Wednesday 25 December 2013

Monsoons Of Kuttanaad


Every week for the past five years, I have traveled down through the rice bowl of Kerala. Kuttanaad as it is locally known has never in those five years even for once failed to amaze me by its exotic beauty. The regions around it though similar cannot parallel it. During the monsoons the area spills over literally and its beauty..? Well, it just goes overboard.
   Here, I have tried to capture in a few frames most of it though I must admit it was more a failure. But what I have managed to capture is the just-out-the-bath-serenity look that the place adorns during the monsoons.

     "If you gave me several million years, there would be nothing
 that did not grow in beauty if it were surrounded by water."
Jan Erik Vold, What All The World Knows


 “A cold wind was blowing from the north, and it made the trees rustle like living things.”   
― George R.R. MartinA Game of Thrones

“The only noise now was the rain, pattering softly with the magnificent indifference of nature for the tangled passions of  humans.” 
― 
Sherwood Smith

 Passions are likened best to floods and streams:
The shallow murmur, but the deep are dumb.
-  Sir Walter Raleigh(1552 - 1618)


 “They both listened silently to the water, which to them was not just water, but the voice of life, the voice of Being, the voice of perpetual Becoming."
― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha



" The sky and the strong wind have moved the spirit inside me till I am carried away trembling with joy."
Uvavanuk



             "You could not step twice into the same rivers;
                 for other waters are ever flowing on to you."

                       
-  Heraclitus of Ephesus 

“It is life, I think, to watch the water. A man can learn so many things.”   
 Nicholas Sparks

“In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans; in one aspect of you are found all the aspects of existence.”   - Kahlil Gibran

 "If there is magic on the planet, it is contained in the water."

-  Loren Eisley

A lake carries you into recesses of feeling otherwise impenetrable." 
 -William Wordsworth



"Everywhere water is a thing of beauty gleaming in the dewdrop, 
singing in the summer rain."
 

-  John Ballantine Gough

"Even on cloudy days the sun waits to break through."  Daniel 

Summers in Kuttanaad, the Backwaters of God's own country


 In my last post on Kuttanaad I had mentioned about the spellbinding beauty of the backwaters during the monsoons. The waters have receded, but I found that summers too are magnificent in this God's own land. Here are a few clicks I happened to take on one of my journeys through the place. 

I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have loved taking them.

   
        

Journeys through tranquility




“There are times when we stop, we sit still.
We listen and breezes from a whole other world begin to whisper.”
-- James Carroll 

Monday 16 December 2013

Interior Kuttanad, A scenic Kaleidoscope





   


Travelling still interior into Kuttanad one encounters just mesmerism. From the water flooded landscape to untended grasslands, from the broken down boat sheds to far way cattle sheds... it is all a well deserved get away to find peace with your inner self. And that's just what I did. 
                          Then of course. I did take you along with me.




Friday 22 November 2013

Life of people in Kuttanaad

The life of people in Kuttanaad is very characteristic of the region. It is governed primely by the natural landscape & the monsoons.

 Landing in Kerala what catches the eye of a first timer are the many 'Kurushadi' s that seem to be just about everywhere. These "'Kurushadi's or towers are an intrinsic part of the Christian culture characteristic of the region. They serve as both a proclamation of faith as well as important landmarks. They house statues of saints, prophets, Jesus Christ, Mother Mary and their like.In some cases as is commonly seen these days statues of Hindu gods, goddesses or social reformers like Sree Narayana guru  are also being placed in them.

A 'kurushadi' dedicated to St. Thomas welcomes visitors to
the St. Mary's church at Champakulam.



Surrounded by water and with no attractions like shopping or night life that a city might offer the
people while away their time chatting under shady places like this particularly recent one offered by the new flyover.
 

Two elderly men take a break as my brother joins in momentarily.



Hospitals and health amenities are quite poor in these parts compared to the nearby towns. The primary health center here, is run by the Pushpagiri Institute of Medical Sciences & Research center at Tiruvalla. 




With such meager amenities available to the locals, the only alternative before them remains the faraway hospitals and shopping complexes. They spend half a the lifetime waiting for ferries that are irregular and unpredictable. 


A lady waiting for a boat to take her to the town on the opposite bank.


A common sight in these parts are women washing clothes on the edges of the canal.  The flowing waters are sure to carry away the dirt and thus are do not accumulate. Even so, years of using the canal like this has taken its toll and its no longer as good as it once used to be. At one time, my mother vouched that the water as the sole source of water to the cut off land. Once boiled, it was fit for drinking too. Today, no one would even imagine attempting that. 

Two ladies chat away as they wash clothes on the edge.



Paths like these originate at the banks and take travelers  to the interiors of the loner's paradise. Being a prime rice bowl for the homeland they are basically an agricultural community. As everyone knows everybody else, paths like these often find neighbors and friends chatting away for hours at the slightest gesture of familiarity. Perhaps that is what makes the people so tightly bonded to each other. Not when though, if you have quarrelsome neighbor. :)

Women share a friendly chat irrespective of the blistering sun.




When it is not time for either sowing or reaping the land is left untended. It becomes a pasture , a welcome sight to the locals and visitors alike.

Untended but lush.




There are all ranges of people here, though most are poor. The very rich are here looking out for a paradise-like recluse away from towns while the poor are there because there is no place else to go. There is another middle group with fathers, uncles and aunts in 'the gulf' and who are reasonably well off on the money sent to them. They ave managed to build attractive houses by the water front.

A relatively new water front house.





Many little canals like these weave in and out of most plots. They offer the perfect cool shade for swimming, bathing and washing clothes.

A stone is laid on which clothes can be washed.




Now most of the water is overgrown with water lilies and hyacinths. Consequently the women have found ways  to draw away water without having to clear away the plants every single time. They put in wooden posts into the water and  the little area is netted. I found the idea simple, ingenious and attractive. 

Cut off to beauty.




The income from agriculture is often too little to meet most needs around the house. To ensure that their children get enough protein women rear ducks, geese, fowl and cattle.

A gander turns back as his lady love orders him to follow.
At least, 'that' is universal :)



Agriculture is not just an occupation to the people. it is a passion. Most plots of land are small and yet the people have taken care to plant plants where ever possible.

I found this less common plant basking in the sun beside a doorstep.


Such little aspects of the people of Kuttanaad are quite characteristic of them. They have over the years learnt to live in harmony with water and whatever hardships living in a drought & flood prone area like Kuttanaad decks out.  Though many are migrating to better accessible areas the few who remain still hold on with fond memories of ancestors and of drowned children. 

Tuesday 19 November 2013

A Walk Along the Nile of Kuttanaad



In my last post I gave you a peek into one of the the ancient churches of the region. This time I take you along on my walk out of the church & into the lifeline of the region, particularly Champakulam. The images which this walk offers has always mesmerized me in spite of being a native. And I am never surprised when visitors to the region exclaim with zeal that the feeling the place evokes, they cannot ever forget.


Though a lot has changed over the past decade most of the backwater regions are still inaccessible. This area in the photograph below is under siege by a relatively recent rural development program of the state. 



Friday 15 November 2013

St. Mary's Church, Champakulam, Alappuzha


Founded in AD 427 the St. Mary's Church, Champakulam in the district of Alappuzha is located along the idyllic banks of the backwater canals. The community around the church originated from the Niranom church founded by the apostle St. Thomas himself. The church was built following the seven first generation churches founded by the apostle.Back then it was famous as the Kaloorkaddu church. 

On one of my travels there I managed to take a few clicks which I post below to share the experience with you.