Amritapuri and bye bye Kerala!

Amritapuri, Kerala

So much for my nostalgic plan to arrive at Amritapuri gliding on the backwaters by boat. Services from Alleppy are not available during monsoon months, so I ended up taking the bus.

Even though Amma is on tour in the United States, life in the ashram is busy and I was not surprised to see a lot of changes and more constructions. The old cow shed is now a juice bar and two more apartment buildings are on the way. The university campus across from the backwaters also grow everyday, with more housing for students and extensions to the facilities.

Amma's charity work is a solid presence in India. The AIMS hospital in Cochin is the best in Kerala; two million people are fed everyday in the remote tribal areas; 100,000 widows received financial aid, vocational training and micro loans and the same number of children in agricultural communities were awarded scholarships. The victims of the 2004 Asian Tsunami received US$46 million in aid and the same amount of money has been given away in the form of free health care since 1998. Amma also participates in green initiatives – one million trees have been planted since 2001 under her direction. There is also a multitude of university and school campuses in India just to mention a few of Amma's projects. She even has a TV channel, Amrita, where she appears every day at 9pm.

I only spent the weekend at Amritapuri but it was a great way to end my trip. I have known Amma for 15 years now and have met a lot of people in the international community throughout the years. In a way it was like going back home. I have donated a flat to the ashram which also serves as my home base when I am visiting.

Tomorrow very early in the morning (4:40 am) I head back to Amman where I spend a couple of days and then fly to Seattle. I have been away in the Middle East and India for 10 months. Now I need to get life and some business in order in North America.

Connemara Tea Factory, Kumily - Kerala

Connemara Tea Factory, Kumily

The Connemara Tea Factory was closed on Sunday, so I explored the tea plantations- a beautiful area that reminded me so much of my native estate of Minas Gerais in Brazil!

The workers had the day off. I saw the men playing cricket on the field as they waived for me to join them, probably for a chat, but I kept walking. As I passed in front of the houses, where the families live, the children playing outside tried the few sentences they knew in English on me: “What is your name, where are you from, do you have a pen?”...It is common in India for the children to make the first contact with foreigners. An invitation to have tea with the family usually follows, when the adults get into the scene.

I happily accepted the offer this time. It was a small but comfortable house where Prema lives with her husband and two-year old son. While I sipped a very sweet black tea, very similar to the hundreds of cups I drank in the Middle East, we broke the ice with the usual questions: family, age, religion. Then we took pictures.

All the young adults work-the women pick tea leaves and the men work at the factory, taking care of the plantation and construction. Each person makes 130 rupees a day for seven hours work (about 3 dollars.) Each woman picks about 80-100 pounds of tea leaf a day (about 25 pounds of tea after processing.) They have free housing and subsidized health care. Their extensive cable TV cost them 100 rupees a month (it must be subsidized) and the TV itself cost 7000 rupees (about US150), probably their most expensive possession. That is a good price though – it is a really nice TV. I got a sense that they are very happy and don't seem to think they lack anything. On Tuesday I went back to visit the factory and bring the prints I had made for Prema's family.

During my tour of the factory, I learned that only the young tea leaves are used – from seven to fifteen days old. The processing consists of weatherizing (taking about 20% of the moisture out), then crushing, cleaning and finally oxidation, with is done with hot air and water mist blowing into the crushed leaves. After oxidation, the tea is separated into fine, extra fine and thicker. The majority of the tea consumed in India is black and made with milk, sugar and sometimes with spices (masala tea.) But black tea without sugar seems to be healthier, containing vitamins, low caffeine level which is good for blood circulation, even fluoride which is good for the teeth. At least that is what the guide told me.

After my tour of the factory I found Prema picking tea leaves with her colleagues. She was very happy to see the pictures I brought her and asked me to take more pictures of her, her friends and me. It was almost time for her lunch break so I followed her to her home for another cup of black tea while she had lunch with her husband and mother.

I am happy I was able to share a few moments with Prema and some of her friends. I will be sending them more photos by mail. These are probably the only pictures they will have of themselves on the tea plantation!

Kumily, Kerala

Kumily, Kerala

The way from Munnar to Kumily was a twisty curvy one lane, two-way road, with cars, buses and trucks using their honks as a substitute for right of way signs. Munnar is higher than Kumily, so we went down, most of the way, looking at tea and spice plantations. Needless to say, it was a beautiful trip, but pretty scarey at times.

I found a really nice home-stay near the bus station. The family live downstairs and rent four really beautiful rooms upstairs. From the roof, I have a view of their beautiful garden filled with cardamon trees, vanilla beans, pepper, jack fruit, passion fruit, clover, mangoes, papaya, etc. It is such a lush bountiful place! The cardamon, vanilla bean milk tea they welcomed me with was delicious!

Kumily town is not as quaint as Munnar, and the shops are less sophisticated, but the weather is better this time of year, as it is about 3,000 feet lower. It was a bit too cold for me in Munnar and I am happy to enjoy some days of sunshine on the roof here.

The area is pretty much like Munnar at a lower altitude. Spice and tea farms all over the place, in at least a 20 miles radius. I had a tour at the Connemara Tea Factory and although I could not take pictures inside, the guide spoke English very well and the visit was very informative. I learned that there is only one organic tea farm in Northern Kerala. My knowledge of tea plantations and processing also improved a little (see separate post on Connmara Tea Factory visit.)

Kumily is also a good base to explore the famous Periyar Wild Tiger Reserve, which is only 2.5 miles from here, in Thekkady. I went on a two-hour boat tour on the 20 miles long man-made lake, and was able to see some wild animals grazing on shore- a family of elephants and lots of bison. The tigers were busy doing something else inland. The reserve is over 200 miles with several hikes and nature walks.

Tomorrow I head out to Alleppy where I will take a boat on Kerala's backwater to Amritapuri, Amma's ashram. I did this trip for the first time in 1990, before I met Amma and I am excited to do it again, 21 years later. Kerala's backwaters are twisty and curvy, but this time I will be gliding down water instead of asphalt. If I remember the trip well, I will be mesmerized watching locals going about their daily lives along the river. The lush greenery along the way is jaw dropping.

Munnar, Kerala

Munnar, Kerala

What a contrast it was to leave the hot dry desserts of Syria and Jordan and arrive at the green lush monsoon laden Kerala. This is my sixth time in India, but first time during monsoon.

After a 33-day panchakarma therapy in Ernaculam, I came to Munnar, an established tea plantation 100 miles from Kochi. The green mountains, waterfalls, banana trees and diverse variety of birds reminds me of certain parts of Brazil, like the mountains near Rio and the South part of Minas Gerais. The maximum elevation is about 9,000 feet (3,000 meters) offering a good respite from the heat at sea level in Kerala.

Besides tea, a wide variety of herbs also grow here: cardamon, vanilla beans, coffee, cocoa, turmeric, curry, sandalwood, just to mention a few. It is also a good place for jungle honey bee nests.

There are lots of hiking trails and Wildlife Sanctuaries (Chinnar) , waterfalls, spice farms, tea factories, sandalwood forest, elephants, and a tea museum to visit, everything within a 30 miles radius.

The city of Munnar has a vibrant fruit and vegetable market, and the streets are filled with stores selling tea, natural oils, creams, spices and home made chocolate, not to mention the restaurants serving delicious South Indian food. This is definitely a good place to rest.

Tea plants were brought to India from China by the British who started the plantations here in Munnar. When they left, Tata Motors, the Indian car company took over. They have a 99-year lease in the area surrounding Munnar. The hills are designed with tea plants for miles and miles. It looks like a huge green carpet covering the mountains. Unfortunately, most of the tea is not grown organically.

I went on a tour at the Biovalley Herbal Garden, an organic spice farm. 10 miles from town. I was so happy to see my favorite spices growing on trees: vanilla beans, cardamon, turmeric... I was very inspired to be in a 40-acres farm housing thousands of plants grown organically.

The rain some days is relentless; a good time to read, catch up with films on HBO and reminisce on the rainless Sahara desert I visited not long ago. I cannot help but smile in awe at the beauty of our planet!