Kerala

We decided to spend a few days on Kerala's beautiful palm fringed coast. We are at a hostel about 6 miles south of Kannur. It's about $40 a night which includes three meals for the two of us. There is no TV and its very quiet here with lots of bird life. Some pristine sandy beaches are about a ten minute walk down a dirt road and path. The swimming is wonderful. The people in this region are particularly friendly.

Yesterday we went into Kannur and tried to visit an English language school for adults. We spoke to the director but classes were not in session. In the evening, we went to see a "theyyam" event ("extraordinary masked trance dances and oracle readings that take place in villages throughout the region"). We saw a muscular man all painted up and wearing a headdress that had intrikit symbols including cobras and wearing a colorful dress with many decorative features to it. Accompanied by about 20 drummers preforming loud and high energy drumming with an occasional high pitched instrument which sounds like a kazoo, this man pranced around for about an hour before taking a break. Sometimes people gave him monetary donations. there were about 700 people at this open air event. The performances are done by Dalits and the decorations and costumes are made there on the spot. Free food was provided to all. We were told that theyyams go on all night and can get really intense around dawn and that they tell a story about peoples lives and the lives of the gods. This is an important feature of north Kerala culture. If I learn more about theyyam, I will revise this account posted here.

I also met a tourist policeman named Satyam at this event. He told us a little about theyyam. When I asked him about the Communist leadership of Kerala his eyes lit up and he proudly told me Kerala was the first place where a Communist Party was elected to power in the world (in the 1950s). He said that the central government had tried to undermine the Party but that Kerala had almost 100% literacy rate and good free education through higher ed and health care. Although the majority are still poor, the wealth is distributed more evenly in Kerala.

I told him my views on Obama, Bush and the Clintons and told him that he had met an American who did not agree with the policies of the U.S.