The Hill Palace, Kerala’s first heritage museum noted for royal collections of the erstwhile Maharaja of Kochi, is today the largest archaeological museum in Kerala. Built in 1865, the palace complex consists of 49 buildings in the traditional architectural style of Kerala, sprawled over 52 acres. On display in the full-fledged Ethno-archaeological museum are oil-paintings, murals, sculptures in stone and manuscripts, inscriptions, coins, belongings of the Kochi royal family and royal furniture including the simhasana (throne). Also exhibited are over 200 antique pieces of pottery and ceramic vases from Japan and China, Kudakkallu (tomb stone), Thoppikkallu (hood stone), menhirs, granite, laterite memorials, rock-cut weapons from the Stone Age, wooden temple models, plaster cast models of objects from Mohenjodaro and Harappa of the Indus Valley Civilisation. The museum also houses a gallery of contemporary art.
The architecture, the gardens and the ambiance was truly grand. The solid gold crown with valuable stones inlaid was the highlight of the exhibits. There is a Durbar Hall where the erstwhile King of Kochi decided to join the Indian Union and the first Princely state in India to do so.

We started to the Palaikari fisheries village and with difficulty we found the place tucked away in a by-lane. But we were not lucky, the place had exceeded its daily quota of people they can cater to. We were in a quandary and wondering where to go. I called up a good friend and he advised us to go to Fort Kochi. I have been to Fort Kochi quite a few times and my friends had visited once a long time back. We reached Fort Kochi at around 2 pm and our first visit was to the Jewish Synagogue in the Jew Town. We found the synagogue closed and the staff gone for lunch. We walked down to the nearby Udupi restaurant and had a very simple lunch, and topped it off with ice cream as desserts. We walked down to the Dutch Palace. It contains one of the most beautiful mural collection in Kerala. The exquisite murals are a delight and hats off to the masters whose works still survive from the 17th-18th centuries.

Dutch Palace / Mattancherry Palace – (Though the Dutch Palace has been named so, it was the Portuguese who built it and the Dutch merely did some cosmetic renovations and repairs). During the early decades of the 16th century, the Portuguese had plundered many temples in Kochi. In 1555, they built the palace and presented it to King Veera Kerala Varma with the hope of establishing trading relations with the kingdom. The palace is a two-storied structure, built in traditional Kerala naalukettu (quadrangular) model with four separate wings opening into a central courtyard. While the central courtyard houses a temple of the royal deity Pazhayannur Bhagavathi. The walls of the palace interiors decorated with intricate mythological mural paintings in rich warm colours. The mural paintings in the Royal Bed Chamber depict the entire story of Ramayana. The painting covers about 100 square meter and it is believed to be done between the 17th and 18th century. The murals that adorn the staircase walls are of Hindu gods and goddesses while the Royal Ladies room on the ground floor has paintings depicting the story of Kumarasambhavam by the great writer Kalidasa. There are five other panels in the room depicting Krishna Leela and Shiv Leela.

We walked back again to the Jewish Synagogue and we were amazed by the history of the synagogue, and the history of the Kerala Jews. There are a few Jews still living in Kochi.

Mattancherry / Paradesi Synagogue – The Jews of Fort Kochi, who fled their homeland – Israel during the Diaspora embraced Fort Kochi as their second home. The synagogue is situated at one end of the Jew Street in the Jew Town enclave of Mattancherry in Fort Kochi. It was built in 1568 by the Malabar Yehudans or Cochin Jewish community on the land gifted by King Rama Varma. The clock tower was built in 1760 by Ezekiel Rahabi an affluent Jewish businessman. Inside the synagogue, the décor is complete with the glass chandeliers and blue willow-patterned Chinese floor tiles. The Scrolls of the Law is housed here and the several gold crowns received as gifts and the brass-railed pulpit, and the copper plates proclaiming the privileges of the Jews of Kerala written in Tamil. Most of the Jewish settlers here have now left for their homeland—Israel.

We got to meet some interesting Kashmiri shopkeepers, who have made Kochi their home and selling curios to tourist. They offered us tea, we politely declined. Got back to our car and drove down to Fort Kochi Beach. We parked our car in Vasco da Gama square and walked around the place. It was teaming with travellers, street vendors, street salesmen, tea-shops, fishermen, tourists, and touts. The square was also a venue for a religious equality event organised by some local activists. We were drowned in the sights, the sounds, the smells, and the carefree environment of the beach. Walking down the beach, we saw the sun slowly setting in the west into the Arabian Sea. What a spectacular ending to a beautiful day!

It was about 6:45 pm and we thought it was not prudent to drive back to Thrissur. We stayed at the Tom’s Old Mansion homestay after approaching a couple of Realindia listed homestays. It was a clean place and priced quite reasonably. After freshening up, we walked back to the Vasco da Gama square and went shopping for clothes for the next day (we thought it would be just a day trip). There was an open restaurant and we had our dinner. The food was okay, but the service took a long time and that was a blessing in disguise to rest our weary legs. Later, we popped by the beach and watched some ships coming into the harbour and leaving to distant lands. It was a long day and we went back content to our homestay.

We woke up at 5:30 am the next day, and again left to the beach to see the sunrise, but the East being inland it was not so spectacular as the sunset.

We had one of the nicest morning teas from a Thattu Kada (street food vendor). Got back to the homestay and freshened ourselves, and after my shower… I walked down the lanes of Fort Kochi and got some interesting pictures of the streets, some churches, birds going about their morning food gathering, and some interesting people too.

For breakfast, we went to posh bakery/restaurant next door… a huge group of westerners followed us and the poor waiter could not handle the crowd. We left the place and went back to the Thattu Kada (street vendor) and had a sumptuous breakfast of Puttu, Kadala, Nool Puttu, Velaiappam, Pathiri (all Kerala’s native breakfast items), and tea. My friend remarked it just cost us one continental breakfast in that bakery/restaurant.

We came across the residents and tourists using the humble bicycle. We were not aware of the fact that bicycles were rented out. Came across some tourists riding bicycles and enjoying the very act of riding one. It is very advisable to see sights in Fort Kochi on a bicycle and connect with our inner child.

After the satisfying breakfast, we went over to the St Francis Church and we were amazed at the architecture and the sheer history of this place, being the first European church built in India.

St. Francis Church – The St. Francis Church is believed to be one of the oldest churches built by the Europeans in India and was originally built in 1503. The church witnessed various European invasions and during the Dutch invasion of Kochi in 1663, it came under their possession. In 1804, the Dutch surrendered the church to the Anglican Church following the British invasion of Kochi in 1795.  The church was renamed and renovated in 1886. The Church of South India (CSI) took over the administration and management of the church in 1949. The church has a lofty structure with a gabled timber framed roof covered with tiles. There is also a cenotaph and it was built in 1920 in remembrance of the Kochiites who laid down their lives in World War I. Vasco da Gama died on his third visit to Kochi and was buried in this church for 14 years and the remains were taken back to Portugal.

It was about 10:30 am and we went back to the homestay and checked out, and drove back to Thrissur happy with the impromptu visit to Fort Kochi.  Our trip was full of unexpected moments and sights, great street food, and meeting lots of wonderful people. Fort Kochi has always been a bohemian and cosmopolitan town with its mix of locals, traders, and tourists, a true melting pot of cultures.

Factual Text source: Kerala Tourism website, Wikipedia and other web sources.

Pictures by: Sastha Prakash for http://realindia.in/

The legend in front of the palace says:

“This palace was constructed during 1636 AD by King Thirumalai Naicker. It is said that the palace was designed by an Italian architect. It is a great example of Indosaracenic architecture. Originally, this palace was in two segments, Swargavilasa and Rangavilasa. Swargavilasa portion alone has survived. In this portion Dharbar hall and Natakasala remain in full shape. It is believed that one portion of this palace was demolished by Chockanatha Naicker the grandson of Thirumalai Naicker and the materials were taken to Thiruchirappalli. Only one fourth portion of the original palace remains at present. In 1858, Lord Naiper the then Governer of Madras took step to restore the palace.”

It is a quite an imposing structure with numerous big pillars that adds to the grandeur. There were a lots of local and surprisingly few tourists. It seems to be a favourite hangout for the college students.

I went about the cool interiors and ended up in a small museum. It had a motley collection of stone sculptures and a few reproductions of the Sittanavasal cave paintings. The museum is poorly maintained, but it is worth visiting this architectural wonder.

This palace is open for the visitors from 9 am to 5 pm and the entry ticket price is Rs.10.

Light & Sound Show:

The palace conducts a daily Light & Sound show that tells the story of Silappathikaram both in Tamil and English languages.

Timings:
6.45 PM to 7.35 PM in English
8.00 PM to 8.50 PM in Tamil

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Gandhi Memorial Museum

After the visit to the Thirumalai Naicker Palace, I took a bus to the other side of Madurai to visit the Gandhi Memorial Museum. The bus dropped me off at a distant point and took a walk to the museum. It was a nice walk through the clean, tree-lined road with a plenty of government offices on the either side of the road.

The Gandhi Museum is an imposing structure that was established in 1959. It is one of the five Gandhi Sanghralayas (Gandhi Museums) in the country. The historic Tamukkam Palace belonging to Rani Mangammal of Nayak Dynasty built about 1670 AD has been renovated and converted into the museum.

The museum is located in quiet place with “Visual Biography of Gandhi,” a special exhibition on “India Fights for Freedom” with 265 illustrations, depicting the history of the Freedom Movement, and a section called “Relics and Replicas.”

The museum containing photos, paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, quotations and some of the selected photocopies of many of letters written by Gandhi and some of his renderings. The ‘Visual Biography’ contains 124 rare photographs depicting various phases of Mahatma Gandhi right from his childhood days to his death and cremation.

The Relics section has 14 original artifacts used by Gandhiji. There is a Blood Stained Cloth of Mahatma Gandhi used by him on the day of his assassination, it is conserved inside a vacuum glass box.

The idea of nonviolence and the importance of Gandhi is well documented in this museum. I could see a lot of school children and families steadily flowing in and avidly observing the exhibits.

There is a library dedicated to the Gandhian studies and a small museum (which was closed on that day when I had visited).

There is no entry fee, but a voluntary donation can be made at the fag end of the museum. Photography is allowed with a fee of Rs.50/- which goes a donation to the museum.

I took the wrong bus but got off midway and got another bus to reach Simhakal, where I was supposed to get off and walk about half a kilometre to reach the temple. The city was preparing for the day ahead, head-load workers unloading vegetables, fruits, flowers, and other essentials from trucks that transported them to Madurai from various nearby villages. Cycle rickshaws moving around in zig-zag fashion to transport the recent arrivals.

Tea shops busy with morning walkers, office goers, old men catching up on news and gossip, and elderly women traders with wrinkled foreheads, thinking of various issues as they sip their tea. I stopped at one such tea shop and had a tea and ulundu vada. There was a freshness to everything around and such is the magic of early mornings, and enjoyed my walk towards the temple. I could see the freshness radiating even from emaciated sadhus and mendicants on the way.

I reached the East Gate/Gopuram and found that cameras are not allowed inside the temple… was a bit disappointed and deposited my bag and camera where one leaves the footwear. The two streets surrounding the temple is out of bounds for traffic, which is a very good move by the authorities, and the temple was totally fortified with police personnel and metal detectors. All devotees are frisked.

As you walk in you can see traders doing brisk business selling coconuts, flowers, incense sticks, camphor, bananas, packets of milk, curd, ghee… as offerings to the goddess, and beautiful sculptures peep out of corners of the shops. In a sense, I could transport myself to 1000 years back and envisage a similar scene with very little changes.

I could remember bits and pieces of my last visit about 20 years back with my college mates and teachers while we were on a study tour from Ooty. As I was entering the main block I saw on right the 1000-pillared hall and I heard so much about this hall from various sources, I could feel the strong pull towards this hall. Here one needs to pay a 5-rupee entrance fee and 50-rupees for using mobile phone camera. (I really don’t understand the logic here – one can use a mobile phone camera but not a camera-camera).

Once inside the Nayak-period 1000-pillared hall one can see a large bronze Nataraja with his consort at the end of the corridor lined by beautifully carved pillars – Carved pillars of heavily breasted yakshis, courtesans, Goddesses, Gods, dancing girls, Ganesha, half animal and human figures, paintings of Nayak period, and bronze statues.

Presently, this hall is maintained by the State Archeology department and serves as a museum. It has some of the finest bronzes I have ever seen. Nataraja, Somaskanda, Vishnu, Devi, Parvathi, and many others from different periods are showcased here. This one of the best museum settings I have seen anywhere in India.

It perfectly merges with the temple culture and gives an ethereal feel all over. I quite reluctantly left the 1000-pillared hall/museum.

I walked towards the sanctum santorum and now the crowds have started coming in. There were a quite a number of locals and tourists around. I noticed a young girl whispering into the ears of the Nandi statue at the entrance, (Meenakshi Amman is the principal deity, but her consort Shiva as Sundareswarar is also worshiped, so the Nandi (bull) statue). I asked the young girl what she told him… she replied that it is a secret with an impish smile. I smiled back and proceeded to into womb-like labyrinth.

The eight forms of Amman and fantastic ceiling paintings adorn the walls and ceiling. It was like walking into a celestial palace. The setting was so medieval and ancient that makes one wonder at the splendor and beauty of this creation. I had a beautiful darshan of the Goddess Meenakshi in spite of my myopic eyes. I was given a packet of Kumkum and moved on dazed.

I then wandered on to the temple tank and went around the other parts of the temple.

My entire experience was so beautiful that be equated to the second century AD, Nakkeeran’s poem:
“[For Madurai was] a city gay with flags, waving over homes and shops selling food and drink; the streets are broad rivers of people, folk of every race, buying and selling in the bazaars, or singing to the music of wandering bands and musicians… [Around the temple], amid the perfume of ghee and incense, [are stalls] selling sweet cakes, garlands of flowers, scented powder and betel paan… [while nearby are] men making bangles of conch shells, goldsmiths, cloth dealers, tailors making up clothes, coppersmiths, flower sellers, vendors of sandalwood, painters and weavers.”

Hardly anything has changed.

Historic background of Madurai’s Meenakshi Amman Temple:

Madurai is one of the most holy ancient towns in India and an important centre of Hindu civilisation. Madurai was a major terminus of the Spice Route. Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador who visited India in 302 B.C, recorded Madurai’s legendary riches. At the peak of the trade, during the reign of Nero, a Pandyan Embassy from Madurai was received in Rome. With the discovery of a Roman port near Pondicherry, the claims are much validated. Meenakshi Amman Temple (also called Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple and Meenakshi Amman Kovil) is a historic Hindu temple on the banks of Vaigai River. The temple the heart of the Madurai city for more than 2500 years and the present structure was built between 1623 and 1655 A.D. It has 14 gopurams (gateway towers), ranging from 45–50m in height.

The Legend of Meenakshi Amman:

Emperor Malayadwaja Pandyan, the successor to Madurai’s founder Kulasekhara Pandyan, and his consort Kanchanmala were unable to conceive any children. In attempts to have a child the Emperor conducted my rituals. After many such rituals, a 3-year-old girl with three breasts emerged from the ritual fire, who was the incarnation of Goddess Parvathi, and was named Tatatakai. The Emperor was a bit sad that he was not blessed with a son. But he brought her up like a son teaching her all about warfare and governance. It was also said that the third breast will disappear once she meets her husband that is Lord Shiva. After Emperor Malayadwaja’s death, Tatātakai ascended to the throne. She was loved by the people of Madurai and was fondly called “Meenakshi” – the one with fish-like eyes. Meenakshi went on a military campaign across the length and breadth of India. After conquering the entirety, Meenakshi attacked Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva. She defeated all the soldiers and generals of Lord Shiva. Seeing this, the Lord himself came to fight, but as soon as Meenakshi saw Shiva, the prophecy came true, she had found her man, and her third breast disappeared. They were married in Madurai with Lord Vishnu himself giving away Meenakshi to Shiva. Meenakshi Kalyanam, during the month of Chithirai, the marriage of Meenakshi with Shiva, is celebrated annually. And they ruled Madurai and considered ruling to date.

On route the bus stopped at a small restaurant in a place called Kanipatti and I had a sumptuous lunch (I always wondered how the sambar and other curries tasted great without the addition of grated coconut as we do at home in Kerala). The roads were great and there were few traffic snarls. Reached Madurai at around 2:30 pm and the bus dropped me off in a distant bus stop called Arapalayam. I tried calling Mr Chandrabose, with whom I had made prior arrangements for accommodation. Mr.Chandrabose runs a small homestay and a children’s home called Dil Se. I could not get through to him and with the assistance of Karthik I reached another bus stand called Mattuthavani and hired an autorickshaw to take me to Dil se Homestay. The autorickshaw driver took Rs.200/- for getting me there (I spent only Rs.190/- for 265 km to Madurai), it was a total rip off. Then I came to know there was no power at my host’s place and the owner’s phone had run out of battery charge. Anyways, I was glad to reach the homestay.

I met Mr Chandrabose and he was quite happy to meet me. We had spoken on the phone on many occasions and I have sent guests to Dil se through realindia.in

Mr Chandrabose is a Gandhian and a member of the Gandhi museum in Madurai and he runs an orphanage for young financially backward students. He currently has 12 children living him. Many have completed their term in school and some will be going home. Mr.Chandrabose soft-spoken person with varied interests in charity, Gandian studies, and peace activities. He has had a recent cataract operation and is limiting his travel and other activities.
Mr Chandrabose asked for tea and told me an amazing story related to his recent trip in January to Srilanka. This trip to Srilanka was organised by a Japanese Buddhist Organization called Nipponzan Myohoji (Japan Buddha Sangh). It is founded by Nichidatsu Fujii. They are a group of Buddhist monks and nuns of the Nichiren Buddhist sect, who pray for world peace and have pagodas all over the world.

The story is about a Japanese Buddhist monk during the peak of the Tamil Separatist movement. The monk lived in Jaffna and goes about the town beating a drum and chanting Buddhist slokas for peace and non-violence. The LTTE faction was not comfortable with this monk (as the Sinhalese are Buddhists but of the Hinayana sect and the monk of the Mahayana sect) and they kept threatening him. The LTTE forced the locals not to provide food and made life miserable for this monk. The locals smuggled food to this monk on occasions. The top people in Nipponzan Myohoji came to know the plight of this monk in Jaffna and they sent another monk to bring him back. Finally, the harassed monk left Jaffna for good to Chennai, India, but the other messenger monk stayed back for a couple of days more to see the ravages of war and pray for peace. On the fourth day, a different set of LTTE fighters saw this monk and mistook him for the earlier one and threatened him with death. The messenger monk did not resist and said if killing him will bring peace, he was ready to die. I was told the LTTE shot him dead in the same street square.

Now after the end of the brutal Srilankan war, the Nipponzan Myohoji foundation sends people to Jaffna and conduct prayer meetings in the same spot on the death anniversary of the messenger monk, and pray for his salvation and world peace. I was totally touched by this story and was glad that Mr Chandrabose related this to me.

Mr Chandrabose has built a small Buddhist temple in his village and Buddhist monks visit the temple and his place often. I had an opportunity to meet a lady Buddhist monk on the last day of my stay at Dil se Homestay.

My room was ready and a little boy came with me to show me the room. The rooms are located a bit away from the Children’s Home. It was clean and airy on the first floor. After freshening up, I went down to the main house and spent some time with the children of the home, who were spinning tops. I took some pictures of the boys and the surroundings.

I got back to the room and had a bath. At around 7:45 pm, a boy came and told me that dinner was ready. I had my dinner with the children of the home. The dinner was simple and tasty consisting of chappathis and cauliflower curry. Mr Chandrabose spoke to me about his life, the starting of the Home for children and how his wife and children were very supportive of this idea (his wife and children take active interest in running this home) He told me that apart from sending the children to school, he teaches them basic survival skills.

It was quite a day and I went to bed content and happy that there are some truly nice people in this world.

We reached Avalanche at about 11:20 am. I expected it to be devoid of other tourists, but I came to know it is open to tourists for the past 2 years. Now, they have an eco-tourism project and take tourists on a mini-bus ride through the thick forests. If lucky, one can see Nilgiri Tahr, bisons, leopards, sloth bears, sambar deer, and other wildlife. This ride costs Rs.150/- per head. A busload of tourists were about to embark on this journey. A short trek took us to a small stream.

The crystal clear water and the thick forest makes it a lovely picnic spot. I took a couple of pictures. The water was bone chilling cold and clear.

There is a trout farm nearby, which we gave a miss. Tt is said that the British introduced trout here in the early 1900s and fly-fishing is allowed with permission from the Fisheries Department.

As our original idea was to meet a homestay owner in Red Hills, we waited for the same bus to return from the powerhouse down the road. Some of Ramesh’s friends had come over and they were going back to Ooty and gave us a lift to Emerald village.

From the Emerald village centre, we took the road to Red Hills. It was a long trek. We reached the Emerald reservoir and took a break and soaked in the wonderful natural setting.

We set off again on an uphill trek. Even with the midday sun it was cold and I in spite of walking about 3 km, I still kept on my sweater on and hardly broke a sweat. We talked about our good old times, our old school, our classmates, our families, and we had a good laugh at our friend’s follies and antics, time flew. I was quite hungry and wasn’t quite prepared for such a long trek and assumed Red Hills was very close to Emerald village.

Half way to Red Hills, we came across a small cluster of houses.

Ramesh tells me one of his uncles lives here and we went in search of him.

We found him working in the farm behind his house. We were invited to his place and they offered us coffee, which we very gladly accepted.  Ramesh’s uncle Mr Mani left the hustle and bustle of Ooty and settled down here 30 years back.

He has a small store and cultivates vegetables, and enjoys the serene country life. He lives with his wife here and his children visit during the weekends, they are doing their engineering degree course in Coimbatore.

The coffee refreshed us and we set off again.

The trek was mainly uphill and we tried hitchhiking to Red Hills. The first two vehicles were Govt jeeps and they hardly noticed us and went by. The next was a small jeep which was going to the Destiny Farms (a nature stay of the Little Earth group) and they stopped and agreed to take us. We sat on cattle-feed sacks and it was quite uncomfortable, but it was an experience of a different kind and we were glad they gave us a lift. After a couple of kilometres, we resumed our walk.

And the vistas got better and better and more dramatic. Lakes below, cloudy horizons, blue skies, potato farms in varying degrees of growth, solar fences, tea plantations.

I could see a lot of birds in these area, great tit, pied bushchat, bulbuls, mynas, glimpse of a Nilgiri laughing thrush, a raptor, and lots of sparrows (Ooty and the neighbouring areas are a haven for sparrows).

Finally, on the next fork of the road, we see a small signpost ‘Red Hills’ and I was quite happy and relieved that the seemingly never-ending trek was coming to an end.

We walked another few metres we come to the most beautiful bungalow in an outstanding setting. Down the hills we could see a lot of agricultural farms, most of the Emerald reservoir’s extent, and breathtaking vistas 360 degrees.

Ramesh went over to meet the owner, but he had waited for us and had left a few minutes earlier. That was a bit of a disappointment. We got the permission to take some pictures of the cottage and the wonderful panorama around.

We were told a bus to Ooty comes around 4:30 pm and we better hurred up. We come down to the bend and waited. A jeep came by and, for a small fare the driver was ready to drop us off at Emerald village, where there are frequent buses to Ooty. We reached Emerald and had some tea and hot bondas. We were famished and hungry, hogged down a couple of bondas and tea. We got a bus at around 4:30 pm and reached Ooty by 5:30 pm.

It was a great trip despite the long trek to Red Hill Nature Resorts. I reached my room at Aura Cottage, asked for an early dinner and went to sleep by 8:30 pm.

Some information for travellers:
1. PR Ramesh manages a homestay in Ooty. He can arrange and conduct trekking tours, camping, and he knows the area very well. We are in collaboration with him to conduct a packaged tour… coming soon.

2. Avanlanche is 28 km from Ooty.

3. Avalanche Lake allows trout fishing with permission from the Fisheries Department.

4. Emerald village and lake is about 25 km from Ooty, picturesque landscapes, a good trekking area, and a haven for birders.

5. Redhills Nature Resorts is about 27 km from Ooty. The resort overlooks, Parsons Valley Lake, Emerald Lake, Avalanche Lake, and Porthy. It is a 100-year-old British bungalow.

6. The temperatures can dip to single digits, warm clothing is an absolute necessity.

Mr Roy came down after sending off a guest and spoke to me at length about their activities. Mr Roy is a shipping consultant, who had lived in the middle east for quite a number of years. His three children were all educated in the Middle East and now live in various parts of the world. The house is very nice, recently renovated. Everything looked well maintained and super clean. They have 5 rooms to let out in the homestay and they conduct daily cookery classes for the residents and outsiders. Anyone wanting to try their hand in Kerala traditional cooking need to book at least a day in advance. Mrs Leelu conducts the classes and shows the guest how the traditional masalas are made and the guests help her in cooking. Mrs Leelu teaches two kinds of fish curries, one the Christian fish curry and the other Kerala Hindu fish curry. The ingredients are all fresh. The guests have the food that was prepared and get Mrs Leelu’s recipes. Normally, fish curry and three vegetarian dishes are made in one class.

The couple stay in one part of the house and I found this place the very definition of a homestay. Mr Roy gave me a lot of information of the tourist attractions here and directed me to a veg restaurant nearby (it was very difficult to find a good vegetarian restaurant, Kochi being a coastal town and fresh fish was served everywhere).

Mr Roy spoke to me at length about the tourism in Kochi and the ills that plague this industry. The auto rickshaw drivers, touts, the drug peddlers, poverty tourism, etc. The very issues that Realindia.in is trying to address and to give the traveller a hassle free travel.

Leelu’s House is highly recommended by the Lonely Planet, the Rough Guide, and the Kerala Tourism department. I would definitely like to stay there and experience the cooking class one day. I was really glad that I met Mr Roy and Mrs Leelu who are such wonderful people.

[Image Credit: Photos taken from Leelu’s Homestay Facebook page with permission]

I took a couple of pictures of the cafe and Mr Santosh Tom walked in. He had been showing his property to a French tours operator. I asked him about adding his place to Realindia. He gave me the go ahead to include Vasco House.

The Vasco House has two rooms to let out. It has a wonderful staircase that leads upstairs. Mr Santosh tells me many movies scenes were shot here. He generates revenue during the lean periods by renting out his place to film makers.  As you enter, one can find a common room with board games.

Mr Santosh says the bedrooms are 400 sq. feet in size, I was kind of skeptical and when I saw it was indeed 400 sq. feet or so and I was in total awe, high ceiling, spacious room with three cots.

There was a marked difference in temperature from outside, I guess it has to do with the high ceilings and spacious interiors.

Each room has a private living room, stocked with books and magazines.

The other is room is identical and has a view to their small garden. Mr Santosh and his family live in the ground floor managing the homestay, the tours operation, and the cafe. I was totally impressed with the building, the rooms, the host, and the perfect old world ambience. Mr Santosh tells me, we try to give an experience of staying in a historic place.

It is a perfect setting to enjoy the quaint streets of Fort Kochi, with access to all the sights and treats of this port city.

I was happy that I stumbled upon this place and when I come back to Fort Kochi one day, I’ll definitely stay here. As I was walking away Mr Santosh comes running towards me, I had left my mobile phone at the cafe. I was doubly grateful.

The house is set within a neatly maintained garden with a hedges and a stone wall to provide privacy to the grass lawn where one can enjoy the warmth of the sun.

Two comfortably furnished rooms with attached on the first floor with its own independent access along with a hall, a little sunlit room is what is on offer to travellers.

One can wake up in the morning, take a walk along the full bloom Rose Garden, and enjoy a glimpse of the Ooty racing season. Enjoy the bright summer sunshine in the lawn, or go down to Ooty town to savour its main attractions.

Prarthana is the best of both worlds.

When Karthik went over to Ooty to meet his family friends…

The Vittalmoorthy’s are residents of Ooty for quite a long time now. Mr. Moorthy worked with and retired from the Hindustan Photo Films at Ooty. Mrs. Jeyalakshmi is a close friend of my mother’s and my mother was with us primarily to meet up with her. With their only son well settled in the US, the Vittalmoorthys find the house too large for their requirement. Being an enterprising person, Jeyalakshmi maami decided to register with the TTDC’s homestay program. One verification from the TTDC and two independent verifications by the police later, their house has been approved by the TTDC and listed on their site.

Prarthana is a double storied building, located on a hillside overlooking the race course. The Vittalmoorthys are letting out the first floor of the house, which has its own independent entrance. One enters a huge living room, and on its right are two bedrooms. Down the living room is the kitchen, which does not at this point of time have any cooking facilities. On the left is a small sun filled room with a divan that can be used as a reading room. This little rooms leads to a balcony where clotheslines are available.

The front of the house provides a panoramic view of Ooty town with the racecourse in the centre and hills around it. It makes for a striking picture in the morning sun, when the light is directly reflected off the hillside, and when parts of the valley are still in the shade.

There is a small and private lawn towards the right of the building, near the stairway leading up to the first floor. Jeyalakshmi maami is a keen gardener and she has a decent collection of Orchids and Cacti. The roses are not in bloom since its still early spring. But Summer should bring in a lot of colour to her garden.