Saturday, January 30, 2010

Arriving in Cochin, Kerela

I’m lying in my bed in Fort Cochin. It is a clean bed with clean sheets. We have a full bathroom and shower. The fan is on. It is still hot. The crows are squawking outside the window. The village is waking up. I hear the mats being beaten by tired women in the streets. The ritual morning bath is taking place right on the streets outside my window. This is India!

Fort Cochin is a lovely town. As we drove here, over the bridge, aluminium decorations covered the over pass welcoming us into a place that felt open and proud. Our rickshaw driver stopped along the way to help us find a place to say. “What’s your budget?” he asked. Immediately there was another man in our rickshaw, a native of the town, helping us find the appropriate place.

After a somewhat gruelling overnight train ride, we decided to pamper ourselves in a homestay room for a little less than $20.00 a night. It’s perfect!

In some ways Fort Cochin reminds me of Jerusalem. There are actual cement homes here, and though there are no street names or organized division of homes, there is a sense of residential existence. There are several schools run by various religious groups. There is a Catholic Basilica and a very old synagogue that is closed on Friday night and Saturday. Nuns wearing Catholic crosses over their Saris live in a convent close by. It is a comfortable mix of various religions….Hindu, Moslem, Janist, Buddhist, even Jews, all living together within the five square miles of the town.

Several parks and playgrounds around the town are active with young boys playing cricket. There is a general feeling of family around. And it is so comforting to receive a smile from men, women. The children smile too, and are playful as they practise their English with, “Goot moorning. What eez your name?” I love the joy, the easiness and the openness of the residents. I feel really comfortable here.

Getting off the train yesterday offered an immediate welcome. Paul and I, conspicuously western, were approached several times. Ordinarily we are cautious about this, suspicious that people want something from us because we’re tourists. In this case, however, people were curious about us and excited to have us in their home. Of course there are those who do want something, and we’re careful. But, for the most part the people here are happy to have us, proud of their village, excited to share their very special culture, and eager to make our stay pleasant. In fact, one of the drivers is spending the day with us today and acting as a guide to take us around.

Last night we watched a Kathakali performance. Kathakali is an important source of art culture in Kerela. Similar to old Shakespearean theatre, Kathakali is performed only by males. The female roles are taken on by males too, which, to me, lends a bit to the absurd. It is an art form that is a story telling format focussing on make up, costume, music and mime. There are no words; just a traditional sign language that, we learned, is being lost to the new generation. Performances in traditional Kathakali run 6 – 7 hours.

The performance that we saw started with the application of makeup. That can take up to 2 hours so usually the performer on whom the make up is being applied, is in a yogic state. There are some teachings around the language used in Kathakali; a specific sign language reminding me of American Sign Language. I’m wondering if our daughter in law, Vanessa would have understood the acting out of the story better than we did, because of her fluency in ASL. Exaggerated eye movements, also characteristic of the art form, reminded me of eye gymnastics. The actual presentation of the story ran about one hour. That was enough considering we really didn’t understand the language. The music, mostly percussion, was excellent, and for me, a bit unusual. Harmonium, hand cymbals, an unusual two sided hand drum played with taped fingers, and one man’s chanting voice were the only sounds for the entire hour.

I have to say; “I love it here in Fort Cochin.” I feel completely welcomed by everyone. It is easy to make eye contact with people on the street and it is similarly typical to receive smiles in response to mine. Between the Yoga, Ayurvedic Healing practise, access to bicycles, great food, and the friendliness of the people, I could make this home for a while.

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