The advantage of travelling to places that one wouldn’t normally go to is the anticipation of stumbling across something that will make the trip itself worthwhile. A waterfall in the monsoon, a wooden bridge across a river, a new family of friends… On a recent trip to Kerala, I found the sort of homestay that travellers dream of finding. Our desi version of a bed and breakfast has really caught on in certain parts of the country; Kerala has some of the most outstanding examples.
The Olavipe Homestay on the island of Olavipe in North Alappuzha district is a real jewel of a place. The home of this branch of the Parayil Tharakan family is a well-preserved 100-year-old house in a sort of Kerala-Colonial style, with a courtyard, but also with imported tiles and a revolutionary — at the time of its construction—indoor loo, the lot topped off with arches perched on what was meant to be, before they added a veranda, the ground floor of the front façade. The effect, though architecturally peculiar, is very pleasing, and the fact that the house is so evidently still a home makes staying here a real delight. The family is the house, in a way that isn’t necessarily true anymore.
Rema and Antony Tharakan, the present incumbents, decided to come home to what was Antony’s childhood home after a peripatetic life spent, amongst other places, in the distant North of India. His memories, and those of his brothers and sisters, crowd this place like a clutch of benevolent ghosts. Every corner has a story, and the Tharakans delight in telling them. Stories of the sick room, the tutorial room that you evaded only by being in the sick room, the materfamilias of the family whose spirit still pervades the place. There is even a family tree on a wall, and written histories of the TharakanParayil family. The family can also organise a trip to one of the other homes of the Tharakans that dot this island.
In hands other than those of the Tharakans, this excess of family history might degenerate into kitsch. But Rema and Antony’s hospitality and grace never flag and they allow you to tell your stories too, and time flies by. Food here is a living tradition and the best stories are told around the table where the food is really quite special. The rooms are lovely as well, with big wooden shutters on the windows that look out on the surrounding estate.
There are small fishing ponds fed from the backwaters that are nearby, and coconut and banana trees. This is Kerala, so there are rice fields everywhere. What is blessedly missing is that other thing that is all over Kerala now: concrete. Though the road to Olavipe takes you through a succession of villages that are even now being converted into concrete eyesores, the home of the Tharakans is a haven, a throwback to what was, at least architecturally, a more pleasant age.
There are badminton rackets available if you’re feeling energetic; there are hammocks between trees if you’re not. There are little nooks around the house, sheltered away in the deep verandahs, places where you can lie on the cool stone and read or merely daydream. A rainstorm, when you’re out and about, is a violent event; when you’re dry and watching the fun from an old verandah with a cup of coffee at your side, the coconut trees thrashing about can look quite charming. One can’t order up a rainstorm, of course, but if you have to sit one out somewhere, it may as well be here.
A short walk brings you to the water’s edge, on the house’s own jetty. A walk to the municipal jetty lets you be rowed or poled along the water to the house in a small country boat; at sunset, with the fishermen out with their nets and the birds coming home to roost, the effect is quite magical.
Be advised that it is a homestay and not a hotel, that you are actually a guest in someone’s own home. There are only a few rooms, and the owners recommend that the whole place be taken by one party, at one time. Easily approached by road from Alleppey or Kochi, it can make for a break on your family’s hectic Kerala itinerary. Be courteous, be open, and be prepared to be completely peaceful. I can’t recommend this place highly enough.
Tariff Rs 10,000, includes all meals and taxes. Contact 0478-2522255, olavipe.com