Twenty- five Seven

A Kochi Sky

February 17, 2012

Last week I was in Kochi and found a skyline quite different from my usual Mumbai one. Staying on Chittoor Road which is parallel to the city’s main commercial street in the Ernakulam district, the buildings were hardly tall by Mumbai’s standards.

Sunrise over Kochi

It was lovely to wake up to this dramatic sunrise where the clouds seemed like whiffs of smoke rising up to the sky.

Connectivity with mobile networks rising up into the sky

This communication tower with all the boosters for mobile networks is the new age sculpture reaching out to the sky

Kochi still waking up

A gentle pink sunrise over a city that still maintains the charm of a small town

The Kochi Port Trust Building

If you are staying in Ernakulam ( as we were) the best way to go to Fort Kochi (where all the sights are ) is by ferry. Cheap, reliable and extremely comfortable, you can enjoy the cool breeze and admire all the fine buildings like this one which we thought initially was a fancy hotel!

The famous Chinese fishing nets at Fort Kochi

Fish eaters can actually visit these nets and fish their own fish which can be fried on the spot for an unforgettable meal.

The jetty at Ernakulam

Finally, the sight seeing done, we returned to Ernakulam happy to have made the journey at Rs. 2.50 per person!

for more skies go to
Wedding in Kerala

February 7, 2012

The wedding season seems still to be on and I have just returned from a traditional Nair wedding in Trivandrum. Like all traditional weddings it was fantastic and make for interesting viewing in a world where rituals and traditions have lost their meaning and where marriage itself has lost its sanctity.

Held at the prestigious Trivandrum club, the 2500 guests including some Cabinet ministers both in the local government and the central government, some prominent film stars and of course the many other dignitaries and families of relatives and friends were treated to an hour long Carnatic music recital performed by the Mysore brothers. The riveting performace held us spell bound not to mention the stir created by the entry of the glamourous people.

Bridesmaids bearing lamps escorting the groom

The wedding itself was simple with a welcome ceremony to the groom performed by the girls from the bride’s side. After the groom was brought on to the stage by his parents and introduced to the congregation, the bride was escorted into the wedding hall by the bridesmaids bearing lamps. There was a stunned silence as the young bride dressed in red and bedecked in jewelry was led up by her father and mother.

The groom tied the sacred “thali” round the bride’s neck, gave her a gift of a sari and some jewelry and then after they garlanded each other, they were legally man and wife.

The young couple made a handsome pair as they received their guests on the stage while the crowd exchanged pleasantries, caught up with gossip and news and share the splendid three course meal served in the adjacent hall.

The banana leaf waiting for the first course of rice to be served

This was truly an experience I would have been loathe to miss.
A traditional tea party for Sankranti

January 21, 2012

Last Sunday was Makar Sankrant which every Indian will tell you marks the beginning of the sun’s journey to the Northern hemisphere. This is celebrated with kites and the blue skies are suddenly populated with hundreds and thousands of brightly hued kites.

Since last year, however, I find that there are no kites flying outside my house apart from the avian variety. I don’t know whether to attribute this to the Marathon ( which was held last Sunday), a total conversion of our population into couch potatoes or a general awareness that kite flying is dangerous. Young children who pursue a kite fight unmindful of the sharp glass coated string tied to the kites, run on to the streets regardless of traffic. While the birds who fly into a string, literally get beheaded in the kite fights.

Despite fewer kites in the sky, this festival has not totally become extinct. At least the food part is still followed. There is an exchange of sesame sweets ( til ladoos and halwa) which signify a cessation of hostilities with the entreaty that ” please let bygones be bygones and let our interaction be as sweet as this exchange”.

One of the traditions of my community is to mark this festival with a tea party exclusively for women where the goody bag consists of seasonal berries, peanuts, a piece of sugar cane and some fresh green gram. This is given with turmeric and vermillion powder and a garland of flowers to put in one’s hair.

A cousin revived this tradition this year with a view to introducing her young grand daughter to this custom. As the ladies in traditional saris munched down the tasty eats and sipped tea and coffee, I wondered why tea time has been relegated to a quick cup gulped down in minutes?

There is something to be said for this elegant form of entertaining where people had all the time in the world to share some gossip over a cup of tea. Isn’t it?