UNUSUAL CATCH OF PEARLSPOT AND FRESHWATER BIG PRAWNS

 It was interesting to gaze at the local method of trapping the ‘Karimeens’ (Pearl Spot), which is a popular fish in great demand. The modus operandi was by three people. One person would squat down on the bed of the ‘Kayal’ backwater which would be one and half meter deep, and by the side of shore. He tapped the mire or mud and grime with his feet. The other person would stand behind him pressing him down by the shoulder when he took a dip so that he did not move up due to the upward thrust of the water. He would pop up at regular intervals to breathe. The third person was moving away from the shore slowly. He held a long rope in his hand the other end of which was tied to one leg of the person who was squatting in the water. The rope would be submerged in the water and the water was stirred by moving it slowly. During this process the water became dark mixed with mire and grime. He moved away from the shore slowly with the rope. After going about fifty feet he came closer to the shore and shook the rope and threw mire to scare fish. The ‘Karimeen’ sensing danger moved and nestled under the squatter’s feet, which was really a trap. The squatter went down under water and skillfully caught the fish with his hands and feet. He immediately passed it on to the person behind him who put it into a pot fastened to his waist. In about one hour the entire pot was full of this fish. It was a tricky job. 

In Kerala, Karimeen is a delicacy served for an important lunch or dinner gathering. It is served as a full fish fry or even as a Fish Moly with bread or Indian ‘Roti’.  

There were daring men in our village who inserted their bare hands into the holes in the granite bunds under water and caught ‘Karimeen’, Pearl Spot, and ‘Attu-Konch’, Giant Fresh Water Prawn. This is a risky job. If the big crabs get a hold of their fingers the catcher would have to patiently wait till they are released voluntarily. A foolish move by trying to pull out one’s hand may end up in a greater calamity. The entire hand itself might get jammed under the big granite stones in the water thereby making it difficult to   swim back to the surface of the water. I remember the three veteran fish-catchers, Kaderkutty, Ibrahimkunj and their elder brother Mohommedkutty. They used to catch a lot of ‘Attu-Konch’ and ‘Karimeen’ in this manner. Unfortunately, one day Kaderkutty’s body was found floating in the lake with his right hand sandwiched in the granite bund. He must have drowned as he was trapped.

Occasionally, during   fishing, the fishermen sense the presence of some unususal fish in the coastal backwaters.   It was during one such occasion that Paulo Maniamkot went in search of Konch and Karimeen in the granite bunds of the backwater. While searching for the same, an Octopus, (Eledone cirrhosa), a Cephalopod moluscan fish having a prominent head with a single, fearsome eye attacked him. This horrible monster has six tentacles. Paulo’s right hand got entangled in the tentacles of the Octopus.  He was taken aback by this sudden attack and struggled to set himself free from his grip but in vain. The Octopus had one meter long tentacles which had eight pairs of suckers all along its entire length made it impossible to break free from its clutches. Fortunately he had the presence of mind to get out of water immediately along with the Octopus which had bound itself to his hand and back; otherwise he would have fainted due to the poisonous material seeping into his body through the suckers, and would have been grabbed and dragged him to the murky bottom. People seeing this horrific sight rushed to his aid. It was with great difficulty that each of these suckers attached to his body was removed. It took almost six months for the    wounds to heal. The scars remained on his body for a long time.

George and his brother Anti, Viswambharan, and Asokan are the defted men in crabbing with the help of ‘Ayiram Choona’, a line of thousand hooks, with baits and also by spreading nets such as ‘Odakkuvala’ to entangle other assortment of fish. They moved in small ‘Otams’, small canoes, to go out into the ‘Kayal’. I noticed that they caught the shoulders of crabs, especially the big red crabs to avoid casualty and they tied their pincers. Crabs are one of the exported items.

A handful of nomadic fisher-folk have recently arrived here from Matsyapattanam, a Cauvery belt in Karnataka State. They live in miserable sheds with plastic-sheet tops in certain pockets by the side of backwater. It is amazing to watch their elderly men and women twirl down the backwater in coracles to catch an assortment of fish with the help of a long ‘Odakkuvala’, a fishing-net to entangle fish.

Excerpts from

MEMOIRS

An autobiography

by

Joseph J. Thayamkeril

Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.

josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com

josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com

MINING ‘KAKKA’

 I recall a hot morning; the backwater shimmered in light. A lot of people were engaged in mining ‘Kakkas’ (Fresh Water Green Mussels), Perna viridis  belonging to Mytilus species, which were cleaned and brought to the shore. They were very busy; they had to complete their task while the backwater was calm and they had to get out before the turbulence commenced. The big mussels were boiled to remove the flesh inside. This is tasty when fried in coconut oil with pepper, salt and sliced small onions. I knew that the shells were then sold to the lime furnaces or to the Travancore Cements Company at Kottayam to manufacture white cement.

Excerpts from

MEMOIRS

An autobiography

by

Joseph J. Thayamkeril

Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.

josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com

josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com

PICTURESQUE SIGHTS

Watching the sky from the banks of the Vembanad ‘Kayal’ was very interesting for us. Jacob and I could gaze at domestic aero-planes landing and taking off to and from the airport at Wellington Island, which is just across our island. Suddenly I spotted a MIG leaving white trails behind; I heard its scream overhead a little later. We could also gaze naval fighter jets (Gnat and Kiran) taking off skywards at high-speed and performing their acrobatics in the air; I remember my tense moments when I used to wish well for the pilots on board. There were helicopter-gunships that take off vertically, hover and fly in any direction. At times, when the aircraft swerves to the left or right we are even able to gaze at the pilot. We used to be excited when they responded to our waving. They were used for aerial survey and observation by the Indian Naval officers. Both the naval jets and the helicopter-gunships gave us a treat on the naval week, during the first week of every December.

Later the domestic and international flights were shifted to the International Airport at Nedumbassery. The aerodrome at Wellington Island was handed back to the Indian Navy as it was taken on lease from them. Now I observe the same enthusiasm in my son, Karan Jose Thayamkeril, whenever he darts out to watch the war planes or helicopters hover over the ‘Kayal’.

Excerpts from

MEMOIRS

An autobiography

by

Joseph J. Thayamkeril

Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.

josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com

josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com

MAN-MADE CULTURE IS CAUSING ECOLOGICAL IMBALANCE

  I marveled at the monsoon, its amazing ways of bringing down the heavy showers, which we badly needed for the various crops on lands. Where do these clouds come from? Where do they go? ‘Ammachi’ explained by pointing to the globe and told us, “At the equator region the sun is very close to the earth. Due to the extreme heat, the surface water in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea gets heated up and the water vapour from this gets transformed into clouds. This then moves west wards with the help of the winds. The Kilimanjaro Mountain ranges in Africa stops their further movement to the west and therefore they reach the Gulf region. The North-west winds would bring them back to Kerala, where the ‘Sahyadri Mountains and hills’ and their rich flora would stop them and with the help of cool breeze it would start to rain. Some portion of the rain water would be drawn down to the earth, which is called the underground water and the rest would join to form small streams and then rivers and would reach the lagoons or ‘‘Kayal’, which ultimately would reach the ocean, the region of its origin.” How correct is the idiom, “Little drops of water make a mighty ocean.” It is a cyclic movement. If that is so, the cultural evolution of conserving the whole year’s rainfall in dams breaks the cyclic movement of water. Isn’t it one of the major reasons for depletion of icebergs in the Arctic and elsewhere to replenish the loss?

Kalidasa, a great epic writer of Ramayana, cut the branch of a tree on which he was sitting. It is considered to be one of the greatest blunders ever known. What are we doing? The tectonic-plates are the foundation of the surface of the land mass on the earth where the fauna and flora lives. The surface of the earth is as significant as air, water, fire and sky or space, which are essential for the existence of life. Ignoring this, the government licenses issued for granite mining are misused. These granite miners flagrantly violate the laws of Mother Nature and create ecological imbalances.

In comparison to the vastness of the Universe, our planet is very minute. In comparison to the size of the earth, the human being too is minute. Beyond his limitations, man tries to create a new order in nature thinking that he is the Master. He never realizes the fact that his culture is causing a grave ecological imbalance. Dams and hydroelectric projects and mining of large quantity of granite in Sahyadri Mountains and hills are blatant examples. This has resulted in deforestation, erosion, generation of Carbon dioxide, which contributes to the global warming. The result of this has brought about severe ground-water shortage in the hills, and floods and famines in the planes. A lot of forest regions were submerged in the catchment areas of the dams. This resulted in the extinction of varied flora and fauna. The ancient civilization of Mexico and Peru are historic examples of the entire civilization becoming extinct with the destruction of forests.

Human beings have to live in harmony with nature.  We should focus our attention to the urgent need for the conservation of our flora and fauna and forest wealth and for the preservation of the environment. The gifts of nature should be enjoyed; if one tries to control or break the chain of events it may create a calamity.

Excerpts from

MEMOIRS

An autobiography

by

Joseph J. Thayamkeril

Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.

josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com

josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com

NECESSITY TO MODERNIZE TECHNOLOGY, CHANGE OF FUEL AND A NEW MODE OF TRANSPORT

It is significant to note that the Government of India is spending about 160 million US dollars every year for import of crude oil and that comes to about fifty per cent of the total revenue collected from the public, subject to correction. This is an alarming situation and a major reason for the devaluation of the Indian rupee against the US dollar. Is the Planning Commission or the Parliament of India really concerned about it? We should try to explore for further oil resources at Mumbai, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chennai, Cochin and other places, if any, to achieve our annual requirement of the traditional petroleum products or oil.  Or else we should go forward for an innovation in our technology; like trying to substitute our varied engines with other fuel such as LPG or CNG.  I am confident that our scientists, engineers and technologists are capable of inventing a better and economic transport system.

Is there any stumbling block for fuel change? Let the people of India know who are all the MPs and other politicians lobbying for vehicle manufacturers, and against the change of fuel and modernization of technology. I am aware that the Indian scientists have already invented a less expensive and economic mode of manufacturing Heavy Water formally called Deuterium oxide or H₂O or D₂O, successfully from sea water, which is available in plenty. We are exporting it to Korea and U.S.A. Tritium oxide (Tao_2,) is another effective and efficient alternative fuel to moderate neutron fission in atomic thermal reactors. It is high time that we changed the fuel for our transport vehicles. It is significant to note that those who lobby against change of fuel are working against our national interest.

It is significant to note that an enterprising Malayali Engineer, M.D. Jose, the managing director of Eddy Automobiles (India) Limited at Chalakudy in Kerala, invested huge sum of money for research and development of various vehicles including a car with solar panels, the cost of which was worked at Rupees 35,000/- in 1990s; he applied for license to manufacture the car but in vain. The political bosses wanted a major share in the profits, and the callous indifference on the part of the government jeopardized his endeavour and he slumped into financial difficulties. Such apathy and corruption should change for the better.

Simultaneously we should find alternative modes of transport. I would suggest that in states like Kerala where there are fourty four rivers and large and deep lakes inland water transport may be given more importance. The greater expense involved in the building and up keep of highways could be avoided. The inland-water-ways, no doubt, is an inexpensive and economic mode of transport. Great quantities of bulky freight like Sulphur, Coal, petro;eum products and other cargoes could be moved at great saving of time and expense. Ocean ferries by ships also could be introduced for long travels especially from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasargod and further North, and also on the eastern coast. Moreover the air tariffs may be reduced to the minimum possible so that commoners too could afford to travel by air. I appreciate the endeavour of the government of Kerala to commence low cost sea plane services in Kerala.

The invention of wheel was an epoch making event which helped in the progress of transport and civilization. Now the scientists are obsessed with the wheels and they can’t think of a vehicle without wheels and without roads or rails or sprawling airports. I would suggest that young scientists around the world should put their heads together to explore and to discover an innovative, economic transport vehicle totally devoid of wheels and a better mode of Public Transport System as swift as thought that would destroy natural frontiers. They should be encouraged by United Nations and the member Nations and sanction funds liberally for that cause and recognize their efforts. This would safeguard our environment from further pollution and damage. Imagination is the key to development and progress. I always wonder, whether Solar energy like light, electric powered–batteries, magnetic power, wind energy, Hydrogen, Alcohol like Methanol, Ethanol, and Vegetable oil, Deuterium oxide, Tritium oxide, low-lying clouds or such other small things could be used for such transport?

Excerpts from

MEMOIRS

An autobiography

by

Joseph J. Thayamkeril

Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.

josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com

josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com

MENACE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM

I was aware that the invention of the wheel was a milestone in the development and progress of transport. Its use in transport from single wheeled vehicles to the most sophisticated multi-wheeled transport system has increased the speed of vehicles. I knew that the growth in transport vehicles has brought in many hazards too. One of the menaces is that the Public Transport System by road and rail takes up large areas of land. The alarming figures of acquisition are between thirty to sixty per cent in the metropolitan cities. These acquisitions are made without any foresight. Due to that certain areas became landlocked preventing further development. Wet lands became waterlogged thereby making cultivation impossible. The remaining land was scattered and therefore cultivation became impracticable. Those who were neighbours for generations became total strangers over a period of thirty to forty years when a land acquisition by the government forcibly separated them either by a highway or a railway line. These severances remain as a “Berlin Wall” between them to last a whole life time. 

Excerpts from

MEMOIRS

An autobiography

by

Joseph J. Thayamkeril

Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.

josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com

josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com

OUR MOONLIT NIGHT OUTINGS

I reminiscence ‘Ammachi’ taking us, children, out into the courtyard on full moon days, to dart with her. The leaves of the huge mango trees would be shimmering in the moonlight. Jacob and I used to run from one point to another and the one who reached the finishing point first would get a crescent shaped lemon or an orange candy. Pengal, my elder sister too joined us on these nights.  I found it really interesting to play on moonlit nights with the stars twinkling up in the sky.  I felt as if I was running and playing with the moon. Each time I ran I thought that the moon too ran with me in the same direction. I was rather confused to spot the same moon at Muttuchira, my ‘Ammachi’s parental house, which is almost fifty kilometers away from my native place, Kumbalam. I thought that the moon was only gazed at Kumbalam. May be I was very possessive about it as it was so amazing and so friendly, that it made me happy to look at it at night. ‘Ammachi’ told us, “The ebb and flow of the water in the Vembanad ‘Kayal’ is due to the influence of the moon.” She further said, “The flow of blood from a cut wound would be more in the presence of moon in the sky.” I vividly remember ‘Appachan’ asking Thommachan Kelanthara and Ayyappan Manathara to cut the bamboo trees on the ‘Amavasya’, New Moon Day only otherwise pests would attack the cut bamboos and spoil it. No doubt, moon, other planets and stars have a great influence on the flora and fauna of the earth.

I recall ‘Appachan’ and ‘Ammachi’ taking us to the bank of Vembanad ‘Kayal’ during moonlit nights. As I fixed my eyes on the landscape with fascination, I could gaze at the crescent moon and the stars that glistened in the backwater. The sudden breath of cold air raised tiny goosebumps on my skin. I enjoyed the crashing waves and the sea-gulls, with their cries, hovering about beneath the varied spectacular hues on those irregularly shaped and wandering bits of cloud, and listening to the sound of helicopter-gunships that hovered over the backwaters on their routine patrolling in the region. The nighttime breeze was rustling the shawl loosely thrown over ‘Ammachi’s shoulders. The light wind tried gently to sweep her curly hair on to me while I wrapped my hands around her. My hair too was ruffled. The dazzling lights across the island, the urban areas of Ernakulam, Venduruthy Bridge, Willington Island, Thoppumpady and the Edakochi-Aroor Bridge were all a feast for our eyes. On full moon days the shores and the ‘Kayal’ looked breathtakingly beautiful.

We could smell the humid air from the backwaters. Our face and hands felt sultry and with the taste of salt in our mouth we went back to the Mana.

I observe the same passion in my children, Kiran Rose and Karan Jose, whenever we take them out in the courtyard to dart and dot in the moonlight. While scurrying, the children prefer munching the “Cocao Brown Chocolate Crackies”, to lemon or orange candies. These chocolates are manufactured by Cochin Coco Products, Kakkanad. 

Excerpts from

MEMOIRS

An autobiography

by

Joseph J. Thayamkeril

Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.

josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com

josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com

CHINESE NETS

The Chinese nets, locally called as “Cheena Vala,” undoubtedly, came from China. There is an adage that these nets were introduced by the later Casado settlers of Cochin from Macau, a former Portuguese Colony, at present an independent Province of China. Chinese fishing net is an installation fixed on land or shallow waters and has at least 10 m height and comprises a cantilever with outstretched horizontal net, of around 10 meters each on all the four sides with a wide mouth and having a tapering end, which is suspended over the Vembanad ‘Kayal.’ A few large granite stones, each having a side length of 30 cm. are suspended from ropes of different lengths as counter-weights at the other end. Each installation is lifted and operated by a team of up to five fishermen. As the net is raised by pulling on the ropes, the granite stones suspended one by one come to rest on a platform thereby keeping every installation in balance.

The names of the different parts of the Chinese net used even today are the loan words from Portuguese language, which is a definite indication of its Portuguese introduction. The net used for catching fish is called “rede”, its edge is “borda”, the arms of wooden parts which hold the extensive net together is “brasao”, while the flexible ring on the top on which the entire brasao moves is “argola.” In addition there are “corda” and “pedra” for balancing the movement of the net. There is “caluada” on which the fishermen move up and down and the posts which support the entire structure from the lake bottom are called “odora.” They also brought here “Cheena-Chatti” (Chinese frying pan), “Cheena-Veli” (Chinese decorative fencing made of Bamboo reapers), “Cheena-Bharani” (Chinese earthen pots or jars) and “Chinese-Otams” tiny canoes.) [Now the market is flooded with Chinese goods like – cycles, mosquito-bats, telephones, other electronic goods and clothes and parasols.]

I was aware that ‘Thakkom’, is a reasonable or favourable time depending on the movement of moon, which lasts for six to seven days commencing from ‘Ekadasi’ of the Malayalam calendar, for trapping fish in Chinese nets as well. At twilight, Prabhakaran, Achu and others in my neighbourhood would hook their petro-max lamps on kerosene at the center of their Chinese nets. We watched the spectacular sights of hundreds of such lights hooked on to the Chinese nets to attract the fish and trap them in. The net was then submerged into the ‘Kayal’. The net is left for a short time, possibly just a few minutes, when a shoal of fish would enter the net, it is raised by pulling on ropes quickly, and one of the fishermen would walk along the main beam and would remove the freshly caught fish with a ball net. We could watch the casting of nets and the water cascading through their nets as they lifted it from the backwaters. On ‘Chakara’ days their Chinese nets were full with crustaceans like ‘Naran Chemmen’ (Prawns), ‘Konchu,’ Big Freshwater Prawn. They used to get fish like ‘Kanambu’ (Mullet), ‘Thirutha’, (Port.tagana or tainha) ‘Narimeen’ or  ‘Chela-Kora’ or Kalanchi, (Asian Seabars;) ‘Poomeen’(Milk Fish), ‘Pranjeen’ (Filamented Silver biddy), Thirutha’ (Stripped Mullet), ‘Vatta’  (Shrimp Scads), Catla, and other small fish like ‘Mullan’ (Bony fish), ‘Nandan’ (Glassy Perch let), ‘Kozhuva’ (White Bait), a very small fish. This was a sight to behold. On these occasions due to the weight of the fish they were unable to lift it and afraid that the net might give way, someone had to go into the ‘Kayal’ on a canoe to take out the fish with a ball net. Those days they used to get three to five thousand rupees on a ‘Chakara’ day. Half of it would go to the owner of the Chinese net and the rest was shared by the people who were engaged in pulling up the net. The fish obtained in this manner was very fresh and they stayed alive for some time. We, the Islanders are able to determine the difference in taste of the curries made with this fresh fish and the fish which is kept fresh by stacking it with ice. The former is the one on popular demand.

During the night, the picturesque sight of a line of Chinese nets by the side of the shore with lighted petromax hooked on them looked amazingly beautiful.

Chinese fishing nets have been in use for the last 500 years and it is one of the tourist attractions in the delta regions at Kochi and Kollam in Kerala. Chinese nets are fast vanishing from the Kochi region as huge maintenance costs, prohibitive labour and poor catch are forcing fishermen to look for other alternatives.

Excerpts from

MEMOIRS

An autobiography

by

Joseph J. Thayamkeril

Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.

josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com

josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com

A LEGEND ABOUT OLI MANA

Our ‘Oli Mana’, which was handed down from generation to generation, is shrouded in myths. The villagers say that though the ‘Nambuthiris’ were converted into the Christian faith they still continue certain traditions; there are gold and silver coloured serpents in the ‘Nilavara’ of the ‘Oli Mana’. They believed that the eldest male member of the ‘Oli Mana’ feeds the serpents with milk and eggs; and lamps are kindled by him in the ‘Nilavara’. Another story goes back to around hundred and fifty years. The myth revolves around the ‘Nambuthiri’ from Paunbumekkat (Mekkat) ‘Mana’ at Mala. On one of his journeys, while passing Kumbalam in his canoe, he was fascinated by the rich and ripe areca-nut bunches in the compound of ‘Oli Mana.’  He landed to meet the landlord; ‘Oli’ Ousepachan to request for a few bunches. It was immediately made available to him. This kind gesture pleased the Nambuthiri.  Then Oli Ousepachan asked the Nambuthiri whether he could remove the serpents, which rested in the ‘Nilavara’ of our ‘Mana’. He collected them all in a copper pot and he tied its mouth. While he was leaving the ‘Oli Mana’, the people of the locality defied his authenticity and said that there were no serpents in the pot. The Nambuthiri was so furious that he threw the pot from his hand and while doing so, the mouth of the pot opened. At that time a few serpents wriggled out and crawled back into their abode in the ‘Nilavara’. The ‘Nambuthiri’ said that the serpents were not willing to leave the ‘Mana’. He concluded that these serpents would bring no harm but only peace and prosperity to the members who reside therein.

Excerpts from

MEMOIRS

An autobiography

by

Joseph J. Thayamkeril

Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.

josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com

josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com

ACCRETION

I am aware that erosion of soil, loam and other decomposed organic matter and oil, and its precipitation in brine and accretion of new land mass is a continuing process. I have noticed that the Vembanad ‘Kayal’ is also shrinking gradually due to accumulation of sand, loamy soil and decomposed organic matter and other wastes on the banks of all the existing deltas, especially those at the estuary region. Heavy floods in the Sahyadri Mountains and hills or damage to the reservoirs would inundate large amount of soil and new land mass would accrete in the Vembanad ‘Kayal’ and also extended lagoons and land mass on the Arabian Sea coast in the years to come.

The gradual accretion of land mass on the sides of the river and lakes belongs to the riparian owners. Whereas, the sudden accretion of land mass due to heavy floods or other calamity is known as “No Man’s Land” and that belongs to the person who occupies it first.

Excerpts from

MEMOIRS

An autobiography

by

Joseph J. Thayamkeril

Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.

josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com

josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com

VEMBANAD ‘KAYAL’, LAKE

One of the most striking features is the continuous chain of lagoons or backwaters or lake running parallel to the Arabian Sea coast. The Lake opens to the Cochin estuary on the side of Arabian Sea, which is hardly four kilometers away from Kumbalam Island. There are two other estuaries on the north, namely Crangannur and Chetwa, for drainage of the streams descending from the Western Ghats. The Vembanad Lake is affected by the flood tides twice in every 24 hours due to the movement of the moon, when they rise about one meter at the banks of Kumbalam and flow at the rate of about 4 Kilometers an hour, except during monsoon months depending on the rainfall. The water in Vembanad Lake is brackish, but during monsoon season it is almost fresh except in the vicinity of the estuary region.

The major Rivers like Achenkoil, Pamba, Manimala, Meenachil, Muvattupuzha and Periyar originate and commence their journey from the Sahyadri Mountains and hills. This is in Pathanamthitta District. These rivers also pass through the Districts of Alleppy, Kottayam and Ernakulam.  They wind their way down and naturally collect in a lagoon or backwater. This backwater is named as the Vembanad ‘Kayal’.

This 96.5 kilometers long, clear and clear blue backwater stretches from Kuttanad in Alleppy to the Muzuris (Kodungallur) in Trichur District. The width of the lake in the Kumbalam region is more than 2 kilometers and the maximum width at the Kuttanad region are 14 kilometers. The depth of the ‘Kayal’ in the Kumbalam region is 12 Meters. The Vembanad Lake has taken its name from the ancient Kingdom of Vembolinad. It is understood that this kingdom split sometime around 1200 A.D. The Vembanad Lake is the longest lake in India and the largest in Kerala and one of the largest in India. This backwater is extended up to Tirur at the north and Tiruvananthapuram at the South and it facilitates a thorough communication between the northern and southern parts of Kerala. This lake is the pride of the Cochinites, especially the natives of Kumbalam. The picturesque view of the other islands just across our island with only the sprawling Vembanad Lake separating us is also breathtaking. 

Excerpts from

MEMOIRS

An autobiography

by

Joseph J. Thayamkeril

Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.

josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com

josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com

CLIMATE

The geographical location and climatic factors play an important part in the development of culture and civilization. We enjoy a tropical climate with South-west monsoon rains for almost six months from ‘Edavam’ to ‘Thulam’ of the Malayalam calendar corresponding to May 15 to November 15. We also experience a warm humidity of the atmosphere. During the first four months we experience a continuous and heavy down pour. During the last two months the rains subside considerably and become intermittent. The flashes of lightning and thunder experienced during the months of October–November definitely need mention as it helps in the lush and speedy growth of the plants. The deciduous trees start shedding their leaves around the same period and it transform the ground, especially beneath the orchards into a bright orange or golden-yellow hue. We also experience chilly nights from December to February. From March to May the heat is at its peak. We experience a sweltering summer. It is also the flowering season when we find colouring all around as the flowering trees and plants are in full bloom. A few heavy showers in the midst of summer bring us intense relief. It cools the island and the landscape turns lush green with its large variety of flora, big trees, shrubs and herbs that spring up with the first monsoon rains. It makes the island so lush green and beautiful that one cannot deny that it is truly “God’s Own Island.”

Excerpts from

MEMOIRS

An autobiography

by

Joseph J. Thayamkeril

Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.

josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com

josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com