I have always believed
that Indian regional cinema shows the authentic picture of a particular state –
the nature and attire of the people, their language and dialect, eating habits,
body language and most importantly, its distinct geographical beauty. We see
the diversity of our country through regional cinema. I have always been a fan
of Marathi cinema and the great content that it offers in most of the movies.
With the advent of OTT, movies in other Indian languages have become easily
available. Using subtitles as my trusted acolyte, I have also taken an interest
in watching cinemas from the South, which are getting popular these days among
pan Indian viewers as well. Among the South Indian content, I love Malayalam
movies the most, as the concepts are always unique and keep the viewer
entertained throughout their duration. I have now become a fan of Malayalam
actors like Prithviraj, Dulquer Salmaan, Fahadh Faasil and Tovino Thomas and
look forward to watching their movies! What I love about Malayalam movies is
not only the actors and interesting content but also the scenic beauty of
Kerala. In 2022, having watched around 30+ Malayalam movies while touring through
the greenery of Kerala virtually, I decided to pay an actual visit to what is
called God’s own country.
While there are many
picturesque places in Kerala as shown in the movies, we decided to explore
Munnar and Kumarakom during this trip. Our journey thus began from Kochi
airport to Munnar, a roughly 3.5 hours road trip spent while enjoying the views
outside. As we were reaching Munnar, abundant greenery welcomed us with open
arms. The tall green mountains, the vast expanse of tea estates and the
coolness in the air were exactly something we were looking forward to in Munnar
and these were the just the welcome glimpses of the amazing views that lay
ahead during our stay. The next day, we set off to explore the sightseeing
areas in Munnar. The weather was pleasant just how we had expected. It was
foggy all around and everything, including the mountains and roads, seemed
hidden behind the cotton-like white fog. All around Munnar, the only colours we
could see were green and white. Our first stop was Periyakanal Waterfalls. They
looked straight out of a painting in their milky white colour. The sound of the
gushing water felt music to the ears and the view was a treat to the eyes. After
seeing the little white part of Munnar’s beauty, next we explored the green
beauty, in form of verdant expanses of tea estates. These tea estates go far
beyond the reach of the eyes, and they look like symmetrically groomed
mountains. When in Munnar, a picture among the tea estates is a must! To fulfil
this wish of tourists like us, there was a photo point in the tea estate. We
grabbed this perfect and rare opportunity to be seen among the greenery and
clicked many pictures of ourselves and the views that were worthy of any
desktop or mobile wallpaper.
Next, we visited the
Lockhart tea factory and museum to understand how tea, our daily morning
beverage, is made from the tea leaves that we saw on the colossal mountains. Just
outside the factory, we read about the history and origin of tea and how it
made its way in India. Through a well-guided tour, we came to know the types of
tea and the stages of tea manufacturing. At the end of the factory/museum
visit, we tasted different types of tea – green, black, and white. Throughout
the visit in the factory, we could get refreshing aroma of tea as it was being
processed and could tempt any non-tea drinker as well to have a cup full of
tea. After experiencing the green and white beauty, we went next to see a
palette of beautiful colours in form of a flower garden. Commonly known as the
KFDC garden, the floriculture centre in Munnar is a place full of beautiful
flowers, herbs, medicinal and bonsai plants. This botanical garden has a wide
collection of Kerala’s well known as well as rare blooms. We could not resist
clicking umpteen pictures there as it was truly a delight to see so many
colours at one place!
Next on our list was Echo
point. Echo Point provides a panoramic view of the surrounding hills and
evergreen forest cover. It is a place where you can reconnect with your inner
child by screaming at your heart’s content and hear back your own voice coming
from the thick greenery around. Towards the sound of gushing water was where we
went next, at Madupetty dam. It is a huge dam built in the mountains of Kerala,
to produce hydroelectricity. Next to the dam is Mattupetty Lake which is
perennial and never dries up even during summers.
It was now time to go
high up in the mountains. Our last destination for the day was Eravikulam
National Park. Situated in the high ranges of Kerala, Eravikulam National Park
provides magnificent view of hills with tea plantations. At the base of the
National Park, there are buses which take the tourists at the top from where
one can see only and only huge green mountains with clouds descending on them. After
getting down from the bus, we enjoyed a trek in Rajamala, the region lying
beyond the road entry into Eravikulam. Eravikulam is also famous for the
natural habitat of Nilgiri Tahr, the endangered mountain goat and this park is
built with the aim of conserving them. The park also had information about how
Nilgiri Tahr eventually found their way to Indian mountains starting originally
from Alps in Europe. I envied these animals momentarily for their ability to
travel across continents without any passport or visa! We walked while enjoying
the cool breeze that pleasantly brushed our skin. The clouds had touched the
road and with child-like excitement, we wanted to catch hold of a little piece
of cloud in our hands! It was truly a breath-taking view which gave a feeling
that you’re probably on top of the world. The park is also known for
Neelakurinji flowers, which bloom once in twelve years and the entire place is
carpeted with blue. The wonders of Nature are never-ending and limitless!
The next morning, we
headed out to get another view from the mountain. The fog seemed to have settled
on the mountains, making the view below white. We went ahead to take a jeep tour
which covered a couple of sightseeing areas. The jeep took us to a dense forest
area with patchy roads which we enjoyed while listening to some Malayalam songs.
After this bumpy ride, we visited the Ripple Waterfalls next, another white wonder.
We could listen to the flow of water from a distance and did a small trek till
the waterfalls showed themselves. The milky white water flowed with full vigour.
The never-ending flow of water made me think that life also flows like this
water – it moves on despite difficulties and challenges, we learn from this
flow of different situations in life. The next stop on this jeep tour was the
Hanging Bridge. Built by the British, this bridge is nestled amidst the
greenery. Standing on this bridge, we enjoyed the calmness and silence in
nature’s vicinity. Close to this bridge is Ponmudi dam, another source for power
generation. We saw film shooting point next, where some scenes of Chennai Express
were shot. Like Echo Point, a serene lake is surrounded by beautiful mountains
which reflect in the limpid water, worthy of enticing any shutterbug.
Kerala is known for its
spices and Ayurveda. Our next destination was a spice garden. Kerala is home to
a variety of spices: cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg, among the few.
Known as the Queen of Spices, cardamom is highly prized among all spices found.
Through a guided tour in the plantations, we learned about the characteristics
of some spices, their nutritive value, and the flavour that they add to the food.
There were also some Ayurvedic herbs which are widely used in the medicines. These
traditional Ayurvedic treatments and plants have been bequeathed till present
times as we understood that some households still used these Ayurvedic ingredients
in their daily course of life, thus being the torchbearers of rich ancient tradition.
Such Ayurvedic oils form an important constituent of the famous Kerala
massages. Thus, if you think that you are missing some aromatic spice in your
life, Kerala is the place for you. We believe that variety is the spice of
life, hence we carried this variety of aromatic spices back home as a fond memory
of Kerala.
Kerala is also home to
many elephants – most intelligent and emotional animals in the animal kingdom. We
went to an elephant camp next. When we reached there, we saw the two elephants
languidly chewing on the heap of grass that was served to them. Despite their
mammoth size, elephants look calm and content, without a worry in the world. These
magnificent creatures teach the mankind that unwarranted abuse of power can be avoided,
and peace be maintained despite the physical might that one may possess. We clicked
a picture with one of the elephants and it gave its approval by raising its
trunk, while also cleverly posing for the picture. Indeed, they are intelligent
animals! We bade goodbye to them as they returned to their job of entertaining
other tourists.
Having experienced the natural
beauty of Kerala, it was time to get a glimpse of Kerala’s culture in form of
its dance and martial arts forms. We watched spellbinding performances of
Kathakali and Mohiniyattam. In school, we had only read like a general knowledge
fact that Kathakali and Mohiniyattam are classical dance forms of Kerala. But to
watch these graceful dances was a different experience altogether. The movements
of the dancers were in tandem with the music played and exuded elegance in
every minute of the performance. Heavily focused on facial and eye expressions,
mastering these dance forms is not an easy feat. The Kathakali performances
depict episodes from Lord Krishna’s life, which also gives a storytelling
experience to its viewers. The colourful masked faces and the exquisite attires
make the dances an absolute treat to the eyes. These dance forms symbolize the
rich Indian culture, one that highlights the diversity we are proud about. After
the dance performances, we went to witness the martial arts wonder that was
Kalaripayattu, one of the oldest surviving martial arts in India. These performances
using different forms of weapons such as swords, daggers, sticks and even fire,
were nothing but jaw-dropping performances. The physical reflexes that the
practitioners had and the ease with which they handled the weapons showed the
intense training that goes into mastering this unique form of martial art. There
were moments where we watched the performances with bated breath, unsure what
to expect next in this adrenaline rush inducing martial art form. Thus, our
stay in Munnar ended on this energetic note, an energy that had been passed on to
today’s generation as well, to keep the flame of traditional dance forms and
martial arts burning.
We headed to Kumarakom
the next morning, thus descending from the mountains to the backwaters. As we
drove from Munnar, I bade one final goodbye to the huge green mountains that I
had grown to love. Quite serendipitously, the sun shone brightly on the day we
left from Munnar and we could see the mountains clearly in the absence of fog, standing
proudly in their emerald green. On reaching Kumarakom, we were welcomed by tall
coconut trees and banana leaves. Next morning, we headed out to visit a Shiva
temple, where we also sought blessings of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Parvati. Lord
Ganesha wore a garland of bananas, something which was seen in abundance in
Kumarakom, which makes banana chips another must-buy in Kerala. Kumarakom is
known for its backwaters and a houseboat ride in these backwaters was a must-have
experience. In the evening, we set out on the boat sailing in these calm waters
while the sun was setting and casting its shining reflection in the water, like
a ball of gold. We enjoyed this sense of sangfroid which is possible only in
Nature’s propinquity. Soon, the sun took its leave for the day, and we headed
back to our hotel. With this, our beautiful stay in Kerala came to an end.
The enthralling natural beauty
of Kerala, the aromas of its spices and the treasure of ancient Indian traditions
in form of Ayurveda, Kathakali and Kalaripayattu will forever remained imprinted
in our minds as another chapter in India’s diversity in one of her most beautiful
states in South!
