New things to enjoy in God's own country - Kerala

Cliches… they are irritating and overused, but so apt sometimes. As the boat glides gently over Kerala's well-known silver backwaters fringed by the fluorescent green of the paddy fields and the deep emerald of the coconut fronds, that never-will-I-use-it phrase springs unbidden to mind–God's own country. The sliver of land on the tip of the Indian peninsula is famed for its beaches and its serene hill stations.


Children going to school in their family boat

It's as if time slows down, beckoning the tourist to stop by on a balmy morning to savour the many hued greens of the landscape, the varied flavours of its cuisine and the charming hospitality of its people.
Two hours from Kochi is Alleppey, a sleepy town locals refer to proudly as the 'Venice of the east' and home to the famous Nehru boat race. It is the perfect place to set up base to see the lakes, which stretch out as far as the eye can see. The expansive lagoons and the busy waterways are bustling with life under the azure skies–a group of schoolgirls rowing their canoe, presumably on their way to school, the woman doing the daily washing on the banks, another casting her net to catch the daily family lunch of fresh fish and the group of boys playing on the side.

The houseboat is comfortably fitted with air-conditioned bedrooms, en-suite bathrooms and even televisions in some. Given the tourist traffic, waterside 'dhabas' have come up on the way, offering a simple fish-rice meal. There are the small shops too, for visitors to choose from the morning catch of prawns or fish and give it to the houseboat chef to cook up. Some tender mangoes as well, which the cook chops up deftly and stir-fries for a quick pickle to go with the meal he is rustling up in the houseboat kitchen. The fresh breeze wafts in and the game of identify that exotic bird continues. Quite lovely, quite idyllic.

Fishermen and their families casting nets

With its luxuriant spectrum of greens from mangrove forests, paddy fields and coconut and palm trees and the silver ribbons of waters, Kerala is often like a picture postcard come to life. But beneath the still-life loveliness of the place are the challenges that any tourist hotspot must face–the conflict between locals and outsiders is inevitable. The government is trying to ensure that while tourists feel welcome, villagers are not alienated.

Once a sleepy village and now a bustling global tourism destination, Kumarakom, which unfolds against the backdrop of the serene Vembanad lake, sees 40,000-50,000 tourists (including foreigners) a year flock to its 19 resorts. According to one estimate, more than 1 lakh people live around the Vembanad, Ashtamudi and Punnamada lakes. With more than 10 million tourists visiting Kerala in 2011, tourism is a mainstay for the state, as it is for the backwaters region. Like elsewhere, the advent of tourism led to simmering resentment amongst locals who felt left out. "Tourism made them lose their leisure points and livelihood activities like agriculture," explains K. RupeshKumar, the Responsible Tourism coordinator and one of the brains behind the initiative. But the situation has changed dramatically since those early days. Starting with the mantra that tourism must also empower the locals, the Responsible Tourism (RT) project, in Kumarakom, is working with resorts in the area to ensure more employment generation for the 5,000-odd families. "Earlier, the industry was not willing to hire locals. Now, 60 percent of the workers are from the area. They are trained in jobs like housekeeping and food processing with a stipend," says RupeshKumar.


Women making laundry bags for hotels under the RT initiative

The RT project started in 2007 in four destinations–Kovalam (beach destination), Periyar (forest), Kumarakom (backwater) and Wayanad (hill station)–with Kerala Tourism winning the UNWTO award for 'innovation and public policy and governance' for the Kumarakom initiative. It has included extensive studies. "Before the project, tender coconut and vegetables were brought in from Tamil Nadu," RupeshKumar adds, detailing how units have come up for cloth bags, candle-making, garbage marks, papad-making and the like. "RT has led to a lot of positive changes and most importantly, the community now has a sense of belonging. Otherwise, it would be like the big fish eating small fish," says Anil Kumar C., the general manager of the Coconut Lagoon resort where most of the semi-skilled and unskilled staff, including cleaners, helpers, launders and gardeners, are from villages around.

Weaving household mats from coconut tree leaves

Part of the tourist-local integration are the Village Life Experience (VLE) packages, where tourists pay to travel down the waterways and get a first-hand glimpse of life as it is actually lived. So, there is 52-year-old Sathi, who opens up her home for strangers and happily poses for pictures as she weaves palm fronds into mats. While this can get her up to Rs.300 per day, she is also growing green chillies, papaya and vegetables like spinach to supply resorts. "If I didn't have this, I don't know what I would have done," she says shyly. Then there is B. Sabu, a former army soldier, who is boat operator, translator and ornithologist, all rolled into one. He has taught himself to identify at least some of the 180 bird species in the area and also clambers up coconut trees to show how the locals do it. And there's toddy tapper Kuttapan Rajesh who offers toddy fresh from the tree to any visitor intrepid enough to try it. Of the money, 70 percent goes to the community, 20 percent to the tour operator and 10 percent for operational expenses. It's the Kerala way of life, and there can really be no better way to experience it.

Collecting toddy from the pot