Mark Nicholls breaks away from the Kerala tourist trail to discover Indian village life.
The beachfront at Chellanam is crowded; the fishing boats are coming ashore.
Amid the throng are fish merchants and stallholders, porters, auctioneers and village women, all seeking a profit as the distinct blue vessels land their catches on the sandy shoreline.
It is 8am, but this hive of activity has been going on for a couple of hours and continues well into the day as boats race ashore to unload hauls of mackerel and sardines, catfish, crab, anchovy and prawns destined for tables across Kerala and beyond.
Sorting the catch
The beach, 20km south of Kochi in Kerala, is sheltered by a stone harbour wall but once unloaded, the boats head back out from its protective embrace and into the waves to re-cast nets and land another catch, repeating this four to five times a day if the conditions prove good.
The boats of various sizes, and with crews of between five and 20, are painted blue to denote they are from Kerala and fish anything up to 30km from the shore.
While they are out spreading their nets, a thriving community on the beach sorts the fish, which is then taken away in 22kg baskets balanced on the heads of porters to be auctioned and logged. On the bows of boats, egrets perch optimistically while sea eagles are more brazen and swoop low to snatch fish from the raised baskets.
Some of the catch is packed in ice and loaded into vans and whisked away for the export market; other catches are sorted by merchants for hotel restaurants; stallholders joust for their share to sell by the roadside or on market stalls, while village women pick up mackerel or sardines here and there seeking to make a few rupees with door to door sales in their neighbourhoods.
Unity and equality
I’ve joined a village tour, heading off the beaten track and led by the entrepreneurial Dax Gueizelar who endeavours to take tourists to remoter parts of Kerala to show what rural life is truly like.
The fish harbour delivers a vibrant start; where all life is gathered and everyone earns a living. That even extends to the homeowners living near the shore, who provide meals for the fishermen.
As Dax explains:
“There is a fee for everyone who goes onto the beach, from parking a truck, to porters and even 10 rupees for those who just turn up to watch.
“Everyone pays an amount for their role and that goes towards the upkeep and development of the facilities.”
This is Communist Kerala at work, where state government regulations are designed to deliver unity, inclusion and equality, though this is also an area where the average wage is a pitiful 365 rupees a day.
We later meet a village woman who picked up a few fish and tell us by lunchtime she had earned 300 rupees (£2.50).
Keralan breakfast
The tour, headlined as “Village Rubble” as it picks through everyday village life, can be taken by cycle or with an autorickshaw and some walking.
Dax adds:
“There is flexibility in the tour. It is a case of ensuring people see what is interesting and what is going on – we prefer to go to places when something is actually happening.”
From Chellanam beach, it’s time for breakfast; traditional Keralan fayre served up by Dhanya and Prasanth in their home in the village of Pallithode. On the table is a hopper, vegetable stew, chickpeas and putta (steamed rice cake) with tea or coffee and coconut and jaggery in a banana leaf.
The family regularly entertain visitors from tours and also have a small fish farm which they show with its own Chinese fishing net that is smaller but similar to the more famous examples on Kochi’s waterfront. From their catch, Dhanya makes her own pickled prawns and sells them in labelled jars.
The tour is a half-day programme and part of the Alphonso Stories collection but is run on the ground by Raw Adventures, a business Dax founded 11 years ago.
He explains:
“The tours are an opportunity to give a grassroots level insight into the lives of real people and understand what is important for them. It enables visitors to meet local people, understand their culture, and see different aspects of village life.”
Coconut toddy
A few miles away, we call at the local ‘pub’ which sells toddy made from the sap of coconut that ferments naturally.
Part constructed out of an old bus and a shed, the pub sits along a raised pathway beside a flooded rice paddy.
The toddy, said to be the strength of a typical beer and costing 110 rupees a bottle, has a slight tang and is almost always served with food – in this instance curried prawns, clams, anchovies and tapioca.
Dax tells me over a glass of the cloudy liquid:
“Kerala has a toddy pub culture and pubs are spread all over the area. But while toddy is the same, food is the key element and it is what is different in each pub.”
From there, we pause at a warehouse where women peel and head prawns for processing and then call at the local Hindu temple before visiting the marketplace and finish with a refreshing lime soda in the village café.
Relaxing Kochi
A ferry across one of the channels returns us to our start point and a drive back to Kochi.
With cafés, restaurants and shops to buy crafts, it remains one of the more relaxed cities of southern India.
There are sights such as the Mattancherry Palace with palanquins, murals and artefacts; the Paradesi Synagogue and Jew Street and the nearby souvenir stalls of the Fort area.
In Kochi, the famous Chinese fishing nets are still an important element of the local fishing industry, though boat fishermen also land their catches nearby which are sold by vendors along the pavement. Everything from squid and red snapper, mullet and king fish through to luscious prawns and tuna is on sale.
And finally, no visit to Kerala would be complete without seeing Kathakali Dance.
Instantly recognisable by the vivid make-up of the characters and the exaggerated body movements, the performances portray stories from the Indian epics of the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Fact Box:
The Village Rubble Tour lasts four hours, costs 6500 INR and is among several route options in the Kochi area. For more details please visit: www.alphonsostories.com.
Accommodation: Mark Nicholls stayed at CGH Earth’s Brunton Boatyard Hotel overlooking the harbour.
For more information: please visit the Kerala Tourism website: www.keralatourism.org.
*Mark Nicholls was hosted in Kerala by ILH, an India-based destination management company working with guests and travel agents to deliver tailor-made experiences across southern India and beyond.
Author Bio:
Mark Nicholls is an award-winning freelance travel writer and author, based in the UK and has written for a range of national titles, specialist magazines and international websites and operated as a war correspondent in locations such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
Photographs by Mark Nicholls
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