God's Own Country

The tourism department of the Kerala Government has successfully managed to convert this ad-phrase to stand for what Kerala truly is - God's Own Country (well considering that it my country too.. its true in more ways than one!!) .. last week had a gr8 opportunity on driving down from Cochin (which is pretty much bang in the middle of Kerala) to down South Trivandrum. Have done this trip lotsa times, but what made this one special was a detour to Chengannur to meet some family friends.

And boy.. this is a detour nebody would luv.. right through the middle of the famous backwaters of Alleppy!! .. Kuttannad is not a name that would roll out of ones tongue easily, neither is it as famous as its neighbour - Kumarakom. But this is the heart of Kerala's backwaters and like most of Netherlands is below sea level!! If you want to see people lead a normal life surrounded by water all around, just drive down from Alleppy to Changanassery!! It truly is an amazing drive. The road is good for most parts, barring a few stretches where work is on.



This road has water on either sides. You suddenly get a feel how Lord Rama n his Vanara Sena wud hv felt while crossing over to Lanka!! :) Before the road was built, the only way to got to these places were using boats. People still use boats here and there is a thriving KSWTC (Kerala State Waterways Transport Corp.) service across the region.

On either side of the road, u wud find locals selling freshly caught fish n live ducks!! Its a sight to be seen. This region is criss-crossed by a huge network of canals. You cud also hv a trip down these canals on rented boats.



Once u hv reached Changanaserry, u drive through winding roads to Chengannur. It is amazing how in a course of a few miles, the entire terrain has changed. From the lazy backwaters, we are now in the middle of the ups n downs of western ghats. But nobody's complaining!! :)

After a heavy lunch at Chengannur, we were back on the roads trying to get back to the NH on our way to Trivandrum. I must say the roads in Kerala hv improved tremendously (either that or I hv been conditioned to roads here in Bangalore :) !!) All new roads that are being laid are rubber based ones, which hv longer lifespan and a better finish!! Its a pleasure to drive down these babies!!

On our way back, we again had to take a detour (a detour within a detour!!) due to sm repair works. now this was kinda scary. It was a narrow road with no signs and I just kept going. There was this scorpio ahead of us and I just kept following that!! Abt 2 kms uphill asked a few locals the direction n they said its just round the corner, keep gng str8!! isnt it amazing how its always round the corner when u ask smone for directions!! :) Neways kept gng and the road became narrower and muddier and darker!! Smthings wrong, but atleast there was one more guy making the same mistake .. what a comfort!! All of a sudden one of the most beautiful things that I hv ever seen .. the road opens out into a wide green valley.. and this narrow road thru the middle of it.. and green fields on either sides!! A treat to sore eyes..


Soon we had our first sign that we were on our right track, n in abt an hr we were back on NH-47 zipping down to our final destination- Trivandrum.

As I was driving, I wondered if as Keralites, we tend to ignore the natural wonder tht Kerala is!! Do we take for granted what nature has gifted us or is it a case of "Muttathe Mullakku Manamilla" , which is Malayalam for "the flowers in one's own garden dont smell that good"?!!.. Well I guess I just hv to keep taking more such detours to njoi God's Own Country!!