A Decade of Travel - 8

2018 – Kozhikode

29^th June

It was the last day of the week-long trip along the Malabar coast to savour the monsoon in full glory. We were in Kozhikode and I began my day strolling along the wet promenade, easily one of the loveliest in the country. During the course of the day, one of the driest during our sojourn, we discovered that Kozhikode was a pretty city inhabited by good people endowed with loads of civic sense. I haven’t witnessed such traffic discipline and courtesy anywhere else in the country.

Museums are my weakness. After breakfast we headed to the Deepanjali Lamp Museum. I was very excited since I also collect lamps in a small way. The museum was difficult to locate even after arriving at the destination recommended by Google Maps. We had to use all our ingenuity to avoid a large puddle occupying 99% of the path leading to the residence housing the private collection of Prasad. Prasad was taken aback when he saw us, because it is customary to seek appointment before visiting his private museum. Nevertheless, he welcomed us warmly and showed around his collection with great passion. Lamps of every form, material and size filled every nook and corner of his modest house. They hung on the wall, they stood on the window sills, they dangled from the ceiling, they were in cabinets and cupboards, even stowed away under the bed. Prasad, a former lighthouse keeper, explained the intricacies of some of the lamps and narrated fascinating stories of how he got to acquire them. I captured this later for an article that was published in The Hindu, most appropriately during the Deepavali season.

Next stop was Pazhassi Raja Archaeological Museum, named after the 18^th C warrior king, who bravely fought the British, and is an unsung hero of our independence struggle. The museum housed in a quintessential Kerala style structure has hoary burial pots and chambers.

In the same complex is another museum dedicated to the memorabilia of V K Krishna Menon, the controversial defence minister in Nehru’s cabinet during the 1962 Chinese aggression. The museum has also an art gallery exhibiting a vast collection of Ravi Varma paintings. Sadly, no photography is permitted here.

Mishkal Mosque is an exquisite 4-storeyed wooden structure with no domes or minarets. Originally built in 14^th C by an Arab merchant, it was destroyed by the Portuguese in 1510 and rebuilt by the Hindu Zamorin in 1578. It is a splendid testimony to the pluralism of Kerala.

Tali Shiva temple is the oldest (14^th C) and the most revered temple in Kozhikode. Unfortunately, I could not enter the temple because I could not comply with their strict dress code. The next hour was spent looking for a store that stocked mundu (veshti).