Day 5,6 Calicut

Photos (best seen on a PC to see the annotations):

https://photos.app.goo.gl/SaFpmuBV1U9besn19

Vasco de Gama set foot for the first time here on May 20, 1498. I’m here 525 years, 7 months, 26 days later. It was probably quieter then. I feel the history, deeply. The aromas of millennia fill my nostrils. Vasco had fewer aromas.

My enthusiastic hope the town ‘Sultan Bathery’ was a harbinger of generalised Keralan punctiliousness has been diminished a little – things are more in line with pre-trip expectations – entropy reigns supreme again.

I visited the famous Calicut beach, but Australians will not be blown away, especially when there are signs saying ‘NO SWIMMING’….(why?).

I had a local guide (Mohan K, 76) take me to some unexpected places. We were in an ELECTRIC Tuk-Tuk! India is moving faster than Aus in some ways. It was a brilliant experience – very quiet, no smell, and still the old tuk-tuk character of uncomfortable seats and no suspension – a win on all counts. A charge lasts about 7 hrs of driving around. Since it doesn’t sound ‘tuk tuk tuk tuk’ any more, which is where the name came from, will the new name be ‘Wheeeeee’ (with an ascending inflection)?

There is serious boat building going on here. I went to a yard at Beypore where a 130ft dhow, entirely teak, called an ‘Uru’ was being painstakingly built by hand. It takes about 2 years. The cost of it seemed reasonable at about $2mil (before luxury fitout, motors, etc – just the hull & decks). All the wood was being sawn by hand (to avoid burning off oils, and maintain waterproofing, etc). I noted that every single bolt and nail was individually checked (see photos), and it all seemed pretty well put together. It (and many more in recent years) were commissioned by people in Qatar, including the Royal Family. They are built without any plans or drawings, it all coming out of the head of the master carpenter or ‘maistry’. The art is about a thousand years old, and passed down orally via apprenticeships. Utterly unique.

Visited wharf and fish market – I was pleased to see a lot of ice. There are a lot of birds sitting in the hall (see photo). I hope they don’t shit on the fish containers.

Next stop was weaving artist Vasu at Tasara Weaving Centre. There were spectacular pieces hanging on the walls, but the place was in a huge disarray being prepared for a large woven art workshop and exposition, so we weren’t able to see much. Vasu was a charming man who generously spared a few moments. If I was rich I would commission a piece.

Next Mishal Mosque, originally built in 1340, burned by Portuguese in 1510, and rebuilt in 1578. It’s typical of medieval mosques, with no minarets or cupola. Largely timber. I couldn’t go inside. Kerala is about 30% Muslim, and Calicut nearly 40%. 

Saw a wholesale coconut market, unchanged for centuries in how it works. Coconuts are graded by size and water content, determined by tapping and listening to the sound. Everything carted on heads. I stepped back centuries.

Saw the old Catholic cathedral, Lutheran Church, & Town Centre.

From Mohan I learned cardamom is good for eyesight and brain function, so now I will eat it constantly. I also discovered raptors can see rodent urine from great heights (it fluoresces, and they have UV receptors), as an aid to target their prey – rats probably don’t know this. I’ll let you know if I can see rat pee after a month of daily cardamom pods. Mohan is very learned, but it’s difficult to follow his accent, at times as impenetrable as a Keralan jungle. I’m sure I missed many such pearls, such as which spice assists weight loss and smarter investments.

Dinner at the Raviz was superb – Keralan cuisine is absolute tops. This is how vegetarian should be done.