Press Articles
From Kipling to Kerala
Publication: Financial Times TravelDate: May 21, 2010
Author: Mary Taylor Simeti
Mary Taylor Simeti had wanted to visit India since she read Kipling’s Kim aged 11. At 70, c+l granted a childhood dream arranging a two-week trip for her through the Indian south. Not sure what to expect, and envisaging dust and dire poverty, she and her husband were enthralled by Tamil Nadu in Kerala.
Their “love affair with Tamil Nadu” began in Trichy with its garishly painted Hindu temples and equally vibrant landscape: “red earth and lush green paddies dotted with the vibrant hues of workers busy transplanting the young rice plants.”
From there they went on to Chettinad, a region not even mentioned in the guidebooks, and renowned for its food. There is plenty to explore in this area, dotted with tiny villages, shrines, and elaborate, decaying mansions, and the couple were excited to happen upon a local festival at one temple they passed.
Travelling on past plantations, they drove up into the hills, the Western Ghats, and finally, into Kerala. Staying at The Paradissa Plantation Retreat, Mary understood “why the hill stations were so popular during the British Raj: cool air, spectacular panoramas, tea plantations covering the slopes like a thick bedspread, waves of hilltops receding into the blue haze of evening and, for breakfast, an appam, a flower-shaped rice pancake drenched in coconut milk and honey.”
More orientated towards tourism, Kerala’s sunset lagoon cruises and Kathakali dance performances “were no less interesting for being expected. But the best moments were the personal encounters.” Staying at a coconut plantation on the island of Olavipe in the Keralan backwaters, the couple were welcomed into the family home, an ancient mansion in beautiful grounds.
At the end of the trip “our original qualms about our trip long since dispersed, we felt supremely rested, and very reluctant to leave.”
cazenove+loyd can arrange a 14-night itinerary from £2,214 per person excluding international flights, including internal flights in economy class, B&B, transfers, guides and taxes.
