Kozhikode

                                                                                  

Kuttichira Tank

Kerala has always been on my travel list. While people plan trips to Europe and America, I want to visit each and every part of India before I go out of the country. I have gone out of the country but I think it is important to visit places in your own country before you go out.

Calicut, or Kozhikode, is not a place where people usually go for a holiday. In spite of that there are lots of things one can do there. So here’s a little sneak peek into my one week experience in Calicut.

A Little Background…

Before going to Calicut, I read a little about its history. While I love history and I am familiar with certain periods, the history of Calicut, or Kerala as a whole, is something I haven’t read about. Being a port city, Calicut was one of the earliest cosmopolitan cities of the world. It was a hub for international trade where different people such as the Arabs, Chinese and Europeans came searching for spices, especially pepper. It led to intermixing of cultures which is still visible in various aspects of people’s lives in Calicut.

Out in the Heat…

When I first reached Calicut, I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. A part of me just wanted to go back home and sleep. This could also be because I didn’t sleep well in the bus to Calicut and that we reached very early in the morning. The weather was also a factor. Having lived in Delhi all my life, I am used to such hot and humid weather. But after shifting to Bangalore, I forgot what that was like. Calicut heat is terrible. But as days went by I got used to it and I wanted to go out and explore more than I wanted to sit in my A/C hotel room.

We spent the first few days together, getting familiar with the place and visiting different places. This gave us a better idea of what the city is like. People came in and spoke to us as well. Calicut is not a very big city, but there is still so much to it. We went on heritage walks, which I really enjoyed. The first heritage walk we went on was at six in the morning. Sleeping late when one has to wake up early is never a good idea. With a lot of difficulty, my roommate, Harshita, and I, dragged ourselves out of bed and made our way to the beach, as the walk was to start from there. Harshita was extremely excited. It was her first time at the beach. We had gone to the beach the previous night, but the beach is different early in the morning. It wasn’t crowded, the sky was clear and it was pleasant. All one could hear was the sound of the waves. It was extremely calming and relaxing. We spent some time at the beach. Harshita and I went and sat near the remains of the bridge. We sat in silence and watched the birds on the shore.

After a while, we made our way to the lighthouse, where Mr. Sumesh, an anthropologist, was waiting for us. He gave us a little idea about how Calicut was a major trade centre and that a lot of people from different areas made their way here through the sea. The bridges were built for the purpose of easier access to the shore. We walked along the beach for a while and then turned towards the city. We passed various old houses. We visited to the Mother of God Cathedral. It was built by the Portuguese when they came into Calicut. There are two schools next to the cathedral, one for boys and one for girls. The complex is very beautiful. I have always found something calming about churches. So I went inside and just sat for a while. It was very relaxing.

The broken bridge

                                                                                     An old house                                                                                                                                 

  Kuttichira 

The second heritage walk was my favourite and perhaps my best experience in Calicut. As mentioned before, Calicut was a hub for international trade and witnessed the coming of different communities. Arabs were one such community. When they came to Calicut, most of them settled in this area called Kuttichira. Today the area is home to the minority community of Calicut – Muslims. It is nice to walk along the narrow galis of the area and observe the houses. Many families have retained their ancestral houses instead of renovating them. The people are very friendly and often approach you on their own and strike up a conversation.

                              

The walk started from the Miskhal pali (mosque). The mosque was built by Nakhuda Miskhal in the 14^th Century. He was a renowned trader and ship owner from Yemen. Unlike the mosques we usually see, this mosque was built in the traditional architectural style of the locality and vasthuvidhya like the temples and buildings of that period. It doesn’t have the minaret or dome like other mosques do. The mosque initially had five stories, but in 1510, the fifth storey got destroyed by the Portuguese. Although it was renovated after that, the fifth storey couldn’t be restored. Therefore, there are only four stories. The entire mosque is built out of wood. This is a good example of the intermixing of cultures that took place in Kerala. Unfortunately women are not allowed to enter the mosque. After going around the mosque complex, Shoheb, a local from there, came to talk to us. He was speaking in Malayalam, while our facilitator, Narendra was translating. He told us some interesting things about the city and Kuttichira. According to him, Calicut has always been a trading society. Calicut was famous for ship building. Many travelers like Ibn Batutta travelled by ship. In his accounts, Ibn Batutta has written about the Hindu king and the Arab settlers. He wrote about how the Arabs had settled along the Malabar coast and adopted many local traditions such as matriliny and matrilocal residence. Many Arab traders also married Hindu Nair women (upper caste Hindu women). This was encouraged by the Zamorin (Hindu king of Calicut) to have a good relationship with the Arabs. He also said that the interaction between outsiders and the locals was much different than what it was like in North India because unlike there, people came to Malabar only for the purpose of trade and not to conquer and become rulers of that area. As for him, he said that he is a very “secular” person and has broken many traditions as he married a Nair woman and doesn’t go to the mosque. He also apologized to us for the fact that women can't enter the mosque.

                       

After the talk, we started walking along the narrow galis and observing the houses. As Shoheb is from that area, he took us to some of the houses as well. Most of the houses in Kuttichira have not been renovated. In fact most of the families are joint families and still follow the matrilocal and matrilineal system. The houses were in the local architectural style with many rooms. We also visited a tiny shop where a man was doing calligraphy. On the way we visited two more mosques. We could enter the Jummah Masjid till a certain point, where the men wash themselves before they go to the hall to offer their prayers. The ceiling had beautiful designs and inscriptions which apparently tell the story of the Zamorin. The Muchundi mosque is said to be the second oldest mosque in India, believed to be built in the 7^th Century AD when the Arabs first came to the Malabar coast. But when we search for Muchundi Mosque online, Wikipedia suggests that it was built around 13th Century AD. While there is no historical evidence suggesting it is the second oldest mosque in India, it is definitely one of the oldest.

                                                

I really liked Kuttichira. After two days Harshita and I visited the place again. We decided to take the same route and talk to some locals, starting from the Miskhal pali. When we were entering the complex, we met an old man called Mohammad Ali. He approached us and asked us whether we were part of the same group of students who came the other day. Without us asking he offered to take us around. Fortunately he could speak English as neither me nor Harshita know how to speak Malayalam. He said he works as a small guide at the mosque and told us a little about the it as he took us around. He said that the first two floors are for praying while the other two are halls. Before there used to be rooms where students came to study. He wasn’t saying anything that we hadn’t heard before but we thought that this could be a good opportunity to talk to a local and find out a little about their life. He told us that his father’s house is right next to the mosque as he pointed to a big yellow building and that he was born and brought up there. Now he lives somewhere else. He has two daughters who are post-graduates. When we asked him whether things have changed around here, he very confidently said that the people living here have not changed and that everyone is still very well-mannered and cultured.

                                                                              

After bidding farewell to Mohammad Ali, we sat near the mosque for a while, thinking we’ll sketch. But it was too sunny. So we took some pictures and started walking again. We went along the same route, visiting the same mosques. We tried to talk to some people in the Jummah mosque, but they all spoke Malayalam.  What really made me happy was that even though they could only speak one language, they still tried to communicate with us.

                                   

We stopped at the little tea shop next to the Muchundi mosque. As we sipped our tea, Shamsher, a man maybe in his 30s, who was also drinking tea at the shop, struck up a conversation with us. We were very surprised that he could speak Hindi, but also glad. He asked us about ourselves and what we were doing here. I am guessing they are not used to tourists visiting that area. Shamsher is a businessman who has a clothes and wholesale business. He has lived in Kuttichira all his life and his family has been into different kinds of businesses from the start. He is the only son who hasn’t moved to the Gulf countries. Apparently, one or two people from every family there have moved to the Gulf countries in search of work. He said that not much has changed here, only that many joint families are breaking up into nuclear families. But many have still retained their ancestral houses and they still live as joint families. He still lives with his entire family in his ancestral house. After talking to him we planned on heading back. It was a really good day. We had fun and we also found out new things about the city and the people.                

Kuttichira

Miskhal pali

Jummah Mosque

Ceiling of Jummah Mosque

Mohammad Ali's house

Mohammad Ali

                                   Kuttichira                                     

Tali Temple 

On the same day, before going to Kuttichira, we went to the Tali Shiva temple. This 1000-year-old temple is something one absolutely cannot miss. It is better to go in the evening as the diyas on the walls are lit and it looks extremely beautiful. The outer walls of the temple complex are lined with thousands of diyas. Unfortunately, only Hindus are allowed. It is better to go wearing traditional clothing. Men have to wear mundus and take off their shirts. No photographs are allowed to be clicked inside the temple complex.

Harshita and I wore kurtas and track pants and entered the temple complex. Just as we entered, one of the priests came running to us and asked us whether we were Hindus. We weren’t very surprised at this question because we were told that the temple strictly does not allow anybody who is not a Hindu. So we thought he was just doing his job. In fact, while he was showing us around, he asked us to identify one of the idols, maybe to check if we were lying or not. When we told our classmates and teachers, they were quite shocked.

The temple was very different from the ones I have seen in other parts of India. It was built in the local architectural style with the tiled roof and wooden walls and floors. The outer walls were lined with diyas. Inside the temple complex there were a number of small temples, each having the idol of a different god like Shiva, Ganesha etc.

Ansari Park and Nangeli 

We also visited the Ansari park, next to the Mananchira. The Manachira is a man-made pond which is the city’s main source of drinking water. At the park, many artists were painting and spectators were observing. We observed that many of them had the same theme or concept. After talking to one of the artists we got to know that they were depicting the story of Nangeli. In the 19^th Century, lower caste women in the state of Travancore, were made to pay a “breast tax” if they wanted to cover their upper body. The rule was that the bigger the breasts were, the more the woman had to pay. Nangeli is believed to be a lower caste woman who refused to pay the breast tax. When she was repeatedly harassed, she cut off her breasts. She died the same day due to loss of blood.

We couldn’t talk to the artists as we didn’t want to disturb them while they were painting. So we just sat near the pond and sketched for a bit. I felt like I was drawing for my own pleasure after a long time.

Nangeli                                      

Lalitha Kala Akademi and V. K. Krishna Menon Museum

After taking us to different places on the first three days, from the fourth day we were left alone to go explore the city on our own. We were told to pick one thing we found interesting from the last three days, something specific to Calicut, and find out more about it, talk to people etc. Since we are very lost on our own, Harshita and I decided to go exploring together. We left the hotel quite late. Many people had decided in the first few days what they wanted to work on. We were quite confused. Even if we found one thing particularly interesting, we didn’t know how to go ahead with it. I had thought of working on Kuttichira but I was struggling to find that one small thing which I could work on. So we thought we should explore a little more. We walked along the same route we took on the first day and made our way to the Lalitha Kala Akademi. It wasn’t a big gallery. A young man named Thaj was having an exhibition. Some of the paintings he made were quite interesting. I wouldn’t say they were great or extraordinary. He took us through all his paintings as the descriptions for each were written in Malayalam. In the end one of his friends, who works for some radio show, asked us whether we were comfortable with being interviewed about Thaj’s work. When he said you’ll be on radio, we agreed immediately! After that we thought of going to the Krishna Menon Museum. We didn’t realise how far it was and in the process we got ourselves kicked out of an auto! Somehow we managed to convince one auto driver to take us there. The museum was closed when we reached there but they were kind enough to open some of the galleries for us. We saw the items owned by V.K. Krishna Menon. He was an Indian nationalist, diplomat and politician and played a major role in our freedom struggle and also getting India back on its feet after Independence. The museum also has an art gallery with paintings by Raja Ravi Varma, Chinese and Japanese paintings etc. The museum is located in East Hill which seems to be on a higher ground than the rest of Calicut. The weather there was pleasant and we spent some time in the garden which was near the museum.

Mann Café

We also visited this café called Mann Café. It wasn’t like regular cafes with lots of tables and chairs and a counter for paying bills. It was like a house. The café had around two to three benches, a kitchen, a board with the menu, drawings on the wall, a bookshelf etc. Mann Café isn’t just a café. Mann is a non-profit organization trying to sensitise people about mental health and also to help people suffering from mental illnesses. It has a different way of approaching the issue. Instead of making it like a clinic, Mann Café is more homely where patients can feel comfortable and talk openly. It has trained doctors who do more than just provide medicines. They actually listen and try to understand the patients instead of diagnosing them with illnesses right away. The ambience reminded me of my old school, Mirambika where learning was the top priority and teachers gave importance to each and every child. I think that is the right way to approach people suffering from mental illnesses. They have to feel like that they are being understood and that there are people who are there to listen to them. And I think that is what Mann Café is trying to do. They want their patients to feel like they are talking to a friend rather than a doctor.
What really impressed me were the paintings on the walls of the café which were made by a differently abled girl. She had drawn them with her feet as she does not have arms. 

Mann café

24/7 Full and Bloated

Food wasn’t a problem at all. According to locals, there is no such thing as a vegetarian in Calicut! We ate our breakfast in the hotel, but lunch and dinner we mostly ate outside or we ordered room service. What really shocked me was that people in Calicut have non - vegetarian food such as egg curry and chicken curry for breakfast. I am used to having these dishes for lunch or dinner but never for breakfast! The first few days I ate a lot. We visited different restaurants and the food was amazing almost everyday. The first day, after walking through the city and visiting S.M Street we went to this restaurant called Paragon. S.M Street is short for Sweetmeat Street. At first the name didn’t really make sense to me but after observing the kinds of things people were selling and reading a little about it I found out that the street was originally built in the period of the Zamorin when Gujarati sweetmeat makers were invited by the ruler to set up shops in the city. This street was just outside the palace walls. Unfortunately the palace of the Zamorins is no longer there.

Today the street is lined with several shops selling halvah, garments, books etc. Shopkeepers come out and call out to the pedestrians to come and buy something. We spoke to some of the shopkeepers and asked them about their business.

S.M. Street                                          

 Paragon is a very old restaurant but famous for its delicious Keralite food. The place is quite popular judging from the number of people who come to eat there. We waited for around 45 minutes to get a seat. Snigdha, Harshita and I decided to share one thali. There were so many items in that one plate – two types of fish curry, chutneys, sweet dishes, sabzi etc. The rice was also different – fluffier and better. Although the quantity of each dish was less, we were extremely full and more than satisfied with the food. One thing which really intrigued me was that wherever we went to eat, they gave us warm water to drink instead of cold or room temperature water. Kerala is known for amazing beef. While I am not a big fan of beef, I thought I should try it at least once. In Delhi, beef is available only in the shadiest of places. But in Calicut, it was available almost everywhere. I am very fond of prawns, so I ate that almost every day. My mother, being a Bengali, was very happy that I was eating so much of fish. I am not used to eating non-vegetarian food on a daily or weekly basis, so after a few days I thought I should take a break. So for two – three days I only ate roti – sabzi. But on the last day I ate the most amazing chicken stew and appam from Paragon. I just kept eating. It was extremely delicious. 

Niravu

Niravu is an organistion which practices zero waste management. They aim at bringing back traditional ways of farming and agriculture without the use of chemicals and pesticides which are harmful for the environment. We visited their office where two people gave us an introduction to their project. After that a bus took us to the Niravu village. We walked through the village and observed their different ways of doing things. I got very excited when I saw the areca plantation. My grandfather has an areca plantation in my father’s hometown – Sirsi, Karnataka. I wanted to take an areca fruit back for my father to show him the difference between the areca grown in Kerala and the ones grown back at his place. While walking, some of us picked up a few Malayali words and phrases. To practice we used them on strangers who were walking. People in Calicut are extremely kind and friendly. So when we tried our Malayalam speaking skills with them, they responded very politely.

Areca fruits                            

Sargaalaya Arts and Crafts Village 

Situated a little away from Calicut, Sargaalaya Arts and Crafts Village is a beautiful place to visit. It takes around 1 hour by car. The place doesn’t only sell arts and craft items but one can also see how these items are made as the workshops are right next to the shops. There are also exhibits of the items. One should definitely check out this artist who does metal art. We spent quite some time there, observing artists. The place where it is located has a small lake and lots of coconut and palm trees. After we visited the exhibits and bought some items, we sat near the lake and relaxed for a bit before heading back to the hotel.

Sargaalaya                      

The Beach 

I have always wanted to see the sunset over the sea. I have been to many beaches, in Karnataka, Goa, Tamil Nadu etc. but I have never seen a sunset over the sea. I remember as a child I used to draw so many sunsets and sunrises over the sea. My dream finally came true in Calicut. After leaving from Ansari Park, we went to the Calicut beach around 5:30. In Calicut the sun sets around six ‘o’ clock. By the time we reached the sun had already started to set. The sun was shining bright and one could see the reflection of the sky and sun shimmering in the sea. It was so beautiful. I couldn’t stop taking videos and pictures. But then I thought I should stop and just enjoy the moment. Harshita ran into the sea. It was more special for her than it was for me as it was her first time at the beach. She was extremely happy. After a while I went to wet my feet as well. The sun turned from a bright yellow to a bright orange. The sky showed off a lot of colours too – blue, orange, purple etc. The sky made the sea look pretty. I felt at peace, looking at the sea. I could feel the warmth of the sand under my feet, while the sea kept giving me chills as the waves came rushing to the shore.

On the last day, all of us were asked to paint the walls of the S.K. Pottekkat Cultural Centre. He was a famous writer from Kerala. Harshita and I weren’t feeling too well. So we didn’t go. But since it was the last day we thought we should at least do something rather than just sit at home. Around 3 ‘o’ clock we went to this beach side café called Kadalas. The ambience is very nice and it overlooks the sea. We sat next to the window on the ground floor and ate our lunch. The music was soft and mellow and it went well along with the sound of the waves. After a bit we decided to go and sit on the café’s veranda which is around 20 metres away from the shore. We sat there and listened to music for a while. We observed the dogs and people along the beach. After a while we started sketching. For a very long time I have felt that  I have only been drawing or sketching for college assignments and not for my own joy. But that day, sitting on the beach, I felt like I was finally drawing for myself. I hadn’t felt that happy sketching for a very long time. I am not very good at sketching, but I was happy doing it. And it made me realise that I need to start going out more, even if it is just in Bangalore, and just draw. It will help me improve my skills and raise my awareness. But most importantly it will give me a break from college and make me realise that art is something I like to do for my pleasure. I am not saying college assignments are boring but sometimes everyone needs a break. We wrapped up the day by eating a caramel custard from the same café. Any day spent at the beach is a good day. I also felt productive because I sketched after such a long time.

Calicut Beach

New Friends

Apart form visiting places and relaxing near the beaches, I also loved interacting with the people. Some of these interactions became a daily routine. Every morning when we used to leave the hotel, the security guards used to say good morning to us and ask us if we ate breakfast properly. We spoke through hand gestures and a little bit of Hindi, but we understood each other. Some of the days they would ask us about ourselves - where we're from, what we are doing etc. They would ask us to come back before nine, warning us that the city becomes different after it gets dark and that it is not safe. One of the security uncles got so familiar with the fact that Harshita and I always leave the hotel together that one day when we left the hotel at different times, he asked Harshita whether we had a fight! When we came back together he smiled at us. We wanted to talk to him more but towards the end of the trip, I think his shift changed, so we didn't see him. We wanted to meet him and thank him properly before we left as he helped us a lot - getting us autos and giving directions.

Most of the auto drivers were also very polite and friendly. When we went to the Krishna Menon museum, knowing that it is far from our hotel and that it might be difficult for us to find an auto back, the auto driver who took us there, insisted on waiting for us while we visited the museum. But we told him we would take time. Before he left he told us where to get an auto from. We didn't even have to bargain so much to convince the auto drivers to let us pay a little less. They agreed without arguing. This was quite surprising for us because this rarely happens in Delhi or even in Bangalore. 

Overall I had a really good experience. It was much better than what I had expected it to be. I had a lot of fun, I made new friends and I also learnt a lot. Going there and visiting different places made me more curious about the place because I know there is still a lot about the city which I didn't get to see. After coming back I have been reading a lot about the place and the Malabar coast. I would love to visit the city again and find out new things about it.