Kerala-Kumarakom

Author: Aarabhi
Photographer: Vasistha

“Did you see that?” Vasistha asked, pointing out of the window of the TT. Wondering what he saw, I poked my head out, only to see a woman standing placidly in knee deep water on the threshold of her home. Not just her house, the entire street was flooded from the overflowing canal beside the road.

Flooded road at Kumarakom

Meanwhile our driver Sajan was maneuvering the tricky road (invisible under all that brown water) with great finesse and he mumbled out the excuse “It’s the rainy season sir!” With that said, he started driving through a veritable maze of narrow pathways, each one muddier than the next. They all ran parallel to narrow canals filled with the same murky water. Huts and small houses lined one side of the canals. We could see all the daily chores, from washing to bathing being done using the same water. Shuddering at the thought, I mumbled to Vashu “I hope at least the food here is good, if not the water!” This was Kumarakom in Kerala, which is well known for its backwaters.

View from our room at the Homestay

In the snake Boat

We finally stopped in front of a small two room cottage which was, not surprisingly, beside a tiny canal of its own. It was the home-stay our travel agent had booked for us.  Despite my fears, the place was extremely clean and well-maintained, the food fabulous and views gorgeous. There were two cottages in all; one on either side of the canal. We also had an enchanting view of the Vembanad Lake which is one of the longest lakes in Kerala.

We all trooped into the home-stay for freshening up while Vasistha schemed and plotted (wink, wink!) with Sajan. Wondering what he was up to, I snuck back out and eavesdropped on their plans. They were planning an unscheduled ride on a snake boat, the famed racing boats of Kerala. So, off we went, walking gingerly on the slushy path beside the canals till we came upon a relatively small boat. We clambered onto the boat and our boatman rowed us towards a low footbridge across a wider canal.

       

Ducking under the bridge

Ducking under the bridge, we heard a low rumble, like a peal of thunder in the distance. Curious, we all turned to stare towards the noise. It slowly morphed into robust singing by many voices interspersed with rhythmic booms. “This just gets curiouser and curiouser,” I muttered. The sound slowly grew in volume, until we could make out a long boat in the distance. It was jam packed with two rows of rowers, rowing furiously to the beat of the victory song, as though their lives depended on it.

The racing boat and it's dramatic occupants

There were more than a hundred people on the boat- the actual rowers making up about 90 of them. The rest of their entourage was made up of the orchestrating conductor at the middle, 2 other people who rhythmically thumped large wooden beams into the boat and 4 other men cheering the champions on. Their vibrant, infectious energy saturated the air around us, until all we could feel was the furious beat of the conductor calling out “Victory! Victory!”  in his booming voice. Their long paddles were slicing through the water, moving in perfect synchronization reminiscent of marching infantrymen when in one split second they all changed their rowing arms- from right to left and vice versa.

Pathway at Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary

The next morning, Vashu, Sindhu and I were up at dawn to visit the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary. It lies adjacent to the Vembanad Lake and did not quite meet our expectations. There were hardly any birds to be seen. To be fair, we were warned beforehand by our agent that it was the off-season, it being August and all. The pathway through the sanctuary was enchanting, though. It made up, at least in part, for the missing birds.

Our trip across Kerala had seen us enjoying two boat rides till then. Thus, the next morning I was not much excited by the itinerary which earmarked a ride on a houseboat at 10 am. Our Kettuvallam, as the houseboat is known in Kerala, was surprisingly spacious, luxurious and well staffed. Our family had a living cum dining area with a huge LCD TV and DVD player in the bow and a kitchen in the stern, with two rooms (bathrooms attached) in between.

One of the bedrooms

We cruised along the vast lake each person lost in their own thoughts. I discovered that a boat ride can do that to you. I mused and scribbled in my notebook: “How do you describe the mystery and romance of a boat ride? The feeling that you are all alone in the world in the middle of nowhere? Being afloat for months, how did those travelers of eons past, spend their long hours with only the bobbing waves and unchanging scenery for company? The sight of land so far away that it is almost blur, gives isolation an all new meaning.”

Our boat

Ignoring my internal rant, my companions proceeded to disembark. We had docked at Pathiramanal Island-a unique Island which has a rich biodiversity. Mangroves, migratory birds and nurseries of fishes, clams and prawns are found on the island. So are some really enchanting dragonflies and butterflies. We had fun watching the antics of these insects.

 Boarding the boat after the little trip to the island, we found a feast laid out for us by the crew. Good food, prepared using sunflower oil instead of coconut turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

We whiled away the rest of the trip watching Kamal Hassan’s  “Apoorva Ragangal” on the entertainment system and in snapping dramatic photos of the lake and other houseboats.

Thus, with it's myriad experiences, Kumarakom turned out to be the highlight of our Kerala trip.

Click here for more photos on Kumarakom.

Watch the Boat race in action, the oar switch at 47 seconds is especially beautiful: