Cochin, again

Six years ago I visited Cochin. Foolishly leaving after too short a time, to Chennai of all places, it has ever since then retained the status of Best Place to Visit in India. Admittedly, Bhagsu shares this distinction, and was ironically also left too soon. So you see, when something is good, I come back for more, even if it takes a while.

Urban, yet lush, green and sumptuously tropical, Fort Cochin is a little piece of paradise. The more reserved Southerners are a most welcome change to being harangued as a foreigner at every corner in Bombay, and indeed pretty much most of North India. The restaurants serve a wide variety of fare at very reasonable prices. There is a splendid boardwalk, along which you can stroll and view fishing boats, the Chinese fishing nets that typify this place, as well as fish hawkers who sell their fresh wares, that you can have cooked up for you on the spot. And although I haven’t tried it (yet), the State of Kerala is famed for its ganja.

My biggest challenge here is to find cinema halls that are playing the latest Hindi releases. Most movies seen here are in the language of Kerala, Malayalam. Now basically conversant in Hindi, I sort of miss the opportunity to use it. While there are a number of Hindi channels on cable TV in the Hotel Park Avenue (where incidentally I stayed the last time around as well), the idiot box is not my favored medium.

In the coming days, Nina is finally arriving from Yotvata, Israel. Mikael, who decided to take a detour through Goa is now on his way, too. And I will sniff out cinema halls in Ernakulam on the mainland for some good Hindi movie fare for the Dream Factory. Time to get some Kerala Gold, too. So if you think it has been fun up till now, you ain’t seen nothing yet, baby!