Riding the Bus in Circles and Learning about Pashminas

Ft. Cochi – Day 3

A fellow traveler from the UK has urged us to see the Kerala Folk Museum.  It’s a challenge to get to  but well worth it (even LP agrees on both counts).  We ask Saj for directions and, although they sound a bit complicated, we figure we can do it.  Tuk tuk to the ferry, ferry to the mainland, bus to Thevara (close to the Museum) and then another tuk tuk to the Museum.  Off we go . . .

What we hadn’t planned on was the lack of English speakers (or people who even know about the Kerala Folk Musuem!) at the bus stop.  After asking six people, one older man tells us, ‘Wait, I tell you which bus to get on.’  A few busses later, he says ‘This one, you get on.’  Like so much in Kerala, the busses are quintessentially Communist (this is a Communist coalition government and Kerala appears to work much better than most of India) – they are old, dirty, and ugly, but they run – on time – and are cheap.  

We tell the ticket taker where we want to go, he does the head bobble and says ’24 rupees’ – mmm, that’s more than we thought it would be but we’re going.  Using our crude tourist map, I watch the streets whiz by and so far so good.  Then we get to the point where I think we should turn left and, horrors, we turn right and appear to be going right back where we started!  And, yup, we end up in Jew Town (that’s it’s name) and are the only people left on the bus!!  We just made a huge circle from the mainland, down to where the peninsula that is Ft. Cochi joins the mainland and up north to about 1 km from our homestay!!  End of the line – the driver and ticket taker tell us ‘Off’ - in Malayallam - but we get the idea. 

The synagogue in Jew Town was on our ‘sights to see’ list – now’s as good a time as any.  Sweet neighborhood and the synagogue is very old (13^th cent) but well-maintained.  It's Friday so we cannot get inside.

Love this photo - taken by Christians, in front of a synagogue capturing two Buddhists in a neighborhood which, we learn later, has as many Muslims as it does Jews!  

We wander around an architectural salvage/antiquities store and of course, have to take a photo with one of the most remarkable pieces.  

Lots of shops nearby – more beautiful fabrics and tons of spices.  One pair of brothers convinces Tim to ‘Just have a look, sir.’  They are Muslim and tell us that there are only 7 Jews in the area and an equal number of Muslims.  (Is this enough for a Jewish quorum?)  Out come the inevitable array of fabrics, including pashminas.  Everybody’s selling pashminas.  

Here’s what we learn:  the ‘real’ pashmina are made from the hair of the mountain goat.  Premium hair comes from the chin, good hair from the belly, and poorest quality from the back.  Ideally, the goat is sheared regularly – like a sheep – but the demand for pashminas, coupled with a dismal economy up north (Kashmir), has resulted in the wide-spread slaughter of the goats and the harvesting of all the hair at one time. 

Creating a true pashmina consists of two skills – one is weaving and the other embroidering.  We are dazzled by pashminas showing both these skills, and I take photos of the ‘signature’ of each craftswoman (yes they’re all women).  

These are fabulous.  But way out of our reach – a ‘best price’ is about $200, somewhat less if we were to buy 6 or more. 

Funny, ‘only in India’ event, while we’re there.  The whole store goes dark, the A/C goes off, and one of the brothers says – ‘I go outside and put fuel in the generator.’  And that’s exactly what he does, and the power comes back on!! 

More than enough excitement for one day . . . off to our new favorite restaurant, Casa Linda, where Aroma and her husband compete to see who can prepare the best fish dinner.   Too bad they don’t have a beer license – it's forbidden as they’re directly opposite a school!  Waiting for dinner, we watch the children being picked up (by car and driver)).

Reminded me of the 20-passenger Jeep we passed on the drive to Udaipur.  Time for our fish dinner . . .