Malabar Magic

Monsoon
GRAnD CRU
Travel&more
Malabar Magic
Along India’s southwestern coastline in Kerala, where the biodiversity stemming
from heavy rainfall is now recognized as a worldwide attraction, coffee isn’t the
only thing that can undergo a unique transformation. Visitors do, too.
EDITOR: Anuj DesAi PhOTOgRaPhER: Peter GArmusch
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Above: Weavers in Kerala are
returning to their traditional
use of Ayurvedic textile dyes.
Right: Fishermen at Hosabettu
Beach as the sun sets over the
Arabian Sea.
Previous: Boats are the only
form of transport in Kerala’s
backwater region.
Above: Kerala’s history is largely
tied to its commerce, including
the spice, tea, and coffee trade
that still attracts travellers from
around the world.
Left: Water buffalo splash
through a simulated rice paddy
during a traditional “kamla”
race in Karnataka.
s outh Asia’s fabled monsoons linger long after
the rain is gone. Crisp, brown earth turns green.
The silence of wildlife brought on by a torrential
downpour gives way to a clamour of activity – animals
emerging, insects calling, humans honking. Seasonal life
is awakened, while other signs of life are deluged. Life on
all levels is altered during this period of intense downpour
spanning June to September that accounts for nearly 80% of
India’s annual rainfall. Nothing and no one escapes this rain.
But despite all the shared change that the Indian subcontinent
undergoes, monsoon in the southwestern coastal state of
Kerala has its own unique transformative processes.
One such example involves coffee. Through exposure to the
monsoon air, nowhere else in the world can season coffee
beans (primarily grown elsewhere) like Kerala. Kerala’s
position along the Indian coast makes it the first area to
receive southwest monsoon showers from the Arabian Sea,
and the proximity of mountains to the ocean results in a
particularly high amount of rainfall (up to 250cm annually).
What coffee connoisseurs have discovered is that the qualities
of Kerala’s rainfall enable the region to produce a type of
coffee that no other place can: monsoon coffee (or Monsoon
Malabar, named after the coastline). Bringing beans into
contact with the salty, moist air along Kerala’s coast weathers
them in a way that changes both taste and colour. Experts
have tried to replicate this process elsewhere, but with no
success. To the locals, that failure is no surprise. Instead, it is
evidence of what they’ve known all their lives – that Kerala’s
monsoon is distinct. The air is uncommonly heavy with water
and salt, and the wind constantly blows from the ocean inland
at an optimum angle.
Of course, in a region where the biodiversity stemming from
heavy rainfall is now recognized as a worldwide attraction,
coffee isn’t the only thing that can undergo a unique
transformation in Kerala. Visitors do, too.
This thin slip of a state primarily bounded by the Arabian Sea
and the Western Ghat mountains ranks among the world’s
unique eco-systems; it is home to several forms of classical
Indian dance and music celebrated around the world; it is
the site of both ancient ruins and cosmopolitan influences
from centuries ago; and it is an area famous for spices like
cinnamon and pepper along with coffee. The most fascinated
travellers to Kerala, however, are those who have experienced
their own mildly transformative process courtesy of one of
the countless lifestyles being lived out in a state smaller than
Switzerland. From tropical culture to ancient Ayurveda – the
ancient medical practice meaning “science of life” that was
founded in this area – Kerala is like no other place in the
world because it harbours so many ways of life.
Tropical Venice
Sunrise over Kerala’s lush backwater region. Along this web
of waterways and dense palm groves that spans hundreds of
kilometres near India’s southwestern coastline, the scents of
morning fires, jasmine, and brine fill the air. Local residents
who live on diminutive plots of land and travel in boats
begin their morning scrubbing of limbs, laundry, and vessels.
Prayer follows bathing. Temple bells ring. Exotic bird calls
– especially those of the Kingfisher – are so frequent and shrill
that the unsuspecting visitor is likely to mistake these regular
calls for a signal of panic.
Ayisha Manzil, Court Road, Tellicherry, +91.490.2341590. A hillside
inn overlooking the sea offers cooking classes, and some of the best
food that the world has yet to discover.
Brunton Boatyard, 1/498 Fort Cochin, Cochin, +91.484.2364485,
www.cghearth.com. An ideal gateway to Kerala, Cochin is a town that
has known Bohemian, Chinese, Arabic, Jewish, Portuguese, Dutch,
and English influences in its time. Overnight at this sister property of
Marari Beach before heading to the backwaters.
Fabindia, Thamarapally 39/4749, Old Thevara Road, Cochin,
+91.484.3267682, www.fabindia.com. An excellent national crafts shop
where prices are reasonable and fixed, products are eco-friendly, and
artisans receive a fair cut.
Harivihar Ayurevedic Heritage Home, Bilathikulam, Calicut,
+91.495.2765865, www.harivihar.com. A house of relaxation for some; a
school in Ayurveda, vastu, yoga, and more for others.
Rainbow Cruises, V.C.N.B Road, Alleppey, +91.477.2241375,
www.backwaterkerala.com The houseboat company part owned by
South Indian film star Jairam (ask for his Gold boat) is an ideal way to
experience Kerala’s backwaters.
ENS Kalari, Embram Madam, Nettoor, +91.484.2700810,
www.enskalari.org.in. The renowned home to the world’s first martial
art offers demonstrations. More of a way of life than a combat
technique, kalaripayattu also blends principles of yoga and Ayurveda.
Dubare Elephant Camp, Dubare, Kushalanagar, +91.944.9599755,
www.junglelodges.com. If you continue to journey through India,
Kerala’s neighbouring state, Karnataka, offers a unique wildlife
sanctuary.
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As any fascinated visitor drifting past this scene with a
coconut in hand will tell you, Kerala’s backwaters make up
the most idyllic (but little known) setting in the world. The
water culture along the celebrated inlets is best taken in by
booking a private houseboat in Allepey. These houseboats
come complete with several bedrooms for sleeping, and crews
who guide travellers through the waterways while cooking all
their meals. Allepey, which is part of the northern backwaters
region, consists of six so-called lakes and countless narrow
waterways between them. So prevalent is the water and so
scarce the land that, like Venice, all transportation is done by
boat. One canal – No 47 – is even listed as a national highway.
Taking the 47 is like floating through your very own trivia
question, and if that’s not a unique travel experience, what is?
Life on the Beach
After experiencing life on the tropical backwaters, coastal
culture follows – specifically, the delicious centuries-old
fusion fuelled by trade that has taken place along the Malabar
Coast. Cultural immersion is most fun when it involves food,
and the charming Ayisha Manzil, an inn on a hill overlooking
the sea, has set mouths watering as far away as Lyon and
Chicago. An 11-year partnership between C. P. Moosa and his
wife Faiza, Ayisha Manzil is one of the unique inn experiences
to be found in the world, largely due to the exquisite but rare
Mopillah cuisine that originates from Faiza’s kitchen. Her
dishes, which come from a relatively small community of
regional Muslims, are taught to interested guests, who all
leave with a cookbook and frying pan to go with their
memories.
Faiza describes Mopillah cuisine as a “symphony of flavors”
more delicate than one might expect of its Indian and Arab
influences alone. While some of her outstanding dishes
include kannanpatiri (eyelash bread), tamarind prawns,
pickled dates and raisins, her own favourite is the biryani,
the spice-infused rice and meat favourite of northern Indian
cuisine whose origins are originally Malabari.
To work up an appetite, the tranquil Ayisha Manzil pool or
its nearby beaches are recommended. During the local festival
season, the Moosas also offer tours of the village theyyam
performances. Theyyam, an ancient form of dance-theatre
focusing on reenactments of religious tales, lasts for several
days and nights, providing the unsuspecting viewer with a
rare, near-magical combination of colourful costumes and
face paint, live music, fireworks, performers trained to invoke
deities, and both acted and genuine trances by performers and
villagers alike.
The final capture of coastal culture is, of course, the isolated
beach. The Marari Beach resort is a secluded getaway with a
conscience, the kind of place where the average stay is over
a week and the roster of well-intentioned guests includes
Paul McCartney. Started in 1998 by the eco-friendly luxury
chain CGH Earth, Marari consists of 62 cottages spread over
37 private beachside acres inside which no trees were cut,
no soil was removed, and all the lakes were preserved during
conversion. Dry, fallen leaves are collected for composting,
and the property has its own organic garden to supply the
restaurants. Look up for a dozen types of bananas.
Health as Wealth
No tour of Kerala’s lifestyles is complete without experiencing
Ayurveda, the 5000-year-old Hindu practice undergoing a
worldwide revival today. The Harivihar Ayurevedic Heritage
Home in Calicut is both a guesthouse and a centre for
Ayurveda. The property was started three years ago in a 150year-old
house now owned by the Kumars, a husband and
wife duo who are practising MDs and who also believe in an
Ayurvedic lifestyle. (Harivihar happily accepts people who are
uninterested in Ayurveda.)
Dr. Sri Kumar, a paediatric neurologist, calls his property a
“lifestyle house”. Light vegetarian food makes up the menu. No
alcohol or smoking is allowed indoors. The chief instructor
in Harivihar’s lifestyle is Dr. Mali, an Ayurvedic doctor of 18
years. While the programs that Dr. Mali offers can be started
in 7 days, “we suggest at least 15 days’ stay,” he says. Ayurveda,
he reminds us, is “not the science of treatment” as much as it
is a process of learning a new lifestyle and “clearing impurities
and toxins from various biochemical changes occurring in
your body”. The education is one that most guests appreciate
greatly – some 60% of them make return visits.
Those who come to Kerala leave with that which the best
sightseeing experiences offer: memories that last a lifetime.
But the luckiest of visitors to this tiny coastal state take with
them a souvenir that changes their own way of living. Because
while the shades of green are plentiful in Kerala, the land is
bountiful for another kind of yield – its rich crop of lifestyles.
Below: A face from Theyyam,
Kerala’s 2000 year-old
performance art practised
throughout regional villages.
Ritual theatre and dance
festivals last for days and
nights as episodes from
religious texts are reenacted.
Above: Demonstration of
kalaripayattu, the world’s
oldest martial art, by students
of the celebrated ENS
Kalari. More of a way of life
than a combat technique,
kalaripayattu also combines
principles of yoga and
Ayurveda.
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Above: Trained female
coffee garblers (final
sorters) for monsoon
beans of Aspinwall & Co.
Ltd.
Right: Farmers sorting
cherries at Thippanahally
Estates, a farm that in
addition to 2500 acres of
Arabica beans also boasts
rabbits, peacocks, and
occasional leopard.
special Club 2007*
JAlAyAtRA Coffee
India
Bangalore
Jalayatra celebrates the marriage of two distinct Indian Arabica coffees: the full-bodied Monsoon
Malabar tempered by the juiciness and softness of India Plantation. The result is an unforgettably
bold and creamy Espresso Grand Cru accented with notes of nutmeg and clove.
Like wine, coffee’s uniqueness is traced to its soil – a variety
is documented, named, and celebrated based on the region
where it is grown. But in the case of Jalayatra, Nespresso’s
latest Special Club, while all of the coffee that makes up the
blend is from a single country – India – its defining trait is
cultivated well after the bean has been grown, picked, and
transported from the elevated regions of its origins down to
sea level.
Specifically, over 60% of the Jalayatra blend consists of coffee
beans that are said to be monsooned. The monsooning of
coffee in the southwestern India state of Kerala today refers
to a weathering of the bean that involves exposing it to the
moist, salty air that blows inland from the Arabian Sea. Others
have attempted to re-create this process all over the world,
and even along other coastal regions of India, but nothing
compares to coffee that is laid out to dry in this region. No
other place seems to get the sustained humidity of Kerala, says
V. G. Coelho, managing director of Coelho’s Gold coffee and
a supplier for the Jalayatra Special Club 2007 blend. “And the
wind blows in one direction only – inland.”
The monsooning of picked beans runs during the torrential
rain season that spans from June to September. The process
starts with spreading beans out in a single layer on cool
floors that are covered from above but open on all four sides.
These sheds must be nearby the ocean in order to expose
each batch of beans to Kerala’s humid, salty coastal winds for
approximately 20 days.
Thiruvananthapuram
According to legend, monsooning’s origins stretch back to a
series of accidents that began in the 1600s. At the time, ships
from India had to travel six months to get to Venice for its
European distribution. Beans were kept in the musty bowels
of the ships, resulting in beans that started out brown arriving
at port golden in color. For many Europeans, it was the only
coffee they knew – until shipping conditions improved in
the mid-1800s. When brown beans arrived in steam ships in
Venice, many Europeans rejected them, instead preferring
coffee that had been weathered by the slow sail across oceans.
Indian coffee growers who had joined the international
market by then started to meticulously reproduce the old
sailing conditions for their beans on land.
Besides colour and taste, bean texture, density, and size are
also transformed during monsooning. They also drop their
acidity levels, gain spicy, woody notes, and maltiness, and
evince a better crema texture in Espresso blends. When mixed
with the Indian estate coffee used in Nespresso’s Special Club
2007, a softer and less wild flavor is gained.
But most compelling are the characteristics of Jalayatra that
are off the charts. When you consume Jalayatra, you are
reaping the benefits of an accident of centuries ago, and the
modern-day preservation of it. You are sipping the earth of
the coffee’s origin and the salty ocean next to which it has
rested, all mellowed by a happy accident. Drink in the storm.
*The Special Club is available only while stocks last.
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