Exploring the World : February 2013

Chinese Fishing Nets

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The rest of my weekend in Kerala was amazing. We went to the beach, I rode a camel, and looked out as we drove through the streets of Kerala. I spent a lot of the weekend with Wazim's friend, Bijoy. He came to pick me up to go to the Fort Kochi Muziris Biennale Art Festival and it was my first time riding on a motorcycle! We zipped in and out of traffic all over Kerala. We traveled on the ferry to several of the little islands around Cochin- the main trading area for seafood and spices. We saw Fort Kochi Island, Vipen Island, Willingdon Island, the Naval Base, the famous "Jew Street" (which used to have 2,500 Jewish families living there, but now only a dozen), the Paradesi Synagogue, the St. Francis Church, many Temples, and a few Mosques. As the sun was setting, we looked out along the Chinese Fishing Nets and then rode the bike to another island to look out over the water before dinner.

As a side thought...Religion seems even more engrained into the lifestyle in Kerala. Places of worship are everywhere- Churches, Synagogues, Mosques, Temples, little shrines and images all over. I have been learning about the Brahma-Vishnu-Maheshwara Hindu Trinity, the ten incarnations of Vishnu (well the 10th is yet to come), and many of the stories behind other deities such as Durga, Ganesha, Hanuman, Kali, Karttikeya, Krishna, Lakshmi, Rama, Parvati, Saraswati, Shiva, etc. There are stories and legends for all of them. My friend here told me that they believe these Hindu deities are manifestations of one Divine Being. It made me think of the religion that I grew up with, Christianity, when they talk about the Holy Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I am also learning about the five pillars of Islam and the important Hajj to Mecca. I am learning just the surface to the depth of historical religious disagreements. Yet, even with such intense disagreements, it seems that all religions have many things in common. They believe in a Devine being, a God, something supernatural which cannot be explained by tangible evidence. They have places of worship and use aspects of their religion to become better people, to help the poor, and to do "what is right." To me, it is the other half of science. The half of life that can not be explained by evidence. It seems that throughout history people have been searching for ways to explain the unknown, trying to find answers to what cannot be explained. Whatever the "right" answer is, it seems to exist in everything and everywhere.
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"All religions, arts, ad sciences are branches of the same tree." (Albert Einstein)

"We can not obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace within ourselves." (Dalai Lama)
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(Again..a Lot of photos...if you double click, you can scroll)

Sunset on the Beach and Riding a Camel

Rafeek and his adorable family

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Kerala and The Fort Kochi Muziris Biennale Art Festival

Before we ventured out...

A movie was being filmed at the home I was staying in.

They let me sit in on one of the scenes haha.

The Producer

"Action"

My first motorcycle ride (yes...I'm wearing a skirt...don't worry, I was very strategic)

Behind is the famous factory where everything is manufactured in Kochi.

You can see this landmark from all of the surrounding islands.

Bijoy

Holding my helmet as evidence that I was on a bike :)

"Stopover- Grinding Stones."

This was an art piece about a shift in society, the rice grinding stones, and spice trade in Kochi.

"The Last Supper- Gaza" by Vivek Vilasini

"The Sovereign Forest" by Amar Kanwar

(These are seeds from all over India. It was a piece about the multiple dimensions of India)

"Islamic Violins" (Describing the Fluxus Movement)

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The Chinese Fishing Nets

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Dinner and My Newly Adopted Family :)

Bijoy and I eating with chopsticks

Yum!

Wazim's friend, Bijoy (in the "window to nature")

My new little Kerala family

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Backwater Houseboat Tours- Kerala, India

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The next morning, I wake up to the vibrant reds and oranges of light beaming into my room through the velvet curtains. I hear a knock on the door, "Maddum?" and the same lady enters with a cup of freshly brewed coffee. I wish I spoke Malayalem, and I wish they understood my English. I start speaking to her anyway, "Good morning. Thank you so much. Nanni!" (sounds like nah-nee). She smiles and heads back down the stairs to leave my room. After I get ready, they have an entire breakfast waiting for me at the kitchen table- eggs, toast, coffee, a few Indian dishes, fruit, and silverware!

I finish my breakfast and go out on the porch to read before we have to leave. It is quiet. There is no honking, no people talking, just the peaceful sound of the fisherman in the water, birds in the background, and the trees moving in the wind. As I zone off into my book, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and the lady who brought my coffee is standing behind me smiling with a little girl beside her. She points to the little girl and says, "mine." The little girl smiles shyly and waves at me and then starts giggling to her mom. I say, "Ohh! This is your daughter?" They just look at me and smile. I try to tell her my name and I point to myself. I ask them what their names are but they don't understand. They start speaking, but I don't know what they are saying, so I just smile. Then they bring me photo albums and we sit outside on the porch and look through the albums together. At 9 o'clock, it's time for me to go. I wave goodbye to them and say, "Nanni." (thank you), because that's all I know how to say.

Rafeek and Sageer (one of the guys who helped make my breakfast) get in the car with me and tell me, "Houseboat tour." I smile. As we drive around, they have a conversation in Malayalem. I have no idea what they're saying. They know a little English, so they point out things as we drive by. I sit quietly in the back and take in my surrounds. We make a stop on the way and two little boys and a woman hop in the car. Rafeek tells me, "My boys. My wife." I smile and say hello to them. I try to tell them my name, but they just look at me and smile. As we drive to the houseboats everyone is talking and laughing, sometimes they look at me a giggle, and the boys will peak and me and then quickly look away. I just listen. It's nice to be able to just sit quietly and take in my surroundings, not having to say anything at all.

Sageer joins me on the boat, and Rafeek tells me, "4:30. Pick up." I smile and tell him, "Nanni." I wave goodbye to his family and and they wave back. Haha. His little boys are so adorable, and him and his wife are very cute together. I don't speak their language, but I can tell that there is a lot of love in that little family.

The rest of the day, like my morning, I simply observe. On our boat, there's a guy that cooks, a guy that drives, Sageer, and myself. They have a few conversations in Malayalem, and I simply take in everything in around me. The boats are carefully crafted using anjili (artocarpus birsuta) or teak wood. No metal pieces or nails are used to make the boats. There are large kettuvallams, like the one we are in, and canoes, and other little boats around us. The kettukallams were originally used as ferries or to carry rice. I spend the day relaxing, taking in the beautiful scenery, and appreciate my day of solitude. My surroundings are peaceful and calm. There are women cleaning fabrics outside in the river, men building boats, others weaving baskets and herding cattle. Women in their brightly colored dresses head out in groups and then scatter to work in the rice fields. They are very hard working but seem content. It is so different here than Mumbai. Our boat weaves along the river through the villages as we make our way from Kallam to Alappuzha between the Ashtamudi Lake and the Arabian Sea. There are mangroves, coconut palms, and wildlife outlining our path. As we weave through the nature, Sageer and the driver occasionally have conversations. Their voices turn into kind of a melody as I have no idea what they're saying. Their voices blend in with the sounds of nature around me. I love the silence. I simply sit and observe. Absorb the world around me and let it mold me. I take in my beautiful surroundings and remind myself how fortunate I am.

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Here are a few of the photos: (sorry there's a lot...if you double click on one, you can just scroll through them)

Sunlight through the curtains to my room in the morning

My little buddy in the morning

On our way to the houseboat tour, haha so cute.

That's how they drive around here, with the little kids riding wherever they want. I've also seen families piled onto motorcycles just hanging onto each other. A little different that the US...