hidden delights
GO TRAVEL | ALLEPPEY
ALLEPPEY’S HIDDEN DELIGHTS
There are the sea and backwaters, of course, but this charming town in Kerala has several other attractions, discovers Ankita S
A
lleppey’s mainstay used to be the coir and paddy industries. After all, Kuttanad, known as the ‘rice bowl of India’, is located in Alappuzha, as it is also known. Today, tourism and the houseboat business keep the city’s economy buoyant. But as Saju Thomas, the General Manager of Ramada Alleppey told us, the government is smart enough to have the houseboats dock elsewhere to preserve the beauty of one of Kerala’s best known coastal towns. We embarked on a day-long tour of Alleppey city, a departure from the usual houseboat cruise routine. Our driver took us to the Revi Karuna Karan Memorial Museum of his own accord — a private art collection that was probably worth a visit but we were keener on seeing the International Coir Museum. The array of paintings, creatures and objects creatively fashioned from coir convinced us that we made the right choice. Most striking among the artefacts were a tall Ganesha, a 3-D installation of a rural scene in Kerala and a replica of the Baha’i Lotus Temple in Delhi made of coir. The museum also walked us through the fascinating history of Kerala’s coir industry.
go travel | alleppey
Above: The coir museum takes visitors through the fascinating history of Kerala’s coir industry
Coir is of course a fibre extracted from coconut husk, and commonly used in doormats, brushes and mattresses. Many such items were also available for sale at the museum. But most interestingly, we could see young women (and a few men) carefully spinning coir through various contraptions to make usable objects. According to Thomas, Alleppey even hosts an international coir festival in December that attracts a lot of international buyers. Incidentally, most of the organisers and participants set up base at the conveniently located Ramada Alleppey. Our next stop was Alleppey Beach and Lighthouse. But en route, a pretty white church caught our eye and we decided to explore the hallowed grounds of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral. It was a Friday, and while the main church was empty, we could
We spent a while admiring the stained-glass windows, elegantly curved stairs leading to the dais and the wooden confession box. I marvelled at the diocese’s ability to protect the ivory white church from any signs of the murky monsoons. 88 | december 2017 || www.GoAir.in
hear the sweet refrains of Christian hymns in Malayalam from one of the smaller annexes. We spent a while admiring the stained-glass windows, elegantly curved stairs leading to the dais and the wooden confession box. I marvelled at the diocese’s ability to protect the ivory white church from any signs of the murky monsoons. The view from the lighthouse was spectacular — we could see all of Alleppey laid out before us like a map including the beach in the distance, a few urban settlements and tons of greenery. As our driver said, Keralites love trees and the government fines anyone who hews a tree even if it’s on private property. But this view came at a cost – a long and steep climb on precariously narrow steps at times. There is also a small museum outside the lighthouse, displaying the various instruments used in its operation. As per a notice at the museum, “The first generation lighthouses were bonfires lit on rocks and hillocks. Then came the era of wick lamps, petroleum vapour lamps, electric arc lamps, electric incandescent lamps, electric discharge lamps and the latest are LED lights.” A student of engineering
go travel | alleppey
Clockwise from top left: Alleppey is famous for its boat races; The lighthouse at Alleppey; Traditional off-white and gold saris worn by women in Kerala, especially on festive occasions
Alleppey is about 80 km from Kochi airport. GoAir operates direct flights to Kochi from Mumbai, Ahmedabad , Bengaluru and Chennai with convenient connections from Delhi, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Lucknow. For more information, log on to www.GoAir.in 90 | december 2017 || www.GoAir.in
could possibly spend hours examining the particular facets of each device. The beach was a short walk away and the water, as in many beaches across Kerala, was fiercely turbulent and also refreshingly clean. The cloudy sky rendered the water a dull grey but every fresh wave brought with it a shower of bright white suds. Our final destination before dusk
compelled us to return to the comforts of Ramada Alleppey was a handloom centre called Kasavu Alayam, where we could see workers weave the traditional off-white and gold saris that Malayali women don. The work seemed quite monotonous and yet, the weavers went about their work in a rhythmic fashion, quite oblivious of our curious eyes.
ALLEPPEY’S HIDDEN DELIGHTS
There are the sea and backwaters, of course, but this charming town in Kerala has several other attractions, discovers Ankita S
A
lleppey’s mainstay used to be the coir and paddy industries. After all, Kuttanad, known as the ‘rice bowl of India’, is located in Alappuzha, as it is also known. Today, tourism and the houseboat business keep the city’s economy buoyant. But as Saju Thomas, the General Manager of Ramada Alleppey told us, the government is smart enough to have the houseboats dock elsewhere to preserve the beauty of one of Kerala’s best known coastal towns. We embarked on a day-long tour of Alleppey city, a departure from the usual houseboat cruise routine. Our driver took us to the Revi Karuna Karan Memorial Museum of his own accord — a private art collection that was probably worth a visit but we were keener on seeing the International Coir Museum. The array of paintings, creatures and objects creatively fashioned from coir convinced us that we made the right choice. Most striking among the artefacts were a tall Ganesha, a 3-D installation of a rural scene in Kerala and a replica of the Baha’i Lotus Temple in Delhi made of coir. The museum also walked us through the fascinating history of Kerala’s coir industry.
go travel | alleppey
Above: The coir museum takes visitors through the fascinating history of Kerala’s coir industry
Coir is of course a fibre extracted from coconut husk, and commonly used in doormats, brushes and mattresses. Many such items were also available for sale at the museum. But most interestingly, we could see young women (and a few men) carefully spinning coir through various contraptions to make usable objects. According to Thomas, Alleppey even hosts an international coir festival in December that attracts a lot of international buyers. Incidentally, most of the organisers and participants set up base at the conveniently located Ramada Alleppey. Our next stop was Alleppey Beach and Lighthouse. But en route, a pretty white church caught our eye and we decided to explore the hallowed grounds of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral. It was a Friday, and while the main church was empty, we could
We spent a while admiring the stained-glass windows, elegantly curved stairs leading to the dais and the wooden confession box. I marvelled at the diocese’s ability to protect the ivory white church from any signs of the murky monsoons. 88 | december 2017 || www.GoAir.in
hear the sweet refrains of Christian hymns in Malayalam from one of the smaller annexes. We spent a while admiring the stained-glass windows, elegantly curved stairs leading to the dais and the wooden confession box. I marvelled at the diocese’s ability to protect the ivory white church from any signs of the murky monsoons. The view from the lighthouse was spectacular — we could see all of Alleppey laid out before us like a map including the beach in the distance, a few urban settlements and tons of greenery. As our driver said, Keralites love trees and the government fines anyone who hews a tree even if it’s on private property. But this view came at a cost – a long and steep climb on precariously narrow steps at times. There is also a small museum outside the lighthouse, displaying the various instruments used in its operation. As per a notice at the museum, “The first generation lighthouses were bonfires lit on rocks and hillocks. Then came the era of wick lamps, petroleum vapour lamps, electric arc lamps, electric incandescent lamps, electric discharge lamps and the latest are LED lights.” A student of engineering
go travel | alleppey
Clockwise from top left: Alleppey is famous for its boat races; The lighthouse at Alleppey; Traditional off-white and gold saris worn by women in Kerala, especially on festive occasions
Alleppey is about 80 km from Kochi airport. GoAir operates direct flights to Kochi from Mumbai, Ahmedabad , Bengaluru and Chennai with convenient connections from Delhi, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Lucknow. For more information, log on to www.GoAir.in 90 | december 2017 || www.GoAir.in
could possibly spend hours examining the particular facets of each device. The beach was a short walk away and the water, as in many beaches across Kerala, was fiercely turbulent and also refreshingly clean. The cloudy sky rendered the water a dull grey but every fresh wave brought with it a shower of bright white suds. Our final destination before dusk
compelled us to return to the comforts of Ramada Alleppey was a handloom centre called Kasavu Alayam, where we could see workers weave the traditional off-white and gold saris that Malayali women don. The work seemed quite monotonous and yet, the weavers went about their work in a rhythmic fashion, quite oblivious of our curious eyes.
