The state of Kerala is in the south-west of India and along with its neighbour, Tamil Nadu, to the east comprises the bottom of the pendant shape that is modern India. Apparently if you dip you toes in the water at the bottom-most tip, where the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal converge, then you are guaranteed good luck for your entire life! I therefore dipped my toes as prescribed some six years ago and then settled back and waited expectantly for the cheques to roll in.
They didn't so it seems that good luck, for me at any rate, does not necessarily take the form of financial or material gain, but perhaps is rather that I have not encountered any noteworthy misfortune. So for 'good luck for life' insert the 'absence of bad luck' and if the rest of my days are peppered with an absence of bad luck then I shall consider the original toe-tipping investment a good one.
Kerala itself is dotted with temples and shrines and much faith is put into pilgrimage, faith and the careful balance of mind, body and soul in daily life. I'm becoming convinced that it is this combination of spiritual enlightenment and self conservation that seems to make the Keralan people so irritatingly pleasant and cheerful.
Unsurprisingly all sorts of establishments and practices are present to support different elements of this spiritual / physical combination.
One is the practice of ayurvedic medicine. This is a method of treating any number of ailments by massaging medicated oils and milks onto the body. Anything from migraine and facial palsy to deafness and 'sexual weakness' can be mitigated through this ancient system of natural medicine. I haven't tried any of these treatments and remain unconvinced that having warm oil drip onto your forehead for an hour can be a good thing. Nevertheless those I have spoken to that have undertaken these treatments report beneficial effects and a general feeling of well being, so there may be something to it.
The other, that I have tried, is vegetarian food. Now I would be the first to admit that I have never really understood why anyone would want to be vegetarian. It can't be a protest against the killing of animals for, as we all know, a lettuce screams when it is pulled from the soil, so I had tended to view vegetarianism as more of an affectation rather than a conviction. I realise now that my delving for a cause for what I probably perceived as an ailment was wholly wrong. The reason people are vegetarian is probably just because it tastes good. This is a big deal in Kerala and there is a large number of vegetarian restuarants and even those that aren't vegetarian will have a large vegetarian menu. Last night I had a meal of aubergine masala, okra fried with onions and garlic, vegetable koftas in a coconut sauce, vegetable rice and a tomato and cheese melange and they were all, singularly and as a combination, delicious.
So if you are a vegetarian and despair of being able to eat out at home on anything other than limp salad and mass produced nut cutlets you really should visit.
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