy cars, everybody buys lottery tickets hoping to hit the jackpot. I started chatting with the lottery ticket seller with my host translating for us. On a good week, a lottery ticket seller could make up to USD 120 and commissions are given accordingly for each ticket sold. And what about people hitting the jackpot? In March 2013, 22-year-old Mohijul Rahima Sheikh, a poor migrant worker from West Bengal, just after four days he had landed in Kerala, returned home a millionaire when he hit the jackpot of Rupees 1 crore. It is such fairy tale endings that keep the people of Kerala fascinated with Lottery.

The fisherman soon after with his strange sounding bike horn announced his arrival in the neighbourhood. It was so similar to the Poder, the traditional bread maker in the villages of Goa who would arrive cycling with his piping hot bread. Women bought fish and headed back to their homes. Some went straight to the canal and started cleaning- sardines, mackerel, pearl spot et al. I didn’t see any haggling. It was a quick affair; in some cases there was no exchange of cash - perhaps the prices were reasonable and they were his regular customers. At the market in Alleppey town I found the vendors to be pushy and was told that the rates fluctuated according to the days of the week – more expensive during weekends when everybody enjoyed a hearty leisurely lunch. The fisherman on the boat, though had a different way of announcing his arrival – it was a song which he sang loudly and women from the houses by the canals came out to buy. Again a quick affair and I saw a women bartering her duck eggs for fish.

The Chaya Kada – a tea stall where the locals meet for their daily fix of gossip over a steaming cup of tea was the next stop. Back in the days when there was no TV, Social Media or Opinion Poll, politicians would send their men incognito to these Chaya Kadas to gauge the mood of the public. A local sipping tea in the Chaya Kada invited us to see his fish farm and paddy fields. Did you know paddy cultivation in the backwaters is carried out below the sea level which makes it a very unique agrarian practice? They even have a farmer owned, farmer run bank in the backwaters to handle the finance part of it. After the fish farm and the paddy fields the invitation was extended to his home for a round of fresh passion fruit juice. His mother, who was reading the morning newspaper welcomed us with a smile and went back to what she was doing. After 6 long years I saw someone again wearing the Chatta Mundu. Chatta (blouse) - Mundu (hand woven cotton garment wrapped around the waist) is the traditional dress of Syrian Christian women- spotlessly white, which covers the body entirely, neck down, barring the arms and hands. It is 7 yards long and one/one and a quarter yard broad, worn folded with a number of fringes behind. For the uninitiated, the Syrian Christians were the first converts of Kerala. Did you know Christianity came to Kerala the same time it went to Europe? It is said St Thomas, one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ landed in Kerala in AD 52 and converted quite a few high caste Brahmin families.

In 2010, I was told that the Chatta Mundu was on its way out and limited to only elderly Syrian Christian women. In 2013, the super hit Malayalam movie Amen, whose plot revolved around the lives of a few people around an ancient Syrian church in a backwater village, romaticised the Chatta Mundu to bring it back in public memory. A year later, popular Kerala actor Ann Augustine created a flutter by wearing a designer Chatta Mundu to her wedding reception. Though hailed as a return of the retro, the Chatta Mundu is yet to make an actual comeback, notwithstanding that there has been instances of mothers taking their daughters to be bapstised in one and the younger lot saying that they won’t mind wearing it to the Church on a Sunday. The altars of the Syrian Christian Churches are kept covered by a curtain, they light oil lamps and all their Churches have a Dwaja Stambh – a high column erected outside to hoist flags on special occasions. The first converts took with them several customs from Hinduism and modified them accordingly. It stayed on. A very interesting custom of the Syrian Christians is the Margam Kali Dance. Women sing and perform clapping around a traditional Kerala lamp wearing the Chatta Mundu. The lamp represents Christ and the performers Christ’s disciples.

A tuk –tuk driver gave us a ride back to our homestay.

Good to know :

What activity goes on in the paddy fields in the backwaters month wise? This will give an idea about what your clients may get to see in the paddy fields while out on a morning walk.

• September, October, November heralds the beginning of the first crop. Activities are de-watering (pumping the water out of the field) preparing the field, ploughing, leveling and sowing of seeds.
• December, January, February is about different stages of growth of the paddy. Manuring every 15-30 days, weedicide spray every 16-20 days, replanting from thicker to thinner areas, insecticide spray if required, water irrigation once a week.
• March, April is about Harvesting time.

Write to your relationship manager in Sita for our list of preferred Homestays in the Backwaters of Kerala.