More on Kannur

Yesterday morning we walked to the village and got on a bus to Kannur, the major city of this area where we go to drink coffee and work on the internet. We got so squeezed on the crowded bus that after a while we got off and paid a rickshaw (3 wheeled vehicle) to the city. First, we went to see the fort overlooking the harbor where we happened to meet our friend the tourist policeman, who was on duty there. He told us that the fort was built by the Portuguese in 1505 after Vasco de Gama had landed on the Malabar coast a few years earlier. There was a lot of trading going on from here; earlier by Arab traders between Europe and here. The Europeans wanted pepper, the "black gold", and other spices. The Portuguese were very cruel towards the local people and there were bloody conflicts between the Portuguese and the local population headed by local and regional monarchies. Later the Arabs got control for a few years followed by the Dutch who were in control for about 100 years. In 1780 the British seized control of this area until India became independent in 1949.

It is amazing how many different rulers India has had since civilization began in the Indus valley around 3500 BC. There have been Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim rulers. Foreign invaders from the North and West took control on several occasions. I have read that Christians got established here on the Malabar coast long before Vasco de Gama, perhaps during the Roman era, and that in Kerala about 20% 0f the people are Christian. In this region, there is also still a large Muslim population, too.

People often ask us where we are from. They don't know where El Salvador is so we explain that it lies south of the Untied States and Mexico and that the people speak Spanish. I tell them we live in the U.S. and a few times people have asked about Bush or Obama. In Madikeri, I became friendly with a store owner who saidmore than once "Bush bad, very bad", Obama good."