Ernakulam

After a few weeks in Karnataka and Goa, I am back in Kerala to meet Martin. Ernakulam, with a population just over 1.3 million, is the biggest city in Kerala, and by far the biggest city I have seen in months (since leaving Mumbai in November). My first impression is that this city also has the biggest rickshaws I have seen anywhere in India.

Martin says something about visiting bookstores and suddenly I have one of those cravings where you suddenly want something you didn't even know you were missing. India has lots of bookstalls specializing in college texts, books on engineering, computers, and economics/business, and weird cheap paperbacks of trivia and proverbs, but I have yet to see the kind of place where you can spend an afternoon sitting among racks and racks of books. Supposedly this city has some big bookstores. We never find the place for that, but we do gorge ourselves on some smaller places. We also find a Cafe Coffee Day, the Indian answer to Starbucks. It is on the second floor and has a glass front. Sitting at the table, drinking a cappuchino (I am not much of a coffee drinker, but I am curious if this country known for instant coffee-- my fav is the ironically named "Bru Instant Coffee"-- can serve a decent cup), and watching the people and traffic below, I feel strangely as if I am back in the US. Cafe Coffee Day has two services that Starbucks would do well to note: waiters come to your table to take your order and besides pastries, they serve samsosas.

Martin hasn't been feeling well for quite a while and, although his acute symptoms are gone, he decides it is time to visit the doctor. I go with him, knowing how scary hospitals can be, even in your own country. The hospital is basic and, from what I see, clean. Three doctors sit at a table seeing patients. Privacy is not a concern here. It was the same when I went to the doctor at the ashram. They decide to do a few tests. Martin tells me later that in the lab blood was stored in open containers. Ok, maybe not an entirely clean place. Fortunately, all the tests come up negative.

The day before we leave, we have a Keralan thali for lunch. Thali (rice with some other bread and a variety of side dishes) is a standard lunch all over India, but the dishes differ by the place. (I don't think I have mentioned here how much food varies from place to place in India; most of the "Indian" food we get in the US is from the state of Punjab.) I have spent a few weeks outside of Kerala, and I nearly cry in happiness when I taste the typical Keralan blend of coconut, curry leaves, and mustard seeds. It is so familiar and welcome and delicious. Suddenly, I don't want to leave.