The coincidence of Hindu and Muslim festivals with the flood of charter planes from Goa jammed the transport and telephones of Goa making it both desirable and impossible to leave. A bit of backsheesh smoothed the way to a black market train ticket though and secured the middle berth of a 3 tier sleeper en route to Kerala. An overnight train journey in India can mean waking up hearing a new language, reading a new script, eating new food (I miss the Goan fish curry) and even choosing from a new range of gods to worship. Its also noticeable that Kerala's state governement is communist - the red flag flies and the hammer and sickle are the emblem of public buildings. Communism has brought a measure of equality here as well as the best healthcare and education in India. It hasn't brought any nice coffee shops or bars but then india has to be approached with a degree of sacrifice. It hasn't really brought any jobs either but fortunately the Gulf lies across the sea and almost every family seems to be supported by a relative living in Dubai feeding the oil rich state's need for cheap labour.

Northern Kerala doesn't see many foreign tourists which, along perhaps with communism, means that the first meeting with locals is not a sales pitch for a jewellery or carpet shop. People are remarkably friendly and also very conservative. Admitting to being 33 and unmarried is like confessing to vegetarianism at Bernard Matthews' Christmas party. And the mention of alcohol sends eyes rolling as they point into the far distance where they heard there was a palce that sold beer though obviously would never go there themselves.

Kerala has retained some of its traditional art forms and festivals from centuries ago and 'theyyam' in particular is the main reason foreigners pass through. Its a form of dance in which a 'possessed' actor/dancer reinacts part of a Hindu myth taking on the personality of a historical character whilst wearing green or red make up. It is somewhere between an opera and a seance perhaps. After a long trip in a Morris Oxford (called the Ambassador) we found the performance had been rained off - no doubt the make up is not waterproof but on the second attempt to find a theyyam we di see ten minutes of the art. We had missed the main event because of a wedding I'd been implored to attend. I had expected an event lasting days but in fact this one was remarkaby short and the main event seemed to be the uncovering of the Biryani when the 750 guest stampeded. Food is eaten entirely with the hands in Kerala which makes a terrible mess especially when it's a curry. My requests for a spoon were too irksome for a reply however.