A trip to Alleppey

The other day, my friends and I went on a houseboat trip through the serene waters of the Punnamada Kaayal in Alleppey. The trip ironically, starts from the ‘Finishing Point’ and after a cruise in the backwaters for about six hours, ends at the same point.

We saw an endless expanse of blue dotted with little green isles, some having tiny huts too.

It truly was a delightful treat for our eyes!!

And, at our insistence the coxswain decided to humor us and stopped at one of these numerous small islands. There was a miniscule hut on this isle with a chicken-coop adjoining the hut.

Just as we alighted on the isle, out of the hut, came Sannamma, the subject of this blog, to welcome us with a dazzling smile and outstretched arms. This lady, probably in her late sixties lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband Gopi, who was a fisherman in his good days.

They live all by themselves in this place with not a single soul within shouting distance. Readily available drinking water is still a rarity for them. Electricity hasn’t yet made its existence known to them.

But they have an old radio with them, and listening to it seems to be their only form of pastime. A dinghy (called a “vallom” in these parts) by thebanks appears to be their only mode of travel. This boat cannot safely seat more than two persons at a time. Sannamma was kind enough to let me and a friend of mine, take a small ride in it (it was scary, by the way: P).

They travel up to Alleppey, the nearest town once a month to buy grocery and other provisions.

They served us ‘pakavada’ and ‘chaaya’(tea). Sannamma then entertained us by crooning a lot of old melodies like ‘suryakaanthi swapnam kaanuvathaare..’ and ‘induleka kanthurakkoo..’.(She sang awesomely wellJ).

And then we all prattled for a long time. Gopi taught us how to fish (waiting patiently for the fish to tug at the bait is an art by itself).

Soon it was time for us to leave, but we really didn’t want to.

The warm-heartedness and affection of the elderly couple by the banks of the Punnamada Kaayal had left deep impressions in all our hearts. Heavy-hearted, we left, but with promises to return.