Kochi: Of Spectacular Falls, Delicious Spices and the Dance Of Divinity

40 Cities| 17 Days| 65 Days. Follow the whole My Way on Highway Journey here.

Geography was never my strongest point growing up. I am sure there are a lot of kids who struggle to remember their maps to just pull through the darn exams. Well might I recommend a solution, time-consuming but effective? Take them on a trip across India. Cover each state one at a time and believe me you, every important river, mountain range, cuisine and capital will be impressed in their young minds forever. With that thought let me take you to how Day 33 progressed for us in Kochi aka Cochin!

50 Shades Of Green

We woke up sharp at 6 am. Reason? It was the day to speed off to the famous Athirappilly Falls. Though located only 70 kilometres away from Kochi, Google Maps indicated an approximate 1.5 hours of travel time. After the initial run on the modern roads amidst the many gold billboards (seriously!) and sleeping malls, we were greeted by the lavish green of God’s Own Country as we hit the insignificant but beauteous roads passing along small villages and towns. Other than the usual sceneries of coconut palms, banana plantations and Casuarinas, we spotted a panorama of rubber trees distinctly marked with small plastic covered bowls to catch the sap. Yes, that’s where your rubber tyres come from!

Niagra Falls Of India

At 80 feet, Athirappilly Falls have been rightfully referred to as the Niagra Falls Of India. An absolutely breathtaking sight, the luxurious waters fall pretty amidst verdant rainforest-like surroundings. The likes of Mani Ratnam have been smitten and rightly so for having shot three films here. Any guesses which ones those are? (Answer at the end of the blog). Travellers and locals make most of the delightful waterfall offering open every day between 8 am and 5 pm. Bathing right under the waterfall is a big NO. There are officials and plenty of warning signs to discourage the sensible ones. There are several mini cascades of fresh water in the area above the waterfall that are both inviting and safe for a dip.

Vazhachal Falls are the humble little sister about a 5-kilometers drive from the massive Athirappilly Falls. You can go there for a dekko at the same ticket you bought to see its famous big sister. We bumped in to Appu here, a travel buff who helped us with a lot of local gyaan. And hey, he was very excited to get the limited edition My Way On Highway super cool T-shirt from us!

Take Me Home

Ok, be honest. How many times have you gone to a charming restaurant and wanted a bunch of things from there to land at your place? You can finally make that whim come true at the Ginger House restaurant in the distinctive Jew Town (wish I had a whole day to spend there) in the Mattancherry area. Everything under the roof and in the outdoors of this waterfront eatery is up for sale (I am not kidding). Even the fork that you eat with! Extending from a 200-year-old warehouse that stocks exquisite antiques for sale, Ginger House has items that Royal Palaces are made of. The giant snake-boat canoe in the middle of the store, we are specifically told, is not for sale. About the food, the Kerala Prawn Curry spread was yum and the lemon chai was a good finisher. An easy-peasy choice for Trip Stop!

Mistress Of Spices

Coming to Kerala and not getting a whiff of the piquant spices that it is world famous for is almost a sacrilege. Jew Town of Kochi has a dedicated Spice Lane that is far from the most obvious images the mind conjures when thinking of masala bazaars. Clean stores are lined up with sacks, jars and packets of different spices in all types and varieties; and a polite host ushering you in. All forms of seasoning makes way here from far and wide, be it Palakkad, Wayanad or Malabar. I picked up some from an unusually named spice shop called Crafters that is run by an extremely affable duo of Dallas and Ashwath. They make nice 100 gm kits of garam masala spices that are both handy and cost-effective.

Dance Of Divinity

The MyWayOnHighway Road Trip has been pretty instrumental in giving shape to several wishes I have nurtured all this while. Watching a Kathakali performance live was one of them. Not just that, but we witnessed the artists do up their elaborate make up using vegetable colours with a sanctity that is hard to miss. Greenix Village near Fort Kochi was a wonderful setting for enthusiasts like us to interact with the dancers. Our kind host, Mutthu, a Thayyam dancer himself, told us that the beauty of Kathakali is such that brings different types of art forms together. Think again. Dance, Music, Drama, Literature and Painting! We saw the Narakasura Vadham taken from the Hindu epics and the brilliant performance left us spellbound. The green-faced lead actor, RLV Raju brought in 35 years of experience while his female lead, also played by a male who goes by the name Mohan, has been in the profession for 18 years.

As you can see, the day was quite an exciting one for us. Tomorrow we head out to Alleppey. And to my question above, Mani Ratnam shot portions of films Dil Se, Guru and Raavan at the magnificent Athirappilly Falls.

(Pictures courtesy Tariq Khan)