Kerala

The southern state of Kerala is a land truly blessed by nature. Kerala has enchanting mountains, pristine rainforests, golden sun-sand beaches and unique backwaters that hold their own even in the face of fast developing towns and cities. The coconut palms (that give the state its name) are everywhere, waving a welcome to the place proudly being hailed as Gods Own Country.
Thiruvananthapuram is the state capital and the home of heritage sites such as the Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The port city of Kochi and its twin city Ernakulam pulsate with commercial activity, while Thrisshur wears the cultural crown with the temple festival Trisshur Pooram. The richly decorated elephant, as seen during this festival is globally recognised for its association with Kerala.
Kerala has a good network of roads (though crowded) and the Indian Railways connect major towns and cities. There are international airports in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. Malayalam is the local language and Hindi would be understood in major cities.
The state gets a generous share of the eagerly awaited Indian Monsoon and it rains heavily from June to September. Summers are hot and humid while winters are mild. Apart from the monsoon months, Kerala is a paradise for beach holidays. It also provides numerous opportunities for trekking, camping and wildlife sanctuary experiences. Along with these, rejuvenating Ayurvedic spa and Eco tourism vacations make Kerala one of the most popular places on the International Tourism map.

On the trail of Nilgiri TAHR

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I wanted to see and photograph the elusive mountain goat known as Nilgiri Tahr for some time, and grabbed the opportunity three years ago when I traveled to Kerala with my brother. It was a long flight from Canada, via London and Dubai and landed in Cochin. After a brief rest we went to Kottayam, some 45 miles south and from there drove four hours east to Munnar, a hill station famous for its tea plantations. It was late September and the climate was perfect. Surrounded by huge mountains and lush forest interlaced with streams, this area is ideal for wildlife habitat.

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Tea time @ Munnar

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The District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC), Idukki provides boating facilities in the Mattupetty Dam. Speed launch, slow speedboat and motorboats are available on hire. Other nearby places of interest includes the picturesque Kundala tea plantations and the Kundala Lake.

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Bangalore – Munnar.. Road review

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Finally, after planning for almost 4 years, we made it to Munnar. One thing that I searched for before this trip was a description about the route (fast and best). Though I found the information in bits and pieces, it was not a holistic one. This is one of the major contributing factor for me to write about it.
Best option to get to Munnar would be to take a train till Coimbatore and hit the road from there on. There are 2 trains from Bangalore to Coimbatore. Planning in advance will be required to secure a confirmed berth in the train.

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A Commoner in Kollam

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After around 3 hours, as we returned, I had mixed feelings. It was the feeling of immense satisfaction about our last brush with the backwaters, but a feeling of gradual sadness was also seeping through, as we prepared ourselves to say Au-revoir to Kerala.

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Palayur and the Story of Syrian Christians

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Present day Marthoma church had a broad outlook. Their metropolitan, Head of the Church, often use to say “I believe in one and only one God. There is no Hindu God, Muslim God or Catholic God. It may be that their understanding of God is Different. My mother’s understanding of my father and my brothers understanding & my understanding of my father may differ. But there is only one father. No wonder L.K Adwani and Aryasamaj leader Acharya Agnivesh have much to say in favor of the Marthoma church as true Indian Church.

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