Kerala House Boat Tourism and Some Thoughts Arising From It!

A speeding House Boat in the Vembanad Lake of Alleppey

I was very delighted to see a small news clip in a Malayalam TV channel yesterday about the inauguration of an internet portal that provided travel enthusiasts the much needed information about the Kerala luxury house boats.

A small wooden boat in the approach channel 

to Vembanad Lake at Alleppey

This new online Kerala House Boat information and booking website which came into official existence is www.myboattrip.com which is a safe and secure website.

 

An Alleppey House Boat

The ever shining Malayalam actor Mohanlal [മോഹന്‍ലാല്‍] reportedly inaugurated this website which is an initiative by M/s Safe Boat Trip Private Limited of Kerala.

A House Boat in the Backwaters of Kerala

The house boat tourism began in the back waters of Kerala a couple of decades ago in a big way when an enterprising Kerala businessman built the first luxury houseboat for tourism purposes, spending millions. But houseboats called kettuvallam (കെട്ടുവള്ളം) have been in existence in Kerala rivers and backwaters perhaps for centuries. They have been used for days long journeys through the calm backwaters and rivers of Kerala. I remember enjoying a lunch inside a kettuvallam during my early childhood days. It was owned by some of our relatives who lived in the water locked Kuttanad area who came all the way travelling through the Pamba river to attend the famous Christian annual convention called the Maramon Convention. That was some time in the Nineteen Sixties. 

Coconut Palm grove and the backwaters of Kerala

The rivers and backwaters of Kerala always have been awesome for me, but regrettably I could not get much opportunities to experience it to the full. I have written about some aspects of those in one of my blog article (read 'my love and hate relationships with water')

The Backwaters of Kerala

Since most of my adulthood, I had spend outside Kerala, my exposure to the natural beauty of my home state is much limited. But whenever I visit my village, I keep thinking about the enormous potential of tourism in my home state. It is not that the Kerala government and the several private players have not done much on this. In fact they have done lot many things including the projection of Kerala as ' God's Own Country'! But whether they have done full justice to that phrase is a debatable issue.

Another House Boat in the Lake shore 

with the Coconut Palms

The first and last time that I could view the awesome glory of the Kerala backwaters, especially the Vembanad Lake in full was some time in 1969 when I was a high school student studying in the St. Thomas Higher Secondary School, Kozhencherry. Kozhencherry is a small town of Central Travancore area of Kerala located in the banks of the Pamba river. (Incidentally, this is the place where the now famous Mutthoot group began their small chit fund business decades ago. It is also the nearest town to the now failed Aranmula International Airport Project ) 

A large 7 Bedroom House Boat

In those days in the 1960's, tourism was not developed as an industry in Kerala. The Kerala roads and the water ways were much better maintained by the state government and the facilities were reasonably good when compared to the demands. My father allowed me to travel first time to the twin cities of Ernakulam-Kochi alone to book a railway ticket, a facility that existed only in the Ernakulam Railway station then. I could reach Ernakulam city situated about 120 km away from my home village, Elanthoor, within about 3 hours time then (some thing which is impossible now due to traffic congestion), travelling on a Fast Passenger bus operated by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). By the time I completed the task of booking the railway berth, it was late after noon. Now, the possibility of my returning back to my home village by bus posed some problem. There used to be KSRTC Fast Passenger buses that plied in the night and possibly one them could have taken me to Chengannur, the nearest major town located on the main central road of Kerala which is about 18 km away from my village. But by the time I reach, Chengannur, it would be late night and all public transports to my place would stop ( the situation is more or less the same even now!)

A Kuttanad Lake Side House in Kerala

So, I decided to get in to a lodge and stay there over night. In those days, a lodge room was available in Kochi for budget travelers within Rs.10/- per night! But before getting in to any lodge, I decided to have a stroll to the ferry that existed by on the banks of the Vembanad lake on the western side of the railway station. When I reached there, the time was about 8.00 PM. There were several big motor boats which looked almost similar to the KSRTC buses above the deck. They were like buses placed on kettuvallams! In fact, they were the public transport boats owned and operated by the Kerala Water Transport Corporation for the people of the Kuttanad region. When I reached there, I saw one of the boats with a prominent board placed on it reading-Chengannur. It was indeed a boat which was going to Chengannur. I had no idea how this boat from the backwaters would reach Chengannur through the water route! Any way I got it confirmed and got inside. The conductor was a little surprised initially, because it was the first time that he was getting a passenger who is boarding his boat for such a long trip from the starting point to the end point! The ticket charge was surprisingly low. It was just three and a half rupees- much lower than what I had to pay for the overnight stay in the lodge! The boat, as I was told, would be reaching Chengannur next day morning. It was just alright for me because I would be spending the whole night in the boat and in the morning I would get the bus from Chengannur to Elanthoor. It was my first experience on a diesel boat of the water transport corporation. As the boat started to move in to the depths of the sea like lake, I found it surprisingly smooth and with good speed. There were hardly a few passengers and they were all going to their water bound Kuttanad homes unlike me. I enjoyed the night view of Kochi from the boat as it moved away from the Kochi harbour beside several big ships anchored there. In another one or two hours time, heavy rains started. But it caused no problems for the boat or its travel. On its way, it stopped at different boat jetties and that process too was new to me. 

A Passenger Boat Moving in the Backwater Channels

The boat had two crews. One steered it from his cabin at the top while another operated its diesel engine from the engine room below the water line. The communication between them was just a string operated bell. Yet they worked quite in good synchronization without their boat making any wrong moves. Yet it did happen. Some time in the midnight, the boats propeller hit some thing and got partially damaged. It moved slowly afterwards upto Alleppey where it was placed in a boat workshop. It too was some thing new to me. I watched the whole process of boat repair with much enthusiasm during the night till dawn. After the repair, the boat moved again and entered the Pamba river. By the time it was already morning. I had the unique opportunity of watching the Kuttanad life by being in that boat till it reached the boat jetty of Chengannur which situated just below the MC road bridge. This boat jetty is no more functional now.

A Foreign Tourist Enjoying Sight Seeing in a House Boat

Years later some time in 2007 I got the second opportunity to make a small motor boat journey in Vembanad lake from the Alleppey side after the house boat tourism became much popular. The pictures in this blog page were taken during that time.

A Kuttanad House and its Common Transport Means

My non Keralite friends who happen to visit Kerala do tell me their appreciation of Kerala's natural beauty. I do agree with them. Kerala is unique in India and it is really beautiful when compared to the other Indian states. But had the Kerala government been a bit more careful with their administration, there are much more things they could have achieved in this state. Tourism industry could grow tremendously if they improve the roads, the transport, get more trained professional tourist guides, get more online travel portals, etc. Air travel to Kerala is much expensive as compared to some other air ports, even when it has three international airports within a span of 600 km.

A Luxury Hotel by the Lake Side

Kerala has been a centrally neglected state all through out because of the peculiar submissive nature of the Kerala politicians and bureaucrats who represented it in the Central government and its organizations. Kerala has been a non entreprising state always collectively, even while the Kerala people remained much more educated and industrious individually. The reason for this, in my opinion, is the peculiar political attitudes of the people. They fight each other on imaginary ideologies, totally ignoring the practical aspects of life and business. Because of this, Kerala businessmen are careful not to make themselves exposed much in the public! It is common knowledge that many Keralites are specialists in leg pulling. When they find some one among them successful, their sleep is lost and they may go all out secretly or openly to reverse the success of their fellow being!

The White Sandy Beach of Alleppey and the Arabian Sea

That is the reason why many Keralites prefer to venture out of their state to try their fortunes. Within their own state it requires far more efforts to become successful because of the pulls exerted by many of their local cousins. In a larger context, this is true to India as well. There are millions of successful Indians in the developed nations who are all contributing their knowledge and skills for making their second homes to prosper while they would have been just average performers within their own country because of the local pulls of other Indians at the home land! (Read more about this narrow mindedness in the blog I wrote yesterday)

The Waves of the Arabian Sea

Barring a few, most media in Kerala shy away from giving any publicity to news relating to business initiatives. I tried to get more information about the news that I mentioned in the beginning of this article. I could not find any of the Kerala online news papers covering this news of Shri Mohanlal inaugurating the new travel and tourism portal in Kerala.

 Scenic Beauty of Kuttanad!

In my opinion, it is high time that the Indian media learn to move away from the politicians and give undue importance to their thoughtless voices and acts. The public also should understand the futility of going after the politicians. If the politicians are doing some thing good for the nation, that should be acknowledged. Not otherwise! Instead, the wealth and job creators efforts should get more public appreciation. All businessmen who have become successful in creating large business organizations that provide worthwhile employment to the Indians should be appreciated more than the politicians.

Author's Niece Having A Hands On Experience!

Why some nations are highly developed while some others like India are not? Perhaps, talents and resources are more in India than perhaps all other nations. But regrettably, we lack the fundamental knowledge and attitudes that are required for efficient management of resources, including our human resources.

Near View of A Luxury Hotel and their Speed Boats

From personal experience, I have come to the conclusion that Indian organizational systems are antagonistic to progressive work. All our rules and procedures are based on mutual suspicion and fear. Perhaps it is all because the rules and procedures of Indian organizations are all made mostly by non-progressive narrow minded individuals. In many organizations, especially in the government controlled organizations, people simply cannot give their best out puts because the systems do not allow them to work! People are seldom provided the facilities that they require for executing their respective works in the appropriate times!

Another Kuttanad House

Often, the capable person to do a particular work is alienated and he or she may not be assigned any work. Instead, the work is likely to be assigned to persons who are not capable to do that work.

Incredible, is n't it? But then, that is the way things generally happen in India! Kerala is no exception!

I would request all the retired high officials of India to do some introspection in this context. How did they work when they were in power positions? Did they work as broadminded mentors? 

They should also give some thoughts on the ways and means by which the water tourism industry is promoted ensuring safety and security to the tourists. Accidents and untoward mishaps should not happen to mar the industry and the livelihood of the people who are depended on it. It is reported that the number of houseboats in the backwaters of Alleppey has already crossed one thousand. Do the government and the local authorities have some mechanism to improve the infrastructural facilities and the vigil?

Just sharing these thoughts with those who are capable of thinking positively.

Would you reciprocate with your reactions?

The Power of Synchronization of Thoughts and Actions!

Everything in our world now is a mixture of anarchy and chaos with some peace and synchronization achieved here and there. 

Anarchy and chaos are signs of destruction and weakening. But synchronization is a sign of peace and power.

Synchronization means streamlining or making things move in perfect coordination. On the other hand, chaos means a situation in which everything moving independent of every other thing.

Electrical engineers who work in a power plant know what is synchronization in electrical energy. The electrical power they make through their alternators cannot be brought to the outside world unless its phases are synchronized with the power grid. If the non synchronized electrical power is connected, it causes great damage and destruction. 

The military people know the power of synchronization of their acts. The first step to make a soldier is giving the military training that enable the soldiers to be disciplined to work in unison. We have seen how the marching soldiers move in unison during their parades. If their thoughts and actions are not trained to be disciplined, they all work independently or even antagonistically to each other and would never be able to achieve any success. Their individual capabilities and power would become useless or even destructive when they are not synchronized in thoughts and actions.

Organizations make good progress and achieve their goals and objectives when the people of the organization think and work in unison for achieving an objective. Organizations having more and more synchronized people would be more successful than organizations having lesser numbers of synchronized people. That explains why some organizations are good and successful while many others are not.

Successful businessmen know how to synchronize their thoughts and actions. Their success also depends on how they are able to get like minded people to work for them or how they make the people work in synchronization.

For highly egoistic people, synchronization is a difficult thing. They find extreme difficulty to synchronize their thoughts and actions with others. For such people maintaining consistent success in life is very difficult. Even the success they apparently seem making in life is due to the synchronization of some others with them.

All people are different and unique. All men and women have their own free will of choices for taking decisions and actions. Their likes, dislikes all are in different levels. 

Like minded people, given an opportunity, may join together to form synchronized groups for certain areas where they are all in an agreement for thoughts and actions. 

For advanced people removing their egos and personal choices for achieving synchronization with others is much easier to achieve. They have the power to adjust by their own free will. But for people of inferior minds, this may not be so easy. They need external inducements of fear or cheer to make them adjust to others.

Our world can become more and more in positive synchronization with more and more people, provided we will fully try to remove our thoughts that prevent synchronization.

When more and more among us achieve the power of overcoming our inherent weaknesses by using our free will, our world would begin to move in the positive direction of progress and development.

Then more and more of us would know how to be synchronized with ourselves and with others.

More and more of us would then be in peace with us and others. Chaos and anarchy keep reducing. Peace, positive energy and goodness would begin to show more and more every where! 

You may also read these news and articles on brain wave synchronization. 

Sharing Some Pieces of Wisdom Thoughts That I Received Today With My Readers !

My friend Prof.Ujjager Singh Kooner has a very appreciable habit of sharing many pieces of humour, wisdom thoughts and interesting information to his friends by e-mail. No doubt there are many such good people in this world who take pains to create such thoughts and ideas in to pleasing visuals and keep sharing these with their friends and followers. 

While many writers and bloggers do things for some material returns and personal benefits, there are a big community of people who do such things without expecting anything in return. 

Whether done for some benefits or not, their services are to be appreciated. Kudos to all of them. 

Let me  share some of those visuals that I received today from Prof. Kooner. I am in full agreement with the wisdom thoughts reflected in these visuals.

[Courtsey: All those unknown creators and publishers!]

Some Random Thoughts about Food, Living, Intelligence and Spiritual Wisdom !

The internet space has lot of information on foodstuffs of various kinds. Many sites are dedicated to cooking and healthy eating habits. Recipes of various kinds could be obtained by searching the net. But, yet I find there is some need for a comprehensive coverage of these raw food items at one place especially to aid those in India who use Hindi, Malayalam or English for their day to day communications.

For survival human beings need energy. Energy is obtained from foods that contain carbohydrates, such as starch, sugars, glucose and the like. Energy value of a food item is measured in terms of calories. Additionally they need some other foods that provide some other essential ingredients for various purposes and processes of their living bodies. Ideally the food taken by human beings should contain the following:

1. Carbohydrates (starch, sugar, glucose) and fats (oils, meat) for energy.

2. Proteins for body growth, cell repair and upkeep.

3. Roughage consisting mainly of dietary fibers which are not absorbed by the body, but are essential for smooth movement of food through the 8 m long alimentary canal aiding digestion and waste elimination.
4. Minerals which are compounds of metals and non-metals found in various foods which are required in low quantities for the body to synthesize various complex compounds for innumerable body functions.
5. Vitamins, which are complex compounds
6.Water, the main constituent of body cells and blood and the medium for expulsion of unwanted soluble wastes materials.
7. Ingredients that enhances taste, smell and color of food.

People have many common features and at the same time are different in many other features. So, eating habits, likes and dislikes and the manner in which food is digested, absorbed and utilized by the body all differ from person to person.

While statistical results published by various kinds of researchers may be useful for enriching our general knowledge in food and food related benefits and problems, it is foolishness to blindly believe such data as universal truths.

Enjoying a good or tasty food is not a sin. But living only for food indulgence is nothing less than a sin.

How much one should eat? And how often? It is foolishness to follow some rules always. If you follow rules for every thing, you degrade yourself as a robot. You degrade your human existence to that of a humanoid.

It is better that you make wise decisions based on your own judgments. After all why do you have that huge brain with all those intelligence if you are not to use it ?

At the same time, it is not a good idea to waste your time always thinking about food to take those wise decisions. There are much more important things in this life than food.

Human life is a mixture of many things. It involves survival, material existence, creativity, friendship and fellowship, discharge of duties and responsibilities and a desire to find the real force behind life whom we sometimes call as God. The latter desire when nurtured properly progresses towards an understanding towards the purpose of life. A man or woman who is realizing the purpose of life has progressed towards what is known as spirituality.

How to progress from material well being to spiritual well being? Is it essential?

Again, your own assessment is the best guide. You have all the inherent faculties and abilities for that judgement.

Is it possible for life to sustain without taking food?

Logically speaking, it should be possible. Food is required as an energy source for us because our body hardware is presently designed in that manner. Those who have designed it that way, logically should have known the methods of designing it in some other way as well.

For example, look at the plants. They are living. They take energy from sunlight and even convert the excess light energy as food for those living beings of the animal kingdom.

The divine designers of plants and animals have the knowledge to do it.

Then, why did they not give us that ability?

I think it is foolishness to question the higher intellectual wisdom of the divine designers of life.

Perhaps, they might disclose those secrets to us some appropriate time.

I am fortunate to learn some thing of the divine wisdom and I am truly amazed!

  

Some Odd Thoughts from an Odd Indian Mind !

Suppose that you need a good driver to drive your brand new super deluxe car which you recently got spending a good fortune. The question is selecting a person and appointing him for a responsible work. Since you have spent a good amount in capital you perhaps do not mind spending a recurring monthly amount to pay off his salaries for a few years.

“Indians are penny-wise and pound-foolish.” This is what some of those in the west say about us Indians. I do not know how much truth is there in it. Penny or Pound, we are the wisest in the world!

So confronted with the question of appointing a driver, we are going to use our wisdom to the fullest. After all, lots of stakes are involved. We know it very well.

Now the question is how to do a wise screening to select a good person. Since you are a moneyed person, you perhaps have knowledgeable and wiser persons in contact with you whose advices you might get even without your seeking.

There are thousands of unemployed persons in this country having many certificates from certificate producing factories and it might not be wise at all if you ignore those certificates. That could be one advice!

You spotted a good fellow and perhaps wanted to appoint him, but his demand was a little on the higher side for which you had no problem, but your advisors did not agree. They were arguing against the ‘bad’ trends that would be created in the economy, including ‘price-rises’.

Some of your friends might approach with recommendations.

But since the selection is going to have a direct consequence on your personal life, you perhaps won’t come in any of these advices and finally would select the person of your choice, most suiting to your needs. You would rather go by your gut feeling.

Now think about this. Would you have selected a person with a good percentage of marks shown in his certificates having also a driving license and requisite experience but with some such qualities you disliked? The chances are less. In this case those undocumented qualities that you liked in the person are also very important.

So, you are going to be very careful to select your driver.

Similarly, a private entrepreneur will be very cautious and choosy to select his team of employees when he starts building his business.

Because he knows very well that business is three M’s: Money, Machine and Men and the last makes all the difference in deciding his fate!

But when it comes to our public life, we just don’t care about all these.

Just any one and every one will suffice our purpose. Just any one is capable of doing any job. We truly believe in ‘socialism’.

Just any one can be our MPs, MLAs. No need for screening! No need for checking the credentials! No need for our gut feelings! Though we know that these fellows are also drivers- drivers for not just one, but for the whole nation!

Yet in some other cases, we have extremely good ones selected with extremely bad ones to pair up as teams to do a particular task. And then we complain about their not accomplishing the tasks the way we wanted. Is it fair?

I know these are odd thoughts. But such odd thoughts do come in. I am helpless!

[Reproduced from the Author's Blog at SiliconIndia]

Why do I write blogs ?

In this advanced age of computers and the internet, millions people especially those who are born in the computer age, write their thoughts on what is now known as 'blog sites' in the internet parlour, an acronym derived from the two words,  web and logs.

In my childhood days computers were just beginning to make an impact in this world. When I was an engineering student way back in the early seventies of the last century, we had to do a lot of engineering calculations. In those days we had no other options other than to use printed logarithmic tables to do tedious calculations involving multiplications, divisions and power functions. This method was very cumbersome and boring.

To ease our calculation efforts later on those days we were allowed to use a cute instrument in the form a measuring scale with the sliding scale fitted inside called the 'slide rule' to find the results of lengthy calculations involving multiplications, divisions and roots. This precision sliding mechanical device used to get imported from Germany and was expensive too in India- the cost being half a month's salary of my middle class dad who worked as a high school teacher. Besides, the results it produced were only approximations and not the exact numerical!

Imagine our great joy and surprise when this electronic gadget called the pocket digital calculator got invented and was brought to our college to the first time by some fortunate colleague whose parents had access in the foreign markets. It had red light LEDs and it gave out all those calculation results accurately just at the press of a small button! In fact we were seeing this wonderful light emitting diodes for the first time!

The electronic revolution began and invaded quite fast that within a few months these cute gadgets were in the hands of most of us. Though it used to cost a fortune, the cost was comparable to the slide rule. In no time the slide rule manufacturing companies located in Germany might have closed down or ventured into other business opportunities!

Then during my higher studies, I had the opportunity to work with the big size computers of the 2nd generation and the third generation such as the IBM 370, DEC 2050 etc. There were a few centralized computer centres set up in national level educational and research institutions in India at that time costing millions of rupees. I considered it a great opportunity  to get privately associated with a computer hardware engineer who came to install and commission the 4th generation DEC computer in the computer centre built up at University of Roorkee in those years where I was a PG student of chemical engineering. 

I remember secretly admiring my hardware computer engineer friend for his vast knowledge in the wonder area of computers. At the same time I remember him telling me about his admiration of me having knowledge in the field of chemical technology on which he had little idea! That was an incident making me realize the importance of having mutual respect between each and every individual. Because every other person knows some thing that I do not know!

Now back to the subject. Why do I blog?

Why did I write the above ? Is it that I want to become famous which other wise I cannot have achieved? But what shall I be going to achieve by simply becoming known to some strangers here and there?

Here a story which I used to hear when I was a kid comes to my mind. 

It is about a poor wood cutter. This poor chap was not able to afford rice and  most often he and his family had to eat rice bran which was available as a cheap cattle feed. But at the same time this cheap rice bran with a little mixing with coconut flakes and cheaply available country made molasses could transform itself as a tasty and rich food for him. The only problem was that this food was labelled as a cattle feed by those who could afford eating rice always!

So this poor chap was always cursing his situation which he considered as pathetic as compared to those rich fellows around him who survived on rice making him to rely upon rice bran that the rich fellows discarded as cattle-feed.

But quite by chance, on an occasion when he was called for some manual work in the local king's palace, he was taken aback by the accidental site of the king eating the same rice bran food that was supposedly food for the cows and people like him.  It was a shocking sight for him- the king relishing on this cattle feed ! Then the king saw him. The king warned him of dire consequences if ever he told this incident to any one ! Obviously, the king too feared the negative publicity that such an incident could create!

Our poor wood cutter was now in a dilemma. 

He wanted to tell his wife and his children about what he had seen. He wanted to tell all about it. That the king too ate the same cheap food that they were eating !

But if he did that perhaps the king would punish him. The little knowledge that this fellow had in his mind boiled. He had to tell every one. But there was no opportunity for that.

Then one day while he was alone in the deep forest for cutting bamboo poles, this fellow released the secret that was contained in his little brain for all these days by shouting with all his might to the bamboo forest : 

" Oh! the king too ate cattle feed !'

The story further continues with what happened later. A bamboo piece from the same forest became part of a musical instrument  and the wood cutter became scared of the music that came out of it. The music appeared to him as resembling what he yelled out secretly in the forest!

Perhaps that could be the reason. I have many such secret thoughts in my mind which I fear telling the folks around me. They could ridicule me or reprimand me for telling things that they do not like to hear in public . I might get the ire of the present day kings!

But I have to vent out the thoughts that fill my mind and I have no safe place to vent it out other than this bamboo forest of the 21st century- the vast  internet bamboo forest of the blog sites !

You now know the secret behind my writing these blogs.