Bandipur -> Wayanad -> Kozhikode -> Guruvayur -> Cochin -> Periyar
+Previous: Cherai Beach
+Next: Fort Kochi and Around
+Go to the beginning of the series
We came out of Cherai beach, saw a sign that said ‘Cochin’, and simply drove in that direction. At some point the road ended abruptly and we were not sure what is happening. It turned out we were near a jetty where we had to take the car in a boat and get to the other shore, which is Fort Kochi.
I came out of the car to inquire at the ticket counter for the boats if this is how we go to Fort Kochi. It turned out I was using the wrong words, but we had an interesting conversation anyway.
Me: Is this how we go to Cochin Fort?
The man at the counter: Where?
Me: Cochin Fort?
Man(Again): Where, where?
Me(Trying to be more clear): Fort, Kochin.. Fort Cochin, Cochin Fort..
He started thinking hard while someone else walked in. Similar conversation was repeated. Finally the second person asked:
Second man: Fort with ‘P’ or ‘F’?
Me: ‘F’, ABCDE.. and ‘F’. (I swear, I pronounced correctly, not my fault!)
They looked at each other with the delight of discovery. The second man, whose English was more fluent took over the job of speaking to me.
Seond man: Yes, yes.. this is how you go to Fort Kochi. Say only ‘Fort Kochi’. Don’t say Kochin Fort or Cochin. There is some hotel by that name. Your boat will come now. Take the ticket here. You have a vehicle…?
And so the conversation started and I was happy to have a friendly man to talk to. I put him some questions about the geography of the locale and managed to understand a bit about Kochi, Ernakulam and backwaters of Kerala by the time the boat arrived. And once the boat arrived, getting the car into it turned out to be a tricky job. Several people shouted instructions to turn lef or right, forward or backwards all together and I was hapless for a few seconds. Eventually we were on our way to Fort Kochi which was a short 10 minute journey.
It took some time for us to understand the geography of the region. When we asked people if Fort Kochi is an island, we got mixed answers and sometime vague responses, as though no one knew for sure. Kochi is separated from the mainland by Vembanad lake. Vembanad lake merges into the see near Fort Kochi. This lake is a large waterbody forming the famous backwaters of Kerala, stretching all the way to Alleppey, around 60km south of Kochi. Between Kochi and Alleppey is a maze of water body interspersed with islands of landmasses, some of them connected by narrow roads bisecting the water. This is the region now famously referred all over as the Kerala Backwaters, exploited splendidly to promote tourism in the state. Resorts, houseboat tours and Ayurvedic massage tourism has spread to all corners of the lake and you will notice some or the other signs inviting tourists, no matter where you go.
Fort Kochi is a tourist destination generally advertised as historically significant place, with some of the early Portugese and other European sailors stepping in here few hundred years ago. There are some historic Churches and Basilicas of interest to a traveler. But what is really attractive about Kochi is its calm and quiet atmosphere. Surrounded by sea from all the sides, you can feel the sea in the air, or in the fish served in the restaurants. Despite being close to a city(or being a city by itself) you don’t see the rush of the early hour, traffic overflowing in the road or people hurrying from place to place. Coconut trees, quaint houses and open areas never make you feel that you are in a city. Add to that is the attraction of the sea, people working with the ingenious Chinese nets and long walks next to the jetty. Besides this, you see so many travelers all around Fort Kochi, it adds a sense of excitement and something to look forward to.
Fort Kochi is more of a tourist town, full of hotels, restaurants and places of interest to visit. Though it is host to many monuments, it is the long lines of Chinese fishing nets that epitomizes Fort Kochi. Food, especially sea food is another thing that pulls in tourists in big numbers. Fort Kochi has many exotic restaurants specializing in seafood and Kerala food, some of them pricey enough that a sumptuous dinner would need three to five days’ expenses of a budget traveler! We did savor the delicacies in one such restaurant and came back impressed.
To be continued..
Bandipur -> Wayanad -> Kozhikode -> Guruvayur -> Cochin -> Periyar
+Previous: Guruvayur temple
+Next: Driving to Fort Kochi
+Go to the beginning of the series
Approach to Cherai beach has some interesting landscapes. While driving on the highway, we see houses, small towns and plenty of buildings and there is hardly any change in the pattern no matter how long you drive. Turn away and head towards the beach and there is a sudden change in the way the world appears. Dense concrete structures give way to dense coconut forests. See where you can, you only have endless array of coconut trees with a house or two in the middle of them. They are uniformly planted at distances that make their leave just touch their neighbor and eventually block the hot sun from reaching the ground.
There were puddles of water here and there amidst the forest of coconuts, and they probably remain filled through the year. The land looked marshy and it looked as though the sea tried to expand further and left its traces. We drove through this maze of coconuts for a few kilometers before we hit some lakes.
I am not sure if they were lakes or lagoons or just backwaters. Some sections of the waterbody were barricaded, probably to rear fish or prawns. The strip of land between the sea and this lake, which formed the Cherai beach was a narrow landmass which was again inhabited by coconut trees and a few houses. The lake shore had some homestays or lodges which were built on stilts and looked very picturesque. We drove along the narrow land strip along the beach for a few kilometers, and the landscape all the way was similar. After finding a secluded place, we whiled away some time near the beach relaxing.
An hour or so before sun was about to set, we decided to head to Kochi(Cohin), go around the town and then settle down at Fort Kochi for the day.
About Cherai Beach
Cherai is a short 20 minute drive from Kochi. If you are staying in Fort Kochi, you can take a boat to Vypeen Jetty, from where you take the road along the sea for 11kms until you reach Cherai beach. If you intend to stay near the beach, there are some homestays and budget accommodation spread near the beach, but I did not see any upmarket hotels or resorts close by. Just like Kappad beach, the sea is deep here and you can’t go too far into the water. The beach is very narrow and quickly gives way to the road built close to the beach.
To be continued..
Bandipur -> Wayanad -> Kozhikode -> Guruvayur -> Cochin -> Periyar
+Previous: Kapped Beach
+Next: Cherai Beach
+Go to the beginning of the series
We continued driving south towards Kochi(or Cochin) the next morning. When we reached Guruvayur on the way, we decided to stop for a look at the large brigade of tuskers that the Guruvayur temple owned.
The temple is just a few minutes off from the National Highway. Once we entered the town, there were signs pointing to the temple at some turns, and some places we had to ask for directions. The temple parking lot also doubled up as garbage pile. We parked in slush, mud and garbage and paid Rs.20 for that precious parking area. As soon as we entered the temple complex, we realized that we may not find elephants anywhere here. The temple is small, has plenty of shops in the lane in front of it and has no space to host the giant pachyderms.
We stood in front of the temple entrance and inquired. A friendly and helpful traffic police officer who was manning the temple answered to us in a slow and precise manner.
“The elephants are in Anekotta. You go straight on this road.. you will get the highway.. After the highway you go two more kilometers.. you will find Anekotta. Elephants will be there.”
While my friends were making sure they got the directions right, I looked through the temple doors. It is a typical temple in Kerala, with a post in the front hosting an array of wick lamps, behind which is the door to the sanctum. The pillars of the temple are made of wood, and if I recall correctly, the walls have large windows made with plenty of wood. Wood used in the old temples of Kerala have remained intact for centuries, and I have often wondered how.
As we were speaking to the officer, a man wearing trousers and shirts and a lady in salwar-kameez were getting into the temple. A temple-worker alerted the officer, and the officer casually turned back and addressed them slowly:
“Pants.. don’t go. Salwar… don’t go. Only sari and lungi”
Having said that, he continued helping us with directions. Once we were sure where to go, we made no attempt to get into the temple and headed back to the car. The place with the elephants – Anekotta or Punnathur Kotta as it is called, was a 15 minute drive.
I have a fondness for elephants. Often when asked “What is your favourite animal?”, I have always named the elephants. They are giant beasts, but they seem to be soft, friendly and approachable. Baby elephants are especially affable and adorable. I have enjoyed a few nice moments with them, like meeting young Jogi in Rajaji National Park or a small family of tuskers in the wilderness of Bandipur. I have tested their patience in Corbett and found them very forgiving and accommodative. To me, they always seem to be calm and easygoing though they are known to turn dangerous at times. These giants are also known to be caring and protective for the members of their group in the wild.
Recommended Reading
The book Elephas Maximus by Stephen Alter is a great book to know more about elephants. It gives a common man’s perspective to elephants than a scientist’s outlook. He goes through India’s wildlife sanctuaries, reads through books that talk about the history of association of man and elephants in India, talks about conflicts in the nature, history and myths surrounding the elephants and many more interesting topics.
The book, spanning 303 pages in published by Penguin India
They have 30 or so elephants owned by the temple administration in Guruvayur. The elephants are decorated and taken on a procession during the festivals celebrated at the temple. Each one of them is a majestic male with long tusks, a variety becoming rare in our wilderness. When we entered into the premise, we were saddened by the state of these temple elephants. They are kept isolated and chained to trees such that they can’t move even slightly. There are two chains for each elephant – both tightly bound, with one chained to a front leg and another to rear, and their movement is completely restricted. It was difficult to understand why they had to be constrained so harshly. We could see and realize the disapproval and unhappiness of them when they tried hard move front or back without success, or when they shook their body very hard as if trying to move out – a behaviour I have never seen elsewhere. They seem to be well fed and cared for their health, but no one seemed to bother that they are also living being who would want to be free and do as they wish. They should have roamed the jungles of India free and lived a life of a dominant male in the group, but here they were, not able to move an inch away from where they were standing. I am not sure how the tradition of capturing elephants for the temple has evolved, but I can surely say that no lord would want his servants to suffer this way. Stephen Alter writes in his book Elephas Maximus on the Guruvayur’s elephants:
“…the Anna Kotta at Guruvayur is a depressing place. Instead of being able to swim in a river or wander into the forest to feed, the temple elephants are confined to their enclosure and each of them is chained except when being bathed. Resting against many of the tuskers’ necks were long spears that are used to control the elephants if they cause trouble. The concentration of male elephants also adds to the feeling of incarceration…
We did not stay for long in Guruvayur and continued on our way to Cochin. Somewhere on the way just before we were about to reach Kochi, we saw a deviation to Cherai beach and turned that way.
About Guruvayur
Guruvayur is located on the National Highway 17 in the stretch between Kochi and Kozhikode, approximately 100km from each of these towns. It is 30km away from Thrissur. Guruvayur has a railway station, and the nearest airport is in Kochi.
Guruvayur temple’s deity is Krishna in the name of Guruvayurappan. The main attraction for a tourist are the festivities in the temple which involves parading the temple elephants. See the temple website for more details. Non Hindus are not allowed to enter the temple.
Guruvayur is a decent sized town and finding some basic to mid-range hotel accommodation in the town should not be difficult on a normal day.
To be continued..