|
Ready to set sail on a unique journey from the
extreme western reaches of the Rann of Kutch, down to Kanyakumari and
then back up till the eastern limits of the Indian coastline at
Calcutta, the author goes on a cruise of coastal discovery.
Take a look at the shape
of India for a moment Roughly triangular, of the sub-continent are
coastal. The long, straight west coast is washed by the Arabian Sea,
and the slightly more way eastern coast by the Bay of Bengal. Nine of
India’s states give onto these oceans, which have, naturally,
played a major part in the country’s history, development and
economy.
A wonderful way of
exploring India’s coastal heritage would be by boat, seeing the
sub-continent from the sea, rather than from land, as well all
regularly do. Imagine, if you will, getting into a boat at India’s
extreme north-western coastal point in Gujarat and then sailing south
along the coast to Kanyakumari, and then slowly back up north again
to Calcutta and the delta of the Ganges.
Are you ready to sail for
thousands of kilometers? Ready to visit Bombay, Calcutta and Madras,
but to skip lanbound Delhi and Bangalore? Ready for prawn curry and
fried pomfret, hilsa and lobster, but no chicken tikka? Then let’s
cast off anchor and set sail from the Rann of Kutch, in extreme
western Gujarat, to explore India’s coastal heritage.
Land travellers think of
Gujarat as a land of the beautiful Jain temples of Palitana and the
lions of the Gir Forest, of the palaces of Baroda and the picturesque
villages of Kutch. Yet the state also has an extensive coastline,
and a maritime history.
The Rann of Kutch, which
forms part of India’s boundary with Pakistan, is virtually an
island and during the monsoons, from June to October, it really is an
island, flodded and even more inaccessible than usual. The barren,
low-lying salty marshes be come flooded by the sudden increase in the
level of the rivers and streams. During the dry winter months, Kutch
is a major breeding ground for flamingoes and pelicans, and part of
the Little Rann of Kutch which is home to the rare Indian wild ass,
has been declared a wildlife sanctuary. Because of the area’s
geographical isolation, it has retained many traditions that have all
but disappeared in much of the rest of India. Shy village women
wearing gorgeous embroidered clothing and ornate, heavy silver
jewellery, friendly villages and very few visitors-all this lies in
store in the opening stages of our coastal journey.
From Mandvi, a pretty
little port town on the southern tip of the Rann of Kutch, we sail
across the Gulf of Kutch to Dwarka, or as it is known in the
Mahabharat-Dwaravati. It was the capital of Lord Krishna, and as such
is revered by Hindus who visit the town to celebrate Manmashtami,
Krishna’s birthday. As we sail along the straight coastline, we
pass Porbander, then Chorwad, Veraval and Somnath, and down onto Diu,
at the southern tip.
Porbander was known to
Arab traders way back in the eighth century, but to contemporary
Indians, it is more widely known as the birthplace of Gandhi, who was
born there in 1869. His father and, before him, his grandfather had
both been the diwan or chief minister to the then princely state.
Veraval used to be the
major departure point for pilgrims to Mecca. Today it is a fishing
port with some wooden boat building activity. A few kilometers down
the coast is the site of Somnath’s shore temple whose origins
are so old they have almost become legend but after decades of
destruction and rebuilding, a 20th century temples stands
again on the site Diu, or to give it its full name, the Union
Territory of Daman and Diu is another of those quirky, historical
places in India. Diu consists of a tiny island only 38 square
kilometers, which is attached to the mainland by a narrow channel and
two miniscule enclaves on the mainland. It has had a chequered
history: one of the first landing places for the Parsis, fleeing from
Persia, Diu was under Portuguese rule from 1535 to 1961, except for
nearly 50 years, when Arabs from Muscat ruled, from 1670-1717. then,
in 1961, the Indian Army’s Operation Vijay ended Portuguese
rule, and brought Diu politically into the Indian fold. Now, it seems
a fairly quiet back-water but during the time of the Portuguese, it
was a major trading post.
The Portuguese built the
fort in 1547, with a double moat and protected it with cannons, many
of which are still lying around the ramparts and, from the solid
walls of the fort, you look back across to mainland Gujarat and a
tiny fortified island where the lighthouse is built.
Alter Diu, on the
southern tip of the peninsula, we follow the coastline as it heads
north again to our next stop, Bhavnagar, a former princely state, and
the jumping off point for a visit to the spectacular Jain temples of
Palitana is a must, otherwise, we shall leave at for another trip and
re-board our ship and set sail across the Gulf of Cambay, leaving the
peninsula behind, and head south down the Gujarat coast, before
reaching Surat and Daman.
Surat was once one of the
country’s major trading ports, and the early base of the British
in western India, but today it is an industrial town, which we leave
behind as we head south to the 56-square kilometre former Portuguese
enclave of Daman which, like Diu, is also a Union Territory. Like
Diu, there are Portuguese churches and two forts, there is a fish
market and a harbout, but none of the golden beaches of the more
famous Goa.
Further South, Bombay
dominates not only the Maharashtra coast but the entire state itself.
It is an immensely busy, noisy, frenetic island city, a magnet which
draws everyone and everything towards it: job-seekers from all over
the state, as well as goods for export, diamonds from Gujarat and
antique furniture from Goa, wanna-be film stars and models from the
north and business from the world over.
One of the distinct
advantages of exploring India along the coast, is that you can arrive
in Bombay the way you should do, by boat, and through the city’s
most famous landmark, the Gateway of India, built in 1911 to
commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary. Forget the
hassle of V.T.railway Station, or the long drive in from the airport:
as we sail into Bombay harbour, weaving our way through the tankers,
the ferries, the yachts and cruisers, we step off our boat,
cross through the vaulted arch of the Gateway, and there is Bombay in
front of us.
Despite comparisons with
New York, another island melting-pot city, and despite its
sophistication, Bombay remains most definitely an Indian city, but it
is also a cosmopolitan mix that bears witness to generations of
invaders, traders and immigrants, all drawn by the lure of Bombay’s
deep harbour, commercial expertise and trading instinct. The
Portuguese, the first Europes to interest themselves in Bombay, came
in 1509, and built a walled city at Bassein. In 1662, Bombay-which at
that time comprised seven islands, subsequently drained to form the
single island we know today-passed from the Portuguese to the
British, as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza, on her
marriage to Charles II.
The commercially minded
East India Company servants set about building docks and forts and,
most importantly, they encouraged settlement from outside the island.
And so began the steady influx of the various components of today’s
melting pot. Gujarati merchants moved south to Bombay, as did the
astute and gifted Parsis-a Zoroastrian community who had earlier fled
religious persecution in Persian. Arab traders arrived by sea from
the Gulf and the British arrived in search of silk, Muslim and
spices.
Many of the city’s
timeless images are, naturally enough, connected with the Arbian
traders arrived by sea from the Gulf and the British arrived in
search of silk, muslin and spices.
Many of the city’s
timeless images are, naturally enough, connected with the Arabian
Sea. At Worli, Haji Ali Mosque stands on a raised walkway in the
middle of the sea and hundreds of daily pilgrims wait for low tide to
visit the shrine. Each evening, Chowpatty Beach is ablaze with the
lights of stalls selling fruit-juice, ice-cream and snacks to the
crowds who throng the beach after work. Marine Drive is one of the
main amidst the traffic there are early morning joggers, people
walking the dog, flocks of pigeons, fishermen, and sedate horse-drawn
landaus.
One of the sights of
Bombay, Elephanta Island is roughly 10 kilometers from the Gateway of
India, and accessible only by boat. On the island are four rock-cut
temples dating from the 4th to the 9th century,
but sadly they were badly damaged by the Portuguese. To get there,
take a launch from the jetty in front of the Gateway: they are very
regular, very cheap, and very full. Usually the launches don’t
operate during the monsoons. Allow a full day for the visit,
including traveling time. In February/March each year there is a
festival of classical Indian music and dance held on the island,
which is a wonderful event. Top class artistes perform and you sit
outdoors underbanyan trees, and travel back to Bombay on special
launches at midnight.
Bombay’s biggest and
best spectacle is the annual Ganesh Chaturthi festival, when the
popular elephant headed god is worshipped in the home and then taken
to the sea and immersed. There are several auspicious days for the
immersion, but the last day of the fetival is always the most
spectator. Huge idols of Ganesh arrive at Chowpatty Beach, carried
on trucks, and have to be lifted off by crane. They are carried or
floated out to sea, with devotees swimming out or accompanying in
small boats.
After Bombay’s
sprawl, we follow the Konkan coast down towards Ratnagiri, passing en
route the dramatic fortress of Janjira, perched on the cliffs
overlooking the sea.
One of the first sights
greeting us as we sail down the Goa costline is another cliff-top
fort, the huge, sprawling Chopora Fort, one of a string of fortresses
that were built by the Portuguese to protect their enclave. The other
two main forts, and Aguada and the Terekhol have been converted into
hotels.
Goa is famous for its
beaches, mile after mile of golden sand, ideal for swimming,
sun-bathing and water sports, but no visitor to Goa should miss Old
Goa, the former Portuguese administrative and ecclesiastical center,
complete with the splendid Bombay Jesus Basilica, the Cathedral and a
host of smaller, whitewashed churches. Narrow streets and the
occasional sign still in Portuguese are reminders that the history of
this delightful part of India followed a very different course from
the rest of the Konkan coast.
The Karnataka coast is
straight for most of the 400-odd kilometers that separate it from
Goa, and it is a long virtually unbroken stretch of rice paddies and
coconut plantations, punctuated by the pilgrimage town of Udipi and
the busy, industrial town of Mangalore. Many of the state’s
better known sights, such as the beautiful Hoysala temples, the
gorgeous town of mysore, and the state capital, Bangalore are well
inland. Coastal Karnataka is pleasant, little visited and unhurried.
Kerala hugs coast in a
long, thin strip and water dominates the life of the state which has
beaches, rivers, canals and the famous backwaters. Kerala is a green,
fertile, beautiful state. The population is friendly, highly
literate, and often well-travelled; there are mosques and churches
galore and a tiny Jewish enclave in Cochin; good beaches, and above
all else, there are the tree-fringed backwaters, the roads of
Kerala-a visitors delight.
As you travel south from
the Karnataka-Kerala border, you pass Mahe, a small French dependency
that was returned to India along with Pondicherry, and continue down
to Calicut, where Vasco da Gama landed in 1498. Today the town gives
little indication of its former dramatic days, when the local people
repulsed two Portuguese attacks in the early 16th century,
only to have their town destroyed by Tipu Sultan, before the British
set up rule there in 1792.
The most picturesque and
better known part of Kerala is the stretch between Ernakulam and
cochin, south to Alleppey and onto Quilon. Cochin is on the sea, at
the head of a long lagoon which runs parallel to the coast, otherwise
known as the backwaters. Cochin is a charming, historic town, with an
intriguing medley of history and cultures-Chinese fishing nets are
still in use, there is a synagogue, the oldest church in India, a
Dutch palace, old Portuguese houses and Fort Cochin, a slightly
unreal copy of an English village, set amidst the coconut trees which
are such a major part of the local economy here. Just finding a boat
to take you along the backwaters is all part of the adventure, for
timetables are at best vague, boats tend to get taken out of service
without warning but once you find your launch, and settle down to
watch the slow backwater life glide past, you will be enchanted. Life
is lived along the banks of the backwaters and, as you sail past
little houses perched on walkways, you will see children going to
school by boat, women doing the weekly wash, while the men set out
for a day’s fishing.
After the unique
atmosphere of Cochin and the backwaters, it comes as no surprise that
the state capital, Trivandrum, is a relaxed, friendly place, with, a
little further south, the beaches of Kovalam. Although not as well
known as Goa, Kovalam is very definitely on the tourist map, has good
hotels, good beaches (though the current can be dangerous) and
friendly villagers, watching the sun-worshippers with amused
disbelief.
As you sail on from
Kerala and across the Tamil Nadu border, you start to round the
southernmost tip of India, Kanyakumari a place of
pilgrimage, the meeting point of two oceans, and the symbolic Land’s
End of the subcontinent.
Rameswaram, on a tiny
island which is linked by two bridges to the mainland, is a major
place of pilgrimage with two important temples, the huge
Ramanathaswamy Temple and the Kothandaraswamy Temple, nearly at the
tip of the little island.
As we sail north along
the coast, we pass Kodikkarai, then sail along the straight
coastline, passing the Catholic pilgrimage town of Velankanni, a mile
or so inland; then the Muslim pilgrim center of Nagore, before
arriving in Karaikal, another tiny former French enclave. Immediately
north of this former French trading center is tranquebar, which used
to be a Danish trading post in the 18th century, from
which time the impressive Danesborg Fort dates. Pichavaram, with
backwaters away from the inland temple town of Chidambaram, but we
shall have to save that for another trip, and continue to head north,
past the ex-French enclave of Pondicherry and onto
one of India’s most beautiful historic towns, the charming
Mahabalipuram.
Mahabalipuram with its
carved Shore Temples, right down on the beach, its series of charming
rathas and its spectacular carved relief depicting Arjuna’s
Penance is a happy combination of history, good beaches, hassle-free
tourism and fabulous fish and lobster! Despite the many visitors,
drawn by the former Pallava dynasty town, the place is friendly,
relaxed, and the villagers are remarkably unperturbed by their crowds
of visitors. the position of the Shore Temples, romantic as it is, at
the water’s edge has not helped their preservation, and much of
the detail of the carving has been lost, due to the erosion of the
wind and the sea. Don’t be misled by the name Five Rathas since
there are actually eight of them, small, pretty, and just crying out
to be photographed.
After Mahabalipuram the
noise and bustle of Madras comes as rather a shock, but it is all
part and parcel of life in India’s fourth city. Madras was
founded in 1639, the first of the East India Company’s
settlements in India, and remained largely under European domination,
essentially British, but also, briefly, French. Fort St. George and
St. Mary’s Church are fascinating to visit, as are the old ice
house and the interesting museum, especially the gallery devoted to
Chola bronzes. The beach front in Madras, the Marina, stretches for
13 kilometers, and then return to sit in the afternoons, mending
their nets.
Andhra Pradesh is
dominated by its inland capital, Hyderabad, and its pilgrimage town
of Tirupathi, so that much of the rest of the state is little known,
and little visited. The main town along the coast is Visakhapatnam
(often abbreviated to Vizag) an industrial and business town that has
all but merged with the neighbouring resort town of Waltair. As we
sail along the coast, we are parallel with the Calcutta-Madras
railway line which hugs the coast, through frequent monsoon flooding
often leads to diversions.
Orissa is one of India’s
gems, full of spectacular temple sites, elephants galore, and very
few visitors. of the three major sites in the state, Bhubaneswar,
Puri and Konark, the former is inland, and the outer two are directly
on the sea-shore. Puri, home to the Jagannath Temple, is one of the
four holiest cities in India, and therefore a major pilgrimage
center, especially at the time of the annual festival in June or July
when the little town overflows with pilgrims and visitors.
non-Hindus, however, are not allowed into the temple. There are no
such restrictions on the Temple of the Sun at Konark, an impressive
13th century construction, built in the shape of a massive
stone chariot for the sun god. there are excellent carvings,
including intricate wheels designed to pull the store chariot.
A few miles south of Puri
is Chilka Lake, only separated from the sea by a narrow sans spit,
and is an important bird sanctuary, especially for winter migratory
birds. For those in search of a beach holiday in Orissa, there is the
quiet little resort of Gopalpur-on-sea, and Puri itself, which has a
good beach, a range of hotels, and lots of interesting fishing
activity.
The small stretch of
coast between the border of Orissa and the national border with
Bangladesh, is formed by the huge delta of the Gangas, a world of
sand banks, shifted sands, small islands and the Sunderbans, 2,500
square kilometers of forest, home to tigers, crocodiles and wild
boar.
This area, difficult to
reach, difficult to map, and prone to flooding, is West Bengal’s
access to the sea, where the Hooghly River flows south from Calcutta,
into the Bay of Bengal.
Much the same way that
Bombay dominates the life and economy of Maharashtra, Calcutta does
in West Bengal. Calcutta is an enormous magnet, drawing villagers in
from the countryside, a city of such contrasts, that visitors often
do not know which is the real Calcutta. Is it the city with the
infamous infrastructure problems, or is it the city with the gleaming
underground railway, the country’s first? Is it a sad city of
poverty, or is it a city with magnificent buildings, probably India’s
finest museum, an charming, erudite citizens? Calcutta is a city of
which its citizens are inordinately proud, a city which thrives on
the arts, on intellectual cinema (no bollywood musicals here, thank
you very much) and on a genuinely warm welcome for all visitors.
ENCHANTING
ARCHIPELAGO
Many countries have them,
tiny islands that are so far away from the main land mass that they
are often omitted from maps or, at best, are included in a corner
box. These islands are one of the more unusual regions in India, not
only because they are so far from the mainland, but because they have
such an ethically diverse population.
First of all, a few facts. There are
two groups of islands, the Andaman Island, with a combined population
of around two hundred thousand, many of whom are Indian Tamils from
Sri Lanka, but including tribes whose population is virtually down
to single figures. The Nichobar Islands are completely off limits to
visitors, and completely off limits to visitors, and frustrating
though this is to those in search of the few remaining unspoilt parts
of the world, it is a necessary step, in order to preserve the
indigenous culture of these remote islanders. Very little is known
about some of the tribes, whose way of life and culture would be all
to fragile, in the face of 20th century incursions.
The Onge are hunters, who
wear no clothes, but colourful face make-up. The Sentinelese, who
live on the tiny North Sentinel Island, are fierce, resent any
attempts contact and will attack people who try and land on their
island. Which is why you simply cannot visit the majority of the
islands. Foreigners are severely limited, and their identity papers
are controlled frequently, but even Indian’s are not allowed to
visit the more remote islands.
But there is enough to
occupy visitors on the main islands, especially if you are keen on
water sports. Much of the coast around South Andman, and several of
the tiny off-shore islands have been made into a Marine National
Park, and to arrange a diving or snorkeling trip, you have to go
through the park, or organize it via the main hotels. The coral reefs
have, sadly, suffered over the years from pollution and destruction,
but it is still wonderful to snorkel in the warm waters, especially
in the company of a local fisherman or boat-man who will be able to
identify the fish and the corals for you, and show you the best spots
to see marine life.
Most people stay on South
Andaman, which is where the capital, Port Blair is located, and a
pleasant way to get around the island is to rent a bike or a
motorcycle. You can cycle to one of the pretty beaches, especially
Corbyn’s Cove, ten kilometers outside Port Blair or, if history
appeals, cycle to the notorious Cellulor Jail, a huge prison built by
the British at the end of the 19th century, when the
Andamans were a penal colony. Of the original six wings radiating
from the central tower, only three remain, but they are more than
enough to give you an impression of the dreadful conditions under
which the prisoners were kept. The interest of this prison comes form
its inmates, who were freedom fighters, agitators against the British
Raj, and many of India’s more illustrious patriots were
imprisoned there in the closing decades of the British rule. There is
a sound and light show at the jail in the evening, which is well
worth seeing. It is dramatic, and gives today’s visitors a
chilling impression of life on these islands at a time when all the
visitors came with sadness and despair in their hearts, rather than
carefree thoughts of sun-bathing and snorkeling.
LAND’S END
Kanyakumari,
or Cape Comorin, is India’s Land’s End. For people who
enjoy symbolism, it is the point in India where two oceans meet the
Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean and where, at full moon, you can
experience simultaneous moonrise and sunset over the ocean. Heady
stuff, and the spiritual significance of Kanyakumari is underlined by
the rocky islet half a kilometer off its tip, where the philosopher
Vivekananda sat in 1928 in meditation. A temple has been built on the
off-shore islet, in a deliberate medley of Indian architectural
styles, in the philosopher’s memory. To visit the Vivekananda
memorial, there is a ferry service, which coasts a few rupees, and
leaves every half an hour.
The name Kanyakumari
means youthful is an incarnation of Devi, Shiva’s wife. So the
little town is an important pilgrimage center for Hindus. At Kumari
Ghat, a pretty location overlooking the shore, pilgrims from all over
the country come to worship at the temple, and to bathe. Although
non-Hindus may visit the temple, they are banned from the sanctum
sanctorum and, usually, men must remove their shirts.
Visit the little town for
its significance, but not for its beaches, which are not the best,
nor for its tranquility for, like many pilgrimage towns, it is a
noisy, busy place crammed with trinket stalls, small restaurants and
hotels, and an over-sized bus station.
SANDY STRETCHES
Of course India has
beaches. In fact, there are 6,000 kilometers of them, and many of
those 6,000 kilometers are deserted and visited only by local
fishermen. Why? Well, first of all, unlike Europe or the States,
there is no great Indian tradition of beach holidays. Whereas a
northern Europe or the States, there is no great Indian tradition of
beach holidays. Whereas a northern European family, plagued by cold,
rainy weather for much of the year yearns for the warmth of a
sundrenched beach, an Indian family does the exact opposite. Basking
in sun for most of the year, an ideal holiday is up in the cool
hills, as far away from the sun as possible.
So, many of those
thousands of kilometers of sand are devoid of sun-bathers and
swimmers-and of course, of infrastructure. For those in search of
smart hotels, and not just the expensive, five-star category, but
even simple accommodation choice is limited. Goa has everything from
ferociously expensive to basic and it also has an acquired beach
culture, so no one stares if you go jogging on the beach or if you
lie back and sun bathe.
Kerala, around the pretty
resort of Kovalam, has a range of hotels as do Madras and
Mahabalipuram, across the country. But other than these areas, if you
dream of a totally quiet, get-away-from-it beach holiday, it is
definitely possible, but the logistics may not be so easy. Bombayites
can head off for Marve, where there are lots of corporate bungalows,
or take a ferry across to Alibag, where the rich have weekend farms.
From the clean beaches of Kihim, where Maharashtra Tourism has a tent
resort, you can see the towers of Nariman Point and Cuffe Parade. As
the crow flies, Bombay is only a short distance away but, when you
are taking an evening stroll along the wide, clean beach, it seems a
million miles away.
TRADING TIMES
All along India’s
coastline are excellent harbours, some fortified, which bear witness
to the country’s ancient trading links. Cochin was visited by
Arab and Chinese traders, long before the Portuguese arrived.
Gujarat’s Surat, a bit inland, was the major British base,
before Bombay was developed, and eclipsed it. On the eastern coast,
the French traded from their base at Pondicherry, the Danish from
Tranquebar and the British from Madras and Calcutta, their pride and
joy, and India’s capital, until New Delhi was built, in the
early years of this century.
|
