Kerala is a much more touristy state within India. Unlike Maharashtra (the state that houses Nagpur and Chandrapur), Kerala is not as industrialized. It sits along the coast line and boasts of beautiful beaches and tourists spots such as the tea gardens in Munnar (where Vinay planned to take me) and the boat rides in the back waters of Kumarakom. There is also much less pollution and much more wealth.
My first impression of Kerala was of course, the airport and the city of Cochin. I already noticed a greater sense of organization that did not appear to be present in Nagpur or Chandrapur. The busyness of the streets, however, was just as intense.
One significant difference between the US and cities of India I have visited is the waste management system. India does not appear to have one. Never before have I considered the importance of waste management. At home, if I have trash in need of disposal, I take for granted that a dumpster or waste basket is but a few minutes away. In India, I have found very few trash cans. Even homes do not frequently have one. What happens to the trash? Some of it is thrown outside, the rest I’m still not quite sure. I saw a newly built apartment complex today as we were driving through Cochin, very modern. I looked below and saw nothing but trash covering the ground around the apartment buildings. Even the few waste baskets or dumpsters I have spotted in India were overflowing with trash as though they hadn’t been attended to in days.
Despite this, Cochin did appear better than Chandrapur or Nagpur, although Vinay said it looked worse than the last time he had seen it.
Vinay wanted us to go shopping as soon as we reached Cochin, so we spent some time at the local stores purchasing gifts and souvenir items before meeting his grandmother for dinner.A picture of me picking out some clothes:
Vaikom, the town Vinay’s grandmother lives in, was a 45 minute drive from Cochin. Upon arrival, I entered the home and greeted the hostess.
“Ammachi!” After much practice, the Malayalam word for grandmother easily escaped my mouth.
Vinay’s grandmother grinned and tightly grasped my hands. She didn’t speak a word of English, but the delight in her eyes was obvious. Here is a picture of myself and his grandmother:
She is a very sweet woman, and although we couldn’t communicate, I felt an immediate bond between us.
I was also introduced to Vinay’s aunt, his mother’s sister. They fed us dinner. Afterwards, I was presented with a gift from each of them – two different sarees. Ammachi gave me a beautiful cream colored material with an intricate gold trim design – apparently it is the traditional Kerala saree (Later I learned that different states within India have different traditional forms of dress). His great Aunt handed me a lovely sapphire fabric.
Our day ended not too long after dinner was finished.
You look so pretty. I miss you so so so so so so so much. I hope that you're having a GREAT time and that you feel better. I can't wait for you to come home. Be thinking of a good night sometime soon that ya'll can come for dinner at the new house. I can't wait to see you and for in person tellings of your adventures. I love you both and can't wait to see ya'll. Love Karen
ReplyDelete