I was up at 6 a.m. and wrote some blog post. MAC is suffering from a very heavy cold and does not feel well at all. After showering, I went down for a quick breakfast and brought some fruit, yoghurt and honey back for her. With Darshana’s help we managed to convince her that she should take the antibiotics which she had brought with her for just this eventuality and to prevent further infection.
The bus was loaded up with all our heavy bags again and we set off for Kollam which is about 120 kms to the south on the coast of Kerala.
First we stopped at the Spice Market in the town in an area known a ‘Jew Town’ owing to the presence there of an old but still active synagogue. The narrow streets were full of shops, one of which was a Judaica store owned by a 96 year old lady who presided over the store. At the end of the street was the synagogue which I visited briefly but which those of the faith, not surprisingly took longer over. In the meantime MAC had noticed that the shops were selling rather attractive tea cosies in the shape of elephants and as we had had no luck in sending Bill and Paivi their tea cozy in Spain, I decided to try again and bought an Indian silk tea cozy which we will try to mail them when we get home. Leaving the synagogue we proceeded to the spice shop where we bought some spices, soap and in an adjacent antique shop I purchased a small star compass which they assured me was ‘old but not antique’. In the spice store we bought a commodity called ‘Hing’ which Darshana recommended.The real name for this is Asafoetida and Wikipedia defines it as also being called ‘stinking gum’, the food of the gods and devil’s dung but that it gives a smooth flavor to food redolent of leeks. We shall see!!!
The visit to the synagogue reminded me of the subject of religion. Religion may well be the panacea for the troubles and ills of many but it’s distortions and misuses have also caused much human misery. One aspect of religion with which I have always had an issue and few if any religions are free of it, is gender discrimination. I find it inconceivable that any god which is worshipped and which is by implication an all-powerful and beneficiant entity could countenance discriminating against 50% of its congregation. Nor is there the slightest excuse for those who purport to be the earthly deliverers of the teachings of these gods for segregating and diminishing the participation of half of their believers. Very few religions are completely free of some form segregation of the sexes. Most of them have little or no doctrinal basis for this.
The State of Kerala is, I am told, ‘less Hindu’ than the rest of India with a more Moslem and Christian population than, say, in the north of the country. The relative absence of cows on the streets and the presence of beef on the menus in restaurants testify to this.
After our visit to this historic part of town, we rejoined the bus for a short while until the driver needed to stop for a lunch break. We took this opportunity to walk a short way to see the Chinese fishing net apparatus which consists of a bamboo-type gantry upon which are suspended the nets. At high tide, the nets are lowered into the water and then hoisted up with the fish which have swum into them. Apparently, the amount of fish caught this way is not very large. A little further on was a stall selling coconuts and Hemant bought some for us to try first drinking the ‘milk’ and then eating the flesh of what were young and sweet coconuts. On our way back to the bus, we encountered a wall which contained some fairly radical graffiti concerning killing animals, pollution and other ills of the world.
This area, is, we are told governed by the Communist Party and there are elections upcoming. The way in which parties canvass here is by the display of flags representing the parties as there is a degree of illiteracy which means that slogans and advertisements have more limited effect. In this area we saw many red flags, many with the ‘hammer and sickle’ logo on them representing the Communist Party as elections are upcoming in the spring and before monsoon. Exactly how ‘communist’ the party is I do not know but few so-called communist parties adhere with any proximity to the teachings of Marx and Lenin and are, in general just left wing socialist parties.
This reminds me of the total inanity of applying labels to tenets. I have, for example, no idea what a ‘conservative’ is. Most people have not the slightest idea what a socialist is, either and what on earth is a liberal? These labels are simply epithets used by those who adhere to a different philosophy and bear no definition at all. It is just simplistic to apply some all-embracing label to another person or group of people when one has no clue as to what they really believe in or support. “ If I don’t agree with him/her, then I will label him/her a xxxxxxx and that will establish the difference between him and me”, even when, in many cases, both agree on at least some issues.
The road south which is NH 66, was quite narrow in places and we had the usual series of ‘close calls’ with coming traffic. John who rode in the front seat must have very nearly had paint on his arms, so close were we to passing vehicles.
After a couple of hours on the road, we stopped for a brief bathroom break and then continued on to Kollam. Eventually we turned down a narrow lane and arrived at the incredible Raviz Resort and Spa which is at a pace called Ashtamudi (this refers to the large lake upon the shores of which the hotel is located, the Ashtabula meaning 8 and the ‘mudi’ being the ‘arms’ or inlets of the lake.
The hotel is very beautiful and there is a large ‘infinity’ swimming pool, several large boats for trips on the lake including one with rooms which guests can stay in. A huge long boat, full of spices dominates the lobby.
After finding our room and having our baggage delivered, we went down to the jetty where tea was served and then boarded our boat for a sunset cruise. The boat was large and spacious and made of what seemed to be heavy teak wood. There was an upper deck and a shady lower deck. We proceeded off not the lake passing a large house with a huge white statue of a nude lady in the front of it. Then on past fishing boats waiting to go out for the night’s fishing, more of the ‘Chinese’ fishing net contraptions and several Christian churches on the shore one of which was having a very loud ‘revivalist’ type service.
Our brief but very enjoyable evening cruise ended and we repaired to the suite of Hemant and Darshana (they had booked this specially so that we could gather there for drinks), for a pre-dinner drink and to watch the sun set through their huge picture window.
Then it was down to the foyer for a short 15 minute Indian dance performance by a very talented young lady dancer. Dinner followed, which was a choice of an extensive buffet or an a la carte menu.
Then it was off to bed. Tomorrow we are off to Kovalem where we will stay for three nights before heading north again to Mumbai for our last stop on this amazing Indian Odyssey.
The bus was loaded up with all our heavy bags again and we set off for Kollam which is about 120 kms to the south on the coast of Kerala.
First we stopped at the Spice Market in the town in an area known a ‘Jew Town’ owing to the presence there of an old but still active synagogue. The narrow streets were full of shops, one of which was a Judaica store owned by a 96 year old lady who presided over the store. At the end of the street was the synagogue which I visited briefly but which those of the faith, not surprisingly took longer over. In the meantime MAC had noticed that the shops were selling rather attractive tea cosies in the shape of elephants and as we had had no luck in sending Bill and Paivi their tea cozy in Spain, I decided to try again and bought an Indian silk tea cozy which we will try to mail them when we get home. Leaving the synagogue we proceeded to the spice shop where we bought some spices, soap and in an adjacent antique shop I purchased a small star compass which they assured me was ‘old but not antique’. In the spice store we bought a commodity called ‘Hing’ which Darshana recommended.The real name for this is Asafoetida and Wikipedia defines it as also being called ‘stinking gum’, the food of the gods and devil’s dung but that it gives a smooth flavor to food redolent of leeks. We shall see!!!
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| Some scenes from 'Jew Town' |
The State of Kerala is, I am told, ‘less Hindu’ than the rest of India with a more Moslem and Christian population than, say, in the north of the country. The relative absence of cows on the streets and the presence of beef on the menus in restaurants testify to this.
After our visit to this historic part of town, we rejoined the bus for a short while until the driver needed to stop for a lunch break. We took this opportunity to walk a short way to see the Chinese fishing net apparatus which consists of a bamboo-type gantry upon which are suspended the nets. At high tide, the nets are lowered into the water and then hoisted up with the fish which have swum into them. Apparently, the amount of fish caught this way is not very large. A little further on was a stall selling coconuts and Hemant bought some for us to try first drinking the ‘milk’ and then eating the flesh of what were young and sweet coconuts. On our way back to the bus, we encountered a wall which contained some fairly radical graffiti concerning killing animals, pollution and other ills of the world.
 |
| John tastes coconut milk |
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| A rather radical poster, there were others which were even more rude and blunt. |
This reminds me of the total inanity of applying labels to tenets. I have, for example, no idea what a ‘conservative’ is. Most people have not the slightest idea what a socialist is, either and what on earth is a liberal? These labels are simply epithets used by those who adhere to a different philosophy and bear no definition at all. It is just simplistic to apply some all-embracing label to another person or group of people when one has no clue as to what they really believe in or support. “ If I don’t agree with him/her, then I will label him/her a xxxxxxx and that will establish the difference between him and me”, even when, in many cases, both agree on at least some issues.
The road south which is NH 66, was quite narrow in places and we had the usual series of ‘close calls’ with coming traffic. John who rode in the front seat must have very nearly had paint on his arms, so close were we to passing vehicles.
After a couple of hours on the road, we stopped for a brief bathroom break and then continued on to Kollam. Eventually we turned down a narrow lane and arrived at the incredible Raviz Resort and Spa which is at a pace called Ashtamudi (this refers to the large lake upon the shores of which the hotel is located, the Ashtabula meaning 8 and the ‘mudi’ being the ‘arms’ or inlets of the lake.
The hotel is very beautiful and there is a large ‘infinity’ swimming pool, several large boats for trips on the lake including one with rooms which guests can stay in. A huge long boat, full of spices dominates the lobby.
After finding our room and having our baggage delivered, we went down to the jetty where tea was served and then boarded our boat for a sunset cruise. The boat was large and spacious and made of what seemed to be heavy teak wood. There was an upper deck and a shady lower deck. We proceeded off not the lake passing a large house with a huge white statue of a nude lady in the front of it. Then on past fishing boats waiting to go out for the night’s fishing, more of the ‘Chinese’ fishing net contraptions and several Christian churches on the shore one of which was having a very loud ‘revivalist’ type service.
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| The rather flamboyant Valiavila family estate |
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| Our hotel |
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| Our lake tour boat which can also be used as a hotel room |
Our brief but very enjoyable evening cruise ended and we repaired to the suite of Hemant and Darshana (they had booked this specially so that we could gather there for drinks), for a pre-dinner drink and to watch the sun set through their huge picture window.
Then it was down to the foyer for a short 15 minute Indian dance performance by a very talented young lady dancer. Dinner followed, which was a choice of an extensive buffet or an a la carte menu.
Then it was off to bed. Tomorrow we are off to Kovalem where we will stay for three nights before heading north again to Mumbai for our last stop on this amazing Indian Odyssey.
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