Back from Kerala after a two-year stint as a foreign scholar, I used to love informing friends and family in Bangladesh, while reaching for a sip of refrigerated water on a hot, sultry day, that Keralites have no notion of cold drinking water. Of course I had been taken aback when, on my first day at Calicut University, I was served a glass of hot water, in the lightest shade of peach, to go with my lunch. After my first tentative sip of the lukewarm herbal water, however, I was hooked. It was certainly refreshing. I later came to know that herbal water is part of Kerala's rich ayurvedic tradition, and the best protection against any water-borne disease.
I first arrived in Calicut during Onam, the festival season, and God's own country – as Kerala is touted to tourists – was living up to its name. Breakfasts were mouth-watering savouries such as dosas, idlis and appams – made of toddy-fermented rice-batter – served with freshly brewed coffee. Women flitted about in pristine off-white saris with gold borders; homes were brightened with floral designs made with all hues of flower petals; and sadyas, or festival feasts of sumptuous vegetarian dishes served on banana leaves, comprised every meal, even in the university canteen. What I also found was that God loved coconuts. Coconut trees swayed whichever way your head turned, and the Keralite platter abounds with every concoction imaginable of the fruit's white flesh.