Muttom - A place I won't forget anytime soon

One lazy afternoon when I was channel surfing, one Tamil channel was showing the popular '80s flick "Kadalora Kavithaigal" which featured Satyaraj and Rekha. I'm not anywhere close to being a fan of Satyaraj, and I get bored out of my wits watching movies where the epicenter is a tiny village and all they do is run around the fields holding goat kids in their hands while looking all coy. What? I'm just being honest. So I was about to move on in my extremely focussed channel surfing activity when the scene in the movie shifted to this beach which made my jaw drop. So while the naive and "pure" character of Satyaraj tried to impress the belle, I kept my eyes open for any indication on where the scenes were shot. It wasn't until the last scene where he has to bid her goodbye at the railway station that I finally found out. Muttom. Not batting an eyelid when the scene was enacted, I was rewarded for my patience and persistence. As the train pulled out of Muttom, I whipped out my laptop to see where it was.

The sand, surf and the blue-green sea at Muttom

Located around 35 km from Kanyakumari, the drive to this tiny coastal village along the shores of the Indian Ocean is as scenic as can be. It takes close to an hour from the Cape Comorin, and the roads are fairly good. We'd just visited the temple at Sucheendram, and when we asked for directions to Muttom, an auto rickshaw driver very helpfully told us "Aiyo, Muttom ah? Anga edukku poreenga? Waste-u.. Sema Waste-u.. anga onnu illa saar." ("Aiyo, Muttom ? Why are you going there? There's nothing there to see." (We Tamilians love to generously sprinkle "aiyos" in our conversation, and he was no exception.) So Arjun, not one to give up, asked him the directions to the beach, and the guy wouldn't stop his helpful banter - "Anga andha padam eduthaanga, avlodaan.. beach mattum daan" (They shot the movie there, there's only the beach, nothing else). But we finally got some rough directions out of him and sped off. We weren't about to be discouraged by one guy who thought it was "waste-u". I wavered a little bit, wondering if the place really wasn't going to be worth, but Arjun wouldn't have any of it. And I'm glad for his singleminded persistence, because I'd have missed out on one of the most amazing experiences ever. 

Yes, true, there is nothing else to "see" there apart from the beautiful stretch of blue-green waters. But that alone is worth the drive. It is untouched, and clean, with nothing taking away from its brilliance. The rocks on the beach add to its charm, and you can spend hours just sitting there and watching the waves rise and fall. Muttom is a fishing village with a lighthouse that's approximately 100 years old. 

The road less travelled...

The rocks on the beach tempt you to strike a meditative pose...

Of course, I'd like to thank the director of the movie, Bharathi Raja for introducing the place to movie-buffs and beach fanatics like us. No one makes a film in a rustic setting better than him. I'm not about to post the picture that I had taken of me posing like Satyaraj on the rocks. 

Manapad - Of fishing and folklore

I've seen pictures of the bluest of blue seas and sandy beaches when friends visit Krabi or Koh Samui, and I've often wondered when I'd get to see those turquoise waters. Because there's some "pichle janam  ka raaz" and bad karma, perhaps, that has always resulted in the cancelation of my extremely well-planned Thailand trips. Not once, but thrice. And I haven't really had a chance to visit any other beautiful beaches since, so I'd kind of reconciled that maybe it's not just Thailand. Maybe the Gods of the Seas had decided that since this girl refused a thirsty soul water in her last birth, instead of making her a lizard in this one, let's instead decline all requests to visit beautiful water bodies.
But you know what? Looks like they've decided to forgive me for all those sins because of my exceedingly good deeds in this birth. Because when I saw the waters at Manapad, Tamil Nadu, I was rooted to the spot. OK, Thailand enthusiasts, this is by no way an article of comparison or any such thing. I am still praying fervently that I be let to visit Koh Samui. But it's just that this is probably the bluest sea I've seen.

Blue waters - Ah, life is good. 

Until recently, I hadn't even heard about this tiny fishing village, which is home to one of the most famous shrines in this part of the country, The Holy Cross Church.

The Holy Cross Shrine, Manapad

Manapad is at a distance of 60 km from Tuticorin, and takes about two hours, thanks to the dismal condition of the State Highway to Kanyakumari. From Tiruchendur, it's a little over 20 km, and the last stretch of road, just leading to the village is in particularly bad shape. A few kilometers in between are OK to drive, but mostly nothing to write home about.

We go where the road takes us...

We saw him/her on the way, and he/she didn't seem too thrilled to have visitors. 

In 1540, a Portuguese ship is believed to have been caught in a horrible storm, which led to the snapping of its hind mast. The captain of the ship vowed to construct a Cross out of the splintered mast if they escaped alive, and is known to have done just that. A couple of years later, St. Francis Xavier came to Manapad for missionary activity, and built a shrine with the captain's Cross at the altar.
With the completion of the Church in the 1580's, the reverend appealed to have a relic of the True Cross (i.e. the Cross on which Jesus is believed to have been crucified) brought to Manapad, and it did arrive from Rome via Cochin in 1583. Every year, this relic is publicly displayed from September 1st to 14th.

Early evening at Manapad

The boats back after their day out in the sea.

The tiny village that exists today consists mainly of fisherfolk. Owing to its picture perfect beach, Manapad has seen some films shot here. Some time after I visited, I found out that my favorite director Mani Ratnam is shooting parts of his film "Kadal" in Manapad. Hmm... I obviously wish I had a run-in. But well, for now, the gods are appeased enough to stop blocking my entry into beautiful beaches. So Mani Ratnam will have to wait. 

Strolling down Stroget, Copenhagen

Copenhagen is one of my favourite cities. I don't know why. Sometimes when you're in a place, you just feel good, right? You feel happy. And please, let's not get into one of those "happiness is a frame of mind" discussions - you know what I mean. This was one of those places. I especially loved walking down Stroget, the car-free, pedestrians only street that is a shopper's haven. Well I didn't shop much, actually, at all, except for an umbrella because I was the only fool without one in the January snow.
Stroget is not just a shopping street; it's a Copenhagen experience you cannot miss.

Sometime in the 1950's or '60's, the street was shut off to vehicle traffic owing to Christmas crowds, and the clever authorities realized it was a far better idea to leave it that way, without really making any public noise about it. Sneaky, right? But it has to be one of the best things that happened to the city, because when you walk down Stroget, you'll know what I mean.
The Stroget is actually a collection of streets branching off from one main road - Fredriksberggade, Gammel Torv/Nytorv, Nygade, Vimmelskaftet, Amagertorv and Ostergade.

I'm sure you've heard of the famous Illums Bolighus. They make these eye-wateringly delicious looking kitchenware, glassware, household furnishings and other goodies that I could only gaze at longingly from the outside (Partly because they may not have allowed a shabby looking hot-chocolate-clutching backpacker inside). Stroget is home to Illum Bolighus, The Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Factory (another one of those magnificent places I may not have been allowed into) and Magasin du Nord, some of the city's and perhaps the world's most expensive stores. Of course you'll find the H&M's and other similar places where you can dare to set foot, as well.

But my favorite part of Stroget was Konditeri La Glace - cake heaven. This is the most ridiculously overpriced bakery/confectioners' that I've been to, but also, the most fabulous. If there's a place where I wouldn't drown in my own tears for having shelled out 100 DKK for a cake, it's this. They make the most delicious layered cakes, and while I sat there nibbling at a piece (absolutely SLOWLY, because I never wanted it to finish!), and sipping divine hot chocolate, I was in heaven.

One end of Stroget has international designer stores like Gucci, and Chanel, again territory where I'd have been eyed suspiciously. But if you're as into people watching as I am, it's an interesting experience to just gaze at those immaculately dressed Danes walk in and out of these stores.

At some point down the road, I also came across some musicians performing outside one of the stores. I stood and listened for a good fifteen minutes, they were excellent!

Winter, spring, summer or fall, whether it's snowing or raining, or whatever else, you will see people walking down Stroget. "We will wear twenty five layers, and carry umbrellas, but we will walk, and we will shop" is the motto here, and I love it.