Baby’s Got Backwaters

Question: What Indian state—whose name means "land of coconuts"—is home to ancient churches, mosques, synagogues, and the world’s richest Hindu temple?

Answer: Kerala

Located at the southwestern end of the Indian Subcontinent, Kerala is one of the smallest states in India. Yet this narrow ribbon of land nestled between the Arabian Sea and the forested hills of the Western Ghats is widely hailed as India’s most magical corner. National Geographic Traveler even named it one of the "ten paradises of the world."

Some of what makes Kerala so uniquely special can be attributed to its unique geography, history, and climate—but that’s just the tip of the Subcontinent, so to speak.

India may be one country, but it’s really myriad countries—a melting pot of cultures, where language, customs, cuisine, temple architecture, and more can differ from one region to the next. The differences are especially striking between North and South India—which can partially be explained just by glancing at a map. North India is landlocked and sits beneath the mighty Himalayas—which influence its climate, making it a bit cooler and dryer than the rest of the country. South India, on the other hand, is surrounded by the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, giving the entire region a more tropical climate.

When you combine Kerala’s tropical climate with its interconnected inland waterways formed by wild rivers flowing from the peaks of the Western Ghats, this small corner of India was blessed with a rich and fertile soil that few regions of the world could rival. It wasn’t just the "land of the coconuts," but the land of everything else, too—especially spices.

The spices of Kerala—cardamon, ginger, turmeric, and mostly pepper, so valuable it had become known as "black gold"—is what prompted the search for all-water routes to the Indies. Columbus took a wrong turn and ended up in the Bahamas, but his commercial rival, the Portuguese Vasco da Gama didn’t. After sailing around the horn of Africa, he made it here in 1498, setting off an era of exploration and conquest.

With some 360 miles of palm-fringed coastline hugging the Arabian Sea, Kerala’s geographic location would soon make it the epicenter of the world’s spice trade. But this was nothing new—Kerala had already been attracting merchants, fishermen, and settlers from across the Arabian Sea for some 3,000 years.

Kerala has always been a spicy symbol of religious coexistence

Unlike almost every other region of India (or, let’s face it, almost every other part of the world), most outsiders who arrived in Kerala throughout its long history were welcomed. Over the centuries, countless Jewish and Christian migrants, Arab merchants, and European traders (and colonizers), came to Kerala and well, never left. Evidence of this can be found in Kerala’s port city of Cochin (now Kochi), which is home to India’s oldest active synagogue and Europe’s oldest church, both from the 16th century.

As most of us are aware, there is big difference between religious tolerance and religious coexistence—and the world could learn a lesson from Kerala. While most of its once thriving Jewish population is gone, the small state remains home to a population split between roughly 30 percent Muslim, 20 percent Christian, and 50 percent Hindu. In many towns, it is not unusual to find a Hindu temple, Muslim mosque, Christian church, and Jewish synagogue within spitting distance of each other.

A good example of Kerala’s belief that religious differences don’t have to divide a community but can actually bring people closer together occurred in the summer of 2015. The local populace was gripped by an unfolding story that began when an Indian Navy helicopter dispatched to transport the heart of a Hindu man for a Christian patient who was in dire need of a transplant. Funds were raised by a Muslim businessman to pay for the operation, which was then performed by Kerala’s top heart surgeon, who was a Christian.

But Kerala’s history of religious coexistence doesn’t begin to touch upon the special nature of this tiny Indian state. There are two geographical features that make Kerala really stand out from the crowd, the first of which doesn’t sound very romantic at all …

Bliss in the backwaters of Kerala

Admittedly, the "backwaters of Kerala" is a rather unappealing name for such an idyllic tropical paradise—but the name has stuck. The "backwaters" are actually a vast and serene network of interconnected lagoons, lakes, rivers, and canals that weave through lush greenery before flowing into the Arabian Sea. Visually stunning, gliding along these tranquil waters takes you past lush landscapes dotted with coconut palms, rice paddies, small fishing villages, men in plaid dhotis and women in brightly colored saris, and all manner of vibrant flora and fauna.

Thatched-roofed houseboats called kettuvallam have been plying these labyrinthine waterways for thousands of years, laden with coconuts, spices, and grain. Kerala’s beautiful backwaters are also one of the only places in the world—outside of the Netherlands—where land is cultivated below sea level.

Not that it needs anyone to vouch for its special nature, but when the then-Prince Charles wanted a place to celebrate his 65th birthday, he brought his wife Camilla and an entourage to a lakeside retreat in the backwaters of Kerala.

As mentioned, the backwaters are just one of the geographical features that distinguishes Kerala. This narrow ribbon of land is hemmed in by the Arabian Sea to one side, but what’s on the other side is where the true paradise lies …

All Quiet on the Western … Ghats

Forming a natural barrier between Kerala and the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu, the Western Ghats (another name that’s a bit of a headscratcher) is an ancient mountain range of breathtaking natural beauty and rich biodiversity—so much so that it’s recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Along with mist-covered peaks, the Ghats are home to rugged hills and lush valleys dotted with emerald-green tea plantations, fragrant spice plantations, picturesque hill stations, cascading waterfalls—and wildlife sanctuaries teeming with tigers, leopards, exotic bird species, and herds of wild elephants.

Speaking of elephants, Kerala is home to at least 7,000 wild elephants and about 700 domesticated ones—the largest number in India. It’s a rare day when you don’t see an old tusker rambling along a dusty road. And since most temple festivals in Kerala require the presence of an elephant, almost every temple has their own elephant. Until recent times, it was prestigious having an elephant in your home—or shared between the homes of the two or three mahouts responsible for their feeding and care. Although costly to maintain, you were looked upon as pretty well off if you had an elephant at your house—perhaps the modern-day equivalent of spotting a luxury sports car parked in someone’s driveway.

It should be noted, however, that with increasing awareness of the ethical treatment of animals, the days of using live elephants in Kerala temple ceremonies may soon be over. After one temple recently employed an 11-foot mechanical elephant crafted from an iron frame and weighing in at close to 2,000 pounds, others are planning to follow suit.

About those temples … India is home to close to 500,000 opulent temples, many of them repositories of staggering wealth. But Kerala’s Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple—dedicated to Lord Vishnu—is in a league of its own. Not all of its recently discovered secret vaults have even been opened yet, but the gold ornaments, statues, and precious stones recovered so far are estimated to be worth a trillion dollars—making it not just the richest temple in India, but in the entire world.

8 more fascinating facts you may not know about Kerala:

• Snakes on a boat—The backwaters of Kerala are renowned for their "snake boat races." Inspired by centuries-old wars fought along Kerala’s canals, typical snake boats—whose shape resembles that of a hooded cobra—are up to 120 feet long and hold up to 100 rowers. Teams from surrounding villages compete in a fierce head-to-head (or is that head-to-tail?) race along the backwaters in front of thousands of spectators.


• Sorry ma’am, elephants only—If you have an urge to pamper yourself in Kerala, forget about the Punnathur Kotta Rejuvenation Centre—it’s reserved exclusively for elephants. They come here for a special spa day complete with massages, baths, and foods they love. You can watch, though.


• No small thing—Arundhati Roy’s highly acclaimed debut novel, The God of Small Things, was a searing critique of India’s caste system and was awarded the 1997 Booker Prize. The author, who spent her childhood in Kerala, was summoned back to her homeland to face charges of obscenity over the book’s sexual content—but eventually won her case. We would recommend it enthusiastically, but it has been banned in numerous school boards and libraries in the United States.


• Bull surfing in Kerala—Yep, it’s a real sport in Kerala. At the conclusion of a harvest festival known as Maramadi, a pair of yoked bulls are sent charging down a rice paddy that has been flooded with a half foot of water and dirt. Several teams compete and each team of three gets a pair of bulls, with two people who serve as the bull handlers while the third (the "surfer") sits on a plank of wood between the pair of bulls and slips and slides at full speed through the water and mud. It can be a bit dangerous, but this isn’t their first rodeo—it’s a 200-year-old Kerala tradition. That deserves a big Cowabunga!


• Doogie Howzat now?—For some reasons, Keralites are obsessed with Guinness—the World Records book, not the beer. They’ve broken some 65 world records in recent years for things like pulling a bus with your teeth, smashing coconuts with your bare hands (122), and the largest gathering of people dressed like Mahatma Gandhi (891)—and those are the normal ones. The more bizarre record claims that don’t make it to Guinness are compiled and recorded in local compendiums— and include records like the longest garland made of cakes of cattle dung (1.25 miles), performing yoga on horseback (10 hours), and most numbers of electric bulbs lit by passing a wire through your nose and out of your mouth (30 sixty-watt bulbs). And sometimes, they go too far. In 2007, at a hospital in Tamil Nadu (right next to Kerala), a 15-year-old boy was allowed to perform a caesarean section in an attempt to break the record for the world’s youngest surgeon. His doctor parents were observing, but still …. Police and local medical authorities were not amused.


• Bar patrons unable to walk a straight line—With a goal of reducing drunk driving, in 2017 India’s Supreme Court put into effect a new law banning alcohol sales within 500 meters (about a third of a mile) of national and state highways. Existing hotels and bars were left with two choices—either move their establishment or go out of business. But the employees of Aiswarya Bar, which was located 150 meters from Highway 17 in Kerala, came up with a third choice. They constructed a maze out of prefabricated concrete walls leading from the bar’s entrance out to the street—which technically made the distance from the bar to the highway 532 meters. Very clever, those Keralites …


• Sounds of silence—While it’s quite peaceful no matter where you are among the lush landscapes of the Western Ghats, the place to go for complete serenity is called (surprise!) Silent Valley. While this pristine rainforest teems with wildlife—everything from elephants and deer to wild boar and lion-tailed macaques—the name Silent Valley comes from its complete absence of cicadas. Typically, in rainforests like this, the incessant buzzing of these insects fills the air like white noise, but not here. Instead, there is an almost eerie silence, occasionally broken by a wind rustling through the leaves, or the cry of a bird.


• Keralites like their bling—The small state of Kerala is the biggest consumer of gold in all of India. Kerala’s obsession with gold likely originated during the global trade in spices, when pepper was so valuable that the spice was traded for gold. Most Kerala brides head down the aisle dripping in gold from head to toe—an average of 320 grams of the precious metal, the highest among brides in all of India.

Explore Kerala during our New! Soul of India: The Colorful South adventure.