South Asia trip - Part 2, Kerala (India)

Some more photos from my trip, these are from the South Indian state of Kerala

Cochin

Inside of the Santa Cruz Basilica




Chinese fishing nets. Probably brought to India by traders from the court of Kubla Khan around the 1400’s, they are found only in Cochin and some parts of China. Based on a counterweight system, the nets are lowered into the water at high tide and raised by at least 4 or 5 men who then check them for (hopefully) fish. The nets are becoming less profitable as more modern fishing techniques are used, but they still continue to operate and attract a lot of attention








Old buildings around Jew Town. One is filled with empty Jute bags that are used for transporting spices. Another building is an office of the communist party which rules Kerala. Notice the always-popular poster of Che Guevara








One of the greatest diners I’ve had recently (Especially after the pretty bad Sri Lankan food) You can go and buy whatever fresh seafood you want from the local fisherman, and bring it to almost any restaurant where they will cook it anyway you want for around $1.00-$1.50. This was my cook, I had a snapper stuffed with garlic and grilled with rice….wonderful!




Another thing Kerala is very famous for is Kalarippayat (a form of Martial arts) and Kathakali (dramatized presentation of plays, mostly based on the Ramayana, Mahabarata and the Puranas). This is something that I will write a lot more about later.













Dancer getting his makeup done before the performance




Backwaters of Kerala, near Cochin








Thiruvananthapuram

Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple. A 260 year old temple covering over 2400 square meters. The 30 meter, 7 story building is just the entrance. Unfortunately I was not able to go inside since I am not Hindu, and only they are allowed. In the words of Shashi Tharoor (India’s nomination for the UN Secretary General) who’s latest book I recently read: “Hinduism is about opening doors to God, not closing them to people. Dear priests of Guruvayoor – open those doors!”






Statues in front of a small Hindu shrine




Man resting after a long day of selling bananas at the Connemara Market. Described as having “….more bananas then you’ve ever seen in one place”. I’d have to agree.




St. George’s Syrian Orthodox Church in Thiruvananthapuram. According to tradition, St. Thomas (one of the original apostles) came to India and converted a family of Brahmins. Party because of the strong ties with the Middle East, the early Christians aligned themselves with the Syrian Patriarch around the 4th century. With the arrival of the Roman Catholic Portuguese in the 16th century, and the Anglican British missionaries in the 18th, most converted. There still is a small community of Syrian Orthodox Christians in Kerala.




Everywhere you go there are signs proudly displaying that the government is communist. I always thought that West Bengal had the world first democratically elected communist government, but according to the book I have it is Kerala (elected in 1957). Because of this democratic-socialist principle, Kerala has had good success with land reforms, focus on infrastructure, health and education. The literacy rate, at 91%, is the highest in India. Infant mortality is 1/5 that of the rest of the country, while life expectancy is 10 years longer at 73. On the negative side, lack of foreign investment and industrial development leads to high unemployment and the highest alcohol and suicide rates in the nation.




Small shrine at the side of the road




Local bus station, I traveled by busses like these or trains during my entire time in South India.



I hope you enjoyed these photos as well, I'll post photos from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu next.