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Well, boys and girls, Kerala was fun. We didn’t plan to do very much when we were there, but Infosys Grrl and I didn’t have a moment to spare: looking back at it, we did manage to do a fair bit. In Calicut, we went to a “resort” – just to see what it would be like. I have to say that though “Kadavu” (the resort) was in a breathtaking location overlooking a coconut-tree lined riverbank and a couple of small islands in the river, the experience itself didn’t wow us. We spent a lot of money on a meh lunch, and then were shooed away from the path down to the river because we didn’t have a “boating permit” – in other words, because we clearly didn’t look like wealthy foreign tourists, who were the only people we saw actually staying at Kadavu. I’ve always thought it’s sad to see Indian staff internalize the racism and classism of their colonial masters and these so-called resorts seem to be a prime example of contemporary iterations of such internalized racism and classism. And all of this even though we arrived in state at Kadavu with a car and driver lent to us by another of Infosys Grrl’s many Keralite relatives. I can only imagine what kind of a reaction we’d have received had we arrived – as we’d originally planned to – in an auto!
Anyway, it gives me great pleasure to report that there is a little walkway past the bridge that leads to Kadavu from Calicut where everyone is welcome to walk down to the river and paddle about to their hearts’ content!
There were other great things about Calicut – since Infosys Grrl knows it really well, she took me shopping for block-printed material that I could have made up into dresses. And we bought so much of it – mostly to give away – that the sales guy offered to have salwar kameezes made up for us in an hour if we wanted them! I had to try it – and honest to goodness, this lovely woman who spoke nothing but Malayalam took my measurements and figured out what I wanted and produced it for me in 90 mins. And darlings, with an “urgent” surcharge, the making up of the salwar suit cost me Rs. 125 (that’s at an exchange rate of about Rs. 40 to 1$ Cdn). There’s nothing I can say about the price of labour in India without sounding hypocritical so I shall just leave y’all to imagine living on these kinds of wages for yourselves… especially when globalization has meant that it is perfectly possible to order U.S Pizza (that’s the chain’s name) even in Calicut. A medium cheese pizza costs Rs. 350.
We made it back to Cochin the next day, went on another boat ride and then made out way back to Bangalore, where it was my turn to expose Infosys Grrl to crazy rellies. We visited two of my cousins and their families and all engaged in a round-robin game of buying each other gifts. So I acquired two pairs of pants and a kurta top (all from Fab India, which I still love – see my first post on this blog!) and bought two kurta tops and a kid’s costume for other people. I don’t know who won the game, though my “cousin brother” bought Infosys Grrl and me tix back to Mysore and prepaid the autorickshaw that brought us to the railway station… Life Indian style!
Life Indian style is continuing. We got back to Mysore in time for my Aunt’s 60th birthday, celebrated it with a visit to the local temple (whoo-hoo!) and a family lunch for 40. That was yesterday – and after a crazy night of laundering and ironing and packing, we’re all off (moi, Ma Mere and the 60-yr old Aunt) to Jaipur. I’m on the train now. And… and… if all of this wasn’t chaotic enough, a friend of mine from Toronto – shall we call her Canadian-in-India? – arrived in Bangalore at about the same time as I was frantically washing my grubby smalls. She was met at the airport by another of my many cousins who is bringing her to join our train in an hour or so – the train from Mysore to Jaipur goes via Bangalore. The cousin from Bangalore – she’s going to be Call Centre Grrl, since she used to work for the AOL call centre in B’lore – is also coming with on this family and friends excursion to Jaipur and Agra and Delhi so we shall be the Party of Five (women). I’m only hoping that my poor Canadian-in-India will be able to deal with the zany women of my family! In any case, she claims she wants to see India and experience it and I can’t imagine a more “authentic” way to do that than to be cooped up with all of us for a 3 day train ride! And then to spend the next 10 days traipsing through what’s called the “golden triangle” of Indian tourism with us all…. Actually, after the trip to the north, we’re both planning to take off alone so poor Canadian-in-India will have a chance to recover from her experiences with my family at some point in the near future. For now, though, it’s onto Bangalore and our meeting up with Call Centre Grrl and Canadian-in-India.
More soon, I expect!
