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The Arabian Sea will be your constant companion as
you travel with the sea breeze, right across the length of Kerala on
the Malabar Express-a symbol of discovery of this beautiful South
Indian state.
Modern day Kerala is
synonymous to Malabar an ancient name for India’s south western
coast. Historically, this region has been known to the world as the
land of spices that attracted the foreign traveler-trader from very
early times. Three were Babylonians and Egyptians, Arabs and
Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, even Chinese and later, Portuguese,
Dutch, French and of course, the English, who came not only to trade
in spices but also to control it. Many port cities came up along this
coast to cater to an ever in creasing demand. While some cities
perished with the fluctuating fortunes, others survived, often
changing their names in time.
The train stars from
Mangalore in Karnataka and runs its near parallel course along the
sea with the exception of two detours inland. Connecting almost all
the coastal cities, the train terminates nearly 600 kms away in
Thiruvananthapuram.
I began my journey in
Mangalore one clear day in the rainy month of August. Barely thirty
kilometers after departure, the train entered Kerala speeding between
the sea on the right an the mountain range of Western Ghats on the
left. My first stop was Kannur, a fairly large town I identified with
the Portuguese. Although Vasco Da Gama had first landed near
Kozhikode in 1498, the Portugues were not given any concessions by
the ruling Zamorins. Instead they found their first foothold here in
Kannur where they built a fort to establish their presence in the
Malabar.
One afternoon I wandered
in the derelict and abandoned Fort St. Angelo with its rusting
cannons and empty spaces facing the open shimmering sea. Colourful
boats gave a festive look to the bay and it could have never guessed
that this place was once desperately caught in intense Europe rivalry
for the spice trade.
One of the main players
in this struggle for power were the British who made their military
presence in the Malabar at Thallassery, my next destination from
Kannur. The bread starved English introduced the baking tradition for
the first time in India in Thallassery. One still finds a large
number of bakeries here.
Although the Germans were
not one of the contestants they did send their missionaries to the
Malabar. Thallassery has the bungalow of Dr.Gundert (1814-1893) who
compiled a Malyalam-English dictionary. Today the building is being
used to impart technical training to the young.
South of Thallassery, the
Mahe river meets the sea. It was here the French found their first
foothold on the Malabar. A small pocket barely five sq. kms. Mahe
remained a French protectorate till 1954 when the last of the Frency
left. In 1962, the French gave nationalities to all those who had
served French. Today, nearly a hundred families are French passport
holders and members of what is called the Union des Francais de Mahe.
I went to see the other
symbols of the French in Mahe like the chateau of the French
Administrator at the mount of the river and the statue of Marianne
installed in 1889 marking the centenary celebrations of the French
Revolution. But one living legacy of the French in modern day Mahe is
the French legionnair’s cap that is still worn by the policemen.
Kozhikode was my next
stop on the Malabar Express. A city associated with the Arabs who
long held a monopoly over the spice trade because they enjoyed the
favour of the rulers of Kozhikode. Besides spices, there was another
lure for the seafaring Arab finest teak wood for their dhows. Once
upon a time Kallai, just south of Kozhilode used to be a huge timber
yard while Beypore village on the Chliyar was famous for its boat
building-a tradition that is still alive today. In Beypore, I met one
Koya, a ship builder who showed me around his premises where three
ships were in different stages of production. He said they were
capable of making a large sailing ship of nearly 300 tonnage carrying
capacity in roughly twelve to eighteen months.
After Kozhikode the train
leaves the proximity of the sea coast and gradually gravities towards
Thrissur the cultural capital of Kerala famous for its festivals,
classicals art forms and temple elephants! Living the Malabar
Express, I instead chose to go by bus to Guruvayoor a temple town
very close to the coast that offered much the same charms as that of
Thrissur.
The star attraction at
the Guruvayoorappan’s temple is the elephant which is employed
in the stunning rituals. I went to have a closer look at the temple
elephants at a place called Punnathur Kota where there are forty of
them. Is pent a long afternoon amidst the Pachyderms being fed,
bathed and taken care of by a battery of mahouts. It was here that I
heard of the legendary temple elephant called Keshvan that was so
endeared to the people that after his death, a life size monument was
erected in his likeness, close to the main temple.
The following morning, I
broke away from the spell of Guruvayoor and made my way to
Kondungallur the ancient port of Muzris. It was here that Saint
Thomas the Apostle landed in 52 AD and established the faith of
Jesus. I was heading for the Marthoma Church said to be the oldest in
India. Just as Christistianity first made this appearance in
Kondungallur so did Islam in 629 AD when the first mosque, the
Cheraman Juma Masjid was made here. The king of Kondungallur also
granted asylum to jews escaping persecution in their homeland.
I pressed on further to
Vypeen and took the ferry across the bay to Fort kochi-which once had
a thriving Jewish town. But after the formation of Israel, almost all
the Jews left. The synagogue in Mattanchery, however, is still
maintained in sparkling conditions. Other places worth visiting in
the vicinity are the Dutch Palace an the Portuguese Churches of Saint
Francies and Saint Anthony.
Although Koch was and
still remains the most cosmopolitan city in Kerala. Soon after
leaving Alappuza, the boat entered the wide water channel where
annually the Nehru Trophy boat races are held in August. This is
quite a colourful and spectacular festival where hundreds participate
in different boat events, drawing thousands of spectators. As the
boat left the lake and drifted into the labyrinth of interconnecting
channels, we entered a sun dappled paradise of land and water. Some
of the most memorable images of Kerala come from a trip on the
backwaters. After an eight hours journey that involves crossing the
huge lakes of Kayamkulam and Ashtamudi, the boat reached Kollam where
the Chinese trade in spices flourished around the 9th
century AD.
Chinese fishing nets that
one normally sees in and around Kollam is one ancient symbol of that
association with China. But today, Mr.Frank Marshall, President of
the Boat Owner’s Asssociation informed me that Kollam is the
heart of modern fishing industry in India. He took me to Needakara
Shaktika lungars where the Norwegians in 1950s gave the design of the
mechanized trawler to do floor farming of the sea for shrimp. When I
went to the landing area around mid-day, it was chock-a-block with
trawlers unloding fresh catch of the day. I was tempted to take a
trawler trip into the sea but I had to move on towards my last and
final destination on the Malabar Express to Thiruvananthapuram.
Capital of Kerala,
Thiruvananthapuram was the city of the Padmanabhaswamy whose temple
dominated the city of the Padmanabhaswamy whose temple dominated the
city skyline. Although the city offered many charms of aft galleries,
art and craft emporia, museums and a zoo with endemic species like
the Malabar Hornbill, I headed straight out for Kovalam.
The bus to the beach had
a group of foreign back pack travelers and I got talking to Kristian,
a young German student. He said that he came to Kerala for Sun,
surf, tropical fresh fruit an palm trees. Stephanie from Leeds came
to Chill Out.
I knew what they really
meant when I arrived at the bench. There on the sand, a whole lot of
people lay spaced out like torpid lizards in the sun! music of Pink
Floyd came wafting on the winds with the smell of frying fish.
As I took a plunge into
the crashing waves, an Air India Airbus came flying from the west,
over the sea, bringing hordes of holidaymakers from around the world.
In the warm water of the Arabian sea my journey of discovery of
Kerala on the Malabar Express was complete. I knew that Kerala will
always attract the world traveler since it provided an extraordinary
variety which is the real spice of life!
INFORMATION
It is quite a convenient
way to discover Kerala by train since there are more than 20
superfast trains operating in the state. The Malabar Express leaves
Mangalore in the evening and arrives at Thiruvanathapuram next day in
the morning. Since it is a night journey, the train is best used by
the native Keralans for inter-city travel. For the tourist however, a
day train like the Parshuram Express, which runs the same route as
the Malabar Express, is recommended. There are yet other trains which
the tourist can choose from to suit a chosenitinerary. Malabar
Express is used in the story as merely symbolic.
Over the years names of
cities in Kerala have kept changing. While new ones are officially
announced, old ones still find currency in popular usage. The new
official names of the cities are:
Cannanore Kannur
Tellichery Thalassery
Mahe Mahe
Calicut Kozhikode
Trichur Thrissur
Cragannore Kodungallur
Alleppy Alappuza
Quilon Kollam
Trivendrum Thiruvanathapuram
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