Fifty Shades of Green in Munnar

Munnar in Kerala with its gently rolling hills covered with rolling mists and neat rows of tea-plants is one of the most beautiful places in India. Recently I was there for a short holiday, recovering from an intensive Ayurvedic treatment. I have come back enchanted from this visit.

The infinite hues of green cut into squares and arranged in neat rows of the tea gardens draped over the hills and valleys are always the same and yet different, every time a source of joy and wonder.

MUNNAR HISTORY

During British colonial period, Munnar was a part of the Travancore estate. At that time it was mainly forest area with some agriculture and it belonged to the Poonjar family. John Munro, the British resident and Dewan of Travancore between 1810 to 1814, had visited different parts of the estate including Munnar, leaving descriptions which later helped in its use for the tea plantations.

In 1833, when the agreement for the supply of tea between China and England ended, the British started the search for alternative places in India to grow tea. Tea plants were stolen from China and brought to India. Native tea varieties were also identified in Assam. During 1850s the first Indian tea plantations were tried in the north especially around Darjeling in West Bengal and Sadiya in Assam. The first tea plantation in Munnar is credited to A. H. Scharp in 1880. Tea garden workers were brought from Tamilnadu, mainly poor peasants and tribals. Gradually tea plantations expanded all around Munnar.

MY VISIT TO MUNNAR

I was at an Ayurvedic hospital in Kothamangalam for a knee pain. After treatment, I was told to give rest to my joints for a few days. Since Munnar was close, I decided to go there. I stayed at SMM Lodge near the old KRTC bus stand, which meant that I was just outside the main town in a calm place with beautiful views. The image below shows a tea garden about 1 km from the hotel.

I took some leisurely walks in the city. I also made two tourist trips around Munnar - one to the south-west, going towards Pallivasal and the other to south-east, going towards Devikulam. Here is a brief presentation of the places that I visited during my stay.

MUNNAR TOWN

The old town of Munnar is located to the south along the Muthirappuzha river and extends from the old KRTC bus station to the bridge near the Christ church. The new Munnar is more developed with more shops and traffic and is to the north. Since I was staying in old Munnar, I only had glimpses of the new town while passing from there in an autorickshaw. It looked like any other town, full of shops, restaurants and noise. Probably it has some temples or other places to see, but I did not explore it.

I visited the Parvathi Amma temple and the Christ church in the old town. Just after the KRTC bus stand there is also the Blossom Park (Hydel park), but I did not visit it.

Parvathy Amma temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Parvati, the consort of Lord Shiva. It is built in the south-Indian style with statues of different goddesses on the temple dome as shown in the image below. It is supposed to be very old.

In the courtyard next to the temple is an area for Shiva devotees with nine statues of Shiva.

Christ church is the oldest church of Munnar. A stone in the back-wall of the church explains that its foundation was laid by Sir Alexander Kay Muir, Baronet of Deanston (Glasgow, UK) in 1910. It is a simple church on the top of a hill with beautiful views of Munnar city and some nice stained-glass windows.

SOUTH-WEST TOWARDS PALLIVASAL

The road coming from Kochi, passing through Pallivasal, reaches south of Munnar. Along this road, a couple of kilometres before Munnar, a bridge across Muthirappuzhar river leads to a hill.

A climb along the hill on the right side after this bridge, overlooking the tea gardens in Pallivasal, brought me to Pothamedu View Point. I did this trip with an auto-rickshaw as I didn't want to strain my knees.

Further down this road, around 5 km from Munnar, a side road in Pallivasal took me to Atukkad water falls. The image below shows an overview of the whole area along with the water falls (towards the right edge of the image). When I visited it, the rains had not yet started and there was little water in the waterfall. Reaching the falls is difficult, so most people stop at a place on the hill from you can see the water fall, without going all the way down to the falls.

On the whole this visit towards Pallivasal was disappointing. For me, the most beautiful places on this visit were the tea gardens on the way.

SOUTH-EAST TOWARDS DEVIKULAM

A road going towards east from New Munnar will take you towards Devikulam, passing through Mathupetti and Kundala dams on Mathurippuzhar river, and then going up to Top Station at the border between Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

As for the visit to Pallivasal, the views of the tea gardens were breathtaking. The image below shows a view of the waters from the Mathupetty dam.

After Mathupetty dam, our next stop was Echo Point where the configuration of the river banks provides a good echo. Here, young persons were busy shouting and taking selfies.

Then we stopped at Kundala dam which has beautiful views of the mountains. Along the dam there are shops and restaurants and people stopped here for picnics.

Our last stop was Top Station which has beautiful views of higher mountains around Munnar. It is 32 Km from Munnar, and because of the stops on the way, the journey can take upto one and half hour. It is located slightly less than 1900 metres and from here, the views of Western Ghats and Theni valley in Tamil Nadu are amazing.  

There were some other places to visit on this visit such as the rose garden and the botanical gardens. However, I did not visit them.

WILD LIFE IN MUNNAR

Munnar provides a lot of opportunities for observing nature. During my walks in the city, I could observe numerous birds. On the visit to Devikulam, we were lucky to see a couple of female elephants with baby elephants.

TEA GARDEN WORKERS

After visiting a number of tea gardens in Assam, I was also curious about visiting the tea garden workers in Munnar and to learn about their lives. The opportunities to visit them came in Old Munnar itself where the side roads took me to areas where tea garden workers lived.

I also visited some houses of tea garden workers in Yellapetty in Devikulam. It was difficult to communicate since they did not speak Hindi or English. However, I was fortunate to find an auto driver, who spoke English, who had grown up in a tea garden and whose father and brother still worked in a tea garden. Compared to the situation in the north-east of India, my impression was that the tea garden workers had much better living and working conditions in Munnar. The image below shows a housing area for tea garden workers in Old Munnar town.

CONCLUSIONS

My visit to Munnar was a last minute decision. Since I like quiet and beautiful views, I am glad that I chose to stay in Old Munnar, away from the shops and noise of New Munnar.

Though I did make some tourist visits around Munnar, I usually avoided walking so I visited a limited number of places.

My most beautiful memories of Munnar are those of the tea gardens spread over hills and valleys. The last image of this post shows the morning mists in the hills of Devikulam. 

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Street Artists of Ferrara

Ferrara is one of the most beautiful cities in northern Italy. Its medieval city centre has been declared a World Heritage of Humanity. In August every year, the city centre is filled by the colourful street artists (buskers) coming from different countries for the Annual Buskers Festival.

However, Ferrara is not just about the street artists. It also has many beautiful buildings and monuments. This post explains about some of the key places to see in the city, especially during the Buskers Festival.

History of Ferrara

The history of the medieval and renaissance city of Ferrara is closely bound to the Este family. Their castle is the symbol of the city. For about two centuries the splendour and richness of Ferrara matched other famous cities like Florence and Venice or with other great European courts in France or Spain.

Ferrara city grew up around a ford over the River Po. With its increasing prosperity, famous artists and intellectuals came to the city during the Italian Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries. Over time, the encircling walls of the medieval town were extended to accommodate urban growth, resulting in one of the first planned European cities where the medieval part of the town merged seamlessly with the new areas.

Red and pink colours dominate in Ferrara city centre and is the city of bicycles. It is on the Bologna-Venice railway line and easy to reach. A 15 minutes walk from the railway station will bring you to the Este castle and the city centre. The city has numerous hotels and B&B for the tourists.

Buskers Festival

The Annual Buskers Festival brings street artists including musicians, acrobats, clowns, illusionists and dancers, from the different parts of the world. It is held over a ten days period in August of each year. In 2017, this festival will be held from 17 to 27 August. The festival has street artists exhibiting along the winding medieval streets of the city centre. It is one of the best periods to visit Ferrara.

Este Castle

This beautiful castle complete with towers, moat and draw-bridges was built in 1385 and then expanded over the successive centuries.

The castle holds a museum and beautiful rooms with paintings, sculptures and frescoes. It includes hanging gardens built on a terrace. It is also a venue for different exhibitions and cultural events. For example, around Christmas the castle holds an exhibition of Christmas cribs from different parts of the world.

The castle is surrounded by different squares which are also venues for different events during the year. The image below presents the castle seen from the Savonarola square with a statue of Friar Girolamo Savonarola.

St George Cathedral of Ferrara

It is a beautiful building in pink and white marble, a short walk from the castle. Its construction was started in 1135, initially in the Romanic style which can still be seen in the facade. The entrance shows scenes from hell and heaven. Over the entrance sits archangel Gabriel with a balance in his hands. In the image below you can see the cathedral facade with a group of musicians during the Buskers festival in the foreground.

Inside, the cathedral is richly decorated in Baroque style and has different beautiful paintings and sculptures. Of special interest is a 16th century fresco by Bastiniano inspired by the famous painting of Michelangelo in the Sistine chapel in Vatican.

The cathedral was damaged by the allied bombings during the second world war and has been reconstructed. Next to the Cathedral is one of the largest and most beautiful squares of Ferrara called the Trento and Trieste square. From the square you can also see the 15th century pink and white banded bell tower of the cathedral. The image below shows the square during an open-air antiquarian market.

On the other side of Trento and Trieste square once there used to another famous medieval building, Reason Palace, which was damaged during the second world war and replaced by a modern building. It's tower was built in the second half of 15th century and use to hold the Bell of the Reason. In 1864, a clock was placed on it. After the second world war, enlargement of the road brought this tower in the middle of the street and is known as the Clock Tower.

Municipal Square and Staircase of Honour

On the opposite side of the road across from the cathedral, a high arched entrance called il Voltone leads to the Municipal Square. Before the construction of the Este Castle, the noble Este family used to live in the building of this square, marked by a beautiful marble staircase. The image below shows the Municipal Square during the Buskers Festival with the Staircase of Honour in the background.

Above the Voltone arched entrance, there are two statues - a bronze statue of Borso d'Este (Este treasury) and a statue of Nicholas the III from the Este family sitting on a horse, shown in the image below.

Diamond Palace

The urban expansion of Ferrara during the renaissance period led to the construction of new buildings outside the medieval town. Among these is the Diamond Palace built in 1492, named so because of diamond shaped cones covering its external walls. The Diamond Palace holds the city art museum and is the venue of  art exhibitions.

Monumental Water Reservoir

Closer to the railway station in the 24th May Square, there is another important site of Ferrara - the Monumental Water Reservoir with Acquedotto which collects and supplies water to the city. It is a tall round structure with columns, resembling a temple and holds a beautiful fountain showing the origins of river Po shown as a beautiful woman.

The park near the water reservoir also has a monument remembering the first war of independence of Italy against the Austrians, showing the historical "Bersaglieri of Po" unit of Italian military. The Bersaglieri wear a cap with a long plume. It is the work of the sculptor Fiorenzo Bacci.

Medieval Streets of Ferrara

Apart from the monuments mentioned above, the narrow and twisting cobbled medieval streets of Ferrara around the cathedral and clock tower are worth looking at.

Conclusions

Ferrara is a gem of a city in north Italy. Most tourists to Italy think only of Rome, Venice, Florence and Pisa. However, if you have a little time to visit it, Ferrara is definitely worth a visit.

The last image of this post (above) shows the Corso Martiri della Liberta, the main street in the centre of Ferrara with Voltone on the left and the Este Castle behind it. This part of the city is closed to cars and vehicles.

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A Theater and Photography workshop

I love both theater and photography. Thus, when I heard about the workshop on "Theater and Photography", I immediately knew that I wanted to join it. It was a perfect opportunity to meet actors and to reflect with them on the significance of theater and to understand the role of photography in it.

Theater and Photography Workshop

The workshop was an idea of Roberto Rizzotto, a noted photographer and cultural personality of Schio (VI) in the north-east of Italy. We didn't have any discussions about technical aspects of photography. Instead, our discussions focused on what Roberto calls the "Anthropology of Photography", which meant that photography is not just about getting a good picture, rather it is a pathway for a deeper understanding of theater, culture and ultimately human nature.

Schio Teatro 80

The workshop was organised in collaboration with a local theater group of Schio (VI) called "Schio Teatro 80". Started in 1980, it is one of the oldest non-professional theater institutions in Veneto region of Italy with around 70 volunteer members. Since 1989, every year it organises a theater training course.

Workshop Approach

During the workshop we worked with three actors - Tanina Amato, Alessandro Testolin and Elena Righele, spending around 1.5 - 2 hrs with each actor. Each actor presented a short performance, which we watched as spectators without clicking any pictures, so as to absorb the different aspects of the recitation.

Then the actor repeated the performance and this time, we photographed it. Finally, the actor and photographers discussed different aspects of the performance, such as the costume, the make-up, the gestures used and the significance of the performance for the actor. These discussions were additional opportunities for photographing specific aspects of the performance. Let me briefly illustrate the three performances.

Tanina Amato

Tanina did a brief performance on women victims of violence called "The sense of honour". The scene was based in afterlife where she first appeared as Carmela, a Sicilian woman who was killed by her husband because she had a love affair. Her second role was of Amina, a woman of Tabriz in Iran, who had been killed by stoning.

She had chosen a black dress with vivid red lipstick and bright eye makeup for this role. She started the performance by putting make-up on the stage and showed the transformation of the actor for the role.

Among the photographers, two aspects of her performance created a strong impact. First, was her feisty, unrepentant and sharp-tongued representation of Carmela, who is aware of her body and her desires. The second was her use of the black veil to cover Amina, showing just her hands, to express her desire of freedom.

Alessandro Testolin

Alessandro started with the old Venetian tradition of "Commedia dell'arte" (Art comedy) from 15-17th century that included the use of the mask for a theater based on satire. Using a red mask, he performed a provocative piece.

He also repeated the performance without a mask and shared his own unease about saying provocative things on the stage without the possibility of hiding behind a mask.

Then he did a short piece as Benedick from "Much ado about nothing" and finally concluded with a piece on Iago, the antagonist from William Shakespeare's play "Othello".

Elena Reghele

Elena first did an intense piece from Ingmar Bergman's play "Wood Painting" about a woman who has been declared a witch and who is going to be burned at the stake. Before, her piece, she showed a scene from Bergman's film "The seventh seal" based on this play.

Her second piece was a more playful expression of emotions as depicted in a Pollock-like painting. She did the piece with a blank canvas. Each emotion was linked to a colour. Thus, by changing her facial expressions and her gestures she was painting that canvas with those colours. This performance concluded with the presentation of the painting she was expressing through her emotions.

This explanation of her second performance was illuminating in making sense of her improvised dance around the canvas. I loved this performance.

Discussion and Conclusions

The whole day was a marvelous full-immersion in art and culture, linking the art of theater to the art of photography. The time passed very quickly and at the end I felt enriched by a greater understanding of what it means to be an actor. For example, it was fascinating to hear a discussion about transformation of theater in Italy from Comedy art to the plays by Goldoni and then by Pirandello.

Something that Elena said, resonated deeply with me. She said that in theater, mind, body and heart. all the three are needed. Mind because the actor needs to remember and think. Body because, actor must express through the body. And heart because, without the heart, there is no performance. At the same time, an actor must make sure that heart must not become too deeply involved - because it is a performance, it must have an end and the actor has to retain his/her sanity. I think that this mind-body-heart thing applies also to photography as well as to many other things in life.

The workshop made me think about the shadow of the actor on the stage. Normally, I prefer close-ups during a performance and to catch the different emotions they are expressing. The image below has Tanina with her shadow as she threw up the black cloth she was using as a veil.

I liked the idea of "anthropology of photography" where photography was not just about aesthetics and getting a "good picture". I liked the idea that photography could become a channel to engage with and to understand the art and the world.

Not all the persons participating in the workshop seemed to share this idea of photography.

I want to conclude this post by thanking Roberto, Schio Teatro 80 and the three actors - Tanina, Alessandro and Elena for their performances and their easy acceptance of our numerous demands and questions during the workshop.

The last image is of Elena Righele, who was absolutely wonderful in the part where she expressed the colours through her emotions.

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Persons Exiled in Nagashima Island

Some of the most beautiful places in the world have been used as prisons. Nagashima in the south-west Japan was one such island which became a sanatorium-prison in the early part of 20th century. Its prisoners had not committed any crime, they just had an infection called leprosy.

During my recent visit to Japan, I had the opportunity to visit Nagashima and to learn about its history. This post is about that visit.

Nagashima

Nagashima (Naga = long and Shima = island) in Setouchi (Okayama) is a 9 km long beautiful island. After years of being seen as a place of fear, it is now changing its image.

The sea all around Nagashima is famous for its oyster farming. It is now connected to the mainland by a new bridge - the Oohashi bridge. It is surrounded by farming and fishing communities.

Nagashima As A Place of Exile

In 1930, the Japanese Government decided to create a leprosy sanatorium (Nagashima Aiseien) on Nagashima island.

A few years later, in 1934 the floods destroyed Sotojima Hoyo-in leprosarium near Osaka, killing 173 persons. Before the floods they had tried to shift to a safer place, but local residents did not want them. 416 survivors of the floods wanted to go to a new centre in Osaka but local persons did not want them, so finally they were relocated to the opposite side of Nagashima island to create a second leprosy sanatorium called Oku Komyoen.

Many people who lived on Nagashima changed their names so as to not cause problems for their families.

Doctors thought that by isolating the patients on an island they will stop the transmission of the disease. Over the next few years, the health authorities made very stringent laws limiting the lives and dignity of persons living on Nagashima island. For example, the women were sterilized and forced to abort.

Ancient treatment for leprosy was with Chaulmogra oil. The first modern treatment of leprosy with a Sulphone medicine (Dapsone) started after the Second World War. In the 1970s, more medicines for treating leprosy were discovered and slowly countries started treating leprosy like any other disease.

In 1996 the restrictive laws regarding leprosy sanatoriums in Japan were abolished and the leprosy affected persons of Nagashima were finally free. Over the years, thousands of persons affected with leprosy lived as prisoners in this island. Today in the two settlements there are still residents (about 400 persons), most of them very old.

Visiting Nagashima

A couple of weeks ago I visited Nagashima island during a meeting organised by Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation (SMHF) on the conservation of history of leprosy. During this visit we were accompanied by persons who had lived their lives in the sanatorium. This visit was an opportunity to see and understand their lives on Nagashima.

The image below shows Mr. Yamamoto, who had lived in Nagashima for around 70 years, ever since he was brought here as a young boy. He was our guide for this visit. Together with him is Ms. Kanae Hirano, our translator from Japanese to English.

I want to mention a few things which made a strong emotional impact on me during this visit.

Beautiful Panoramas

As we went up and down the hills of Nagashima, it was impossible not to be entranced by the beautiful panoramas of the islands and the sea.

The image below shows Tekake-Jima, also known as Benten island, which is connected to Nagashima during low tide and has the Nagashima shrine at its top.

Nagashima Museums

Nagashima has two museums - one is located in the old main office building at Aiseien. It is a beautiful building covered with green creepers.

The other museum is a new building in Oku Komyoen. The museums show artifacts, equipment, maps, medicines, etc. from the old days. For example, Nagashima had its own currency, so that if persons managed to escape they would not have any money to use on the mainland.

The next image shows part of a miniature sculpture of Nagashima with the isthmus of land connecting the old main office building to the area where the staff lived. In 1988, a canal was opened in this part of the island to facilitate the visits of the boats of the oyster farmers, who otherwise needed to go all around the island to reach their oyster platforms.

Charnel Houses

Both Aiseien and Komyoen have charnel houses for keeping the remains of people who died on Nagashima and whose remains were never claimed by their families. The image below shows the Charnel house of Aiseien.

Around the Charnel houses are different other memorials and shrines. The image below presents a shrine next to the Charnel house in Komyoen.

A crematorium was built in Nagashima, mid-way between Aiseien and Komyoen. This site also has a charnel house where remains of other residents are placed. It also includes a memorial to the children and fetuses of women living in Nagashima who were forced to abort (this policy was stopped only in 1954).

In 2002, in a meeting organised by IDEA and held in Seneca Falls in USA, I remember listening to very painful testimonies of some Japanese women who had been forced to abort in the leprosariums. Visiting this memorial brought back the memories of that visit and those testimonies.

Jail of Nagashima

Doctors managing Nagashima had complete powers over the residents including the power to punish and put them in jail. It was operational from 1939 to 1953. Below the hill, the warden of the jail had his paddy fields. Looking at the words scribbled by inmates of the jail on its walls was very moving.

Admissions ward

Persons arriving in Aiseien were taken to this building where all their belongings were checked and prohibited things were confiscated. Their children were taken away. Small children brought there with their parents were sent to schools both on Nagashima as well outside (where they were not well received).

They were given a disinfectant bath with cresol.

This part of the visit made me think of the Nazi concentration camps that I had read. Such places still continue to be used in countries, ostensibly for health-related reasons, for example with mentally ill persons and with immigrants.

Men and women living in Nagashima, if they got married, the men were sterilized but these operations were not always successful. Thus, if any women became pregnant, they were forced to abort. It was the Eugenic Protection Act enacted in 1948 that 'allowed' the parents with mental diseases and leprosy to have abortion legally. This act was amended in 1996, and it was only then that having or having had leprosy or mental diseases could be a condition to have an abortion.

Arrival Jetty

Aiseien had two separate jetties, one near the old main office building, which was reserved for doctors and other staff. The other jetty at the back, closer to the admissions ward was reserved for the patients. Most families accompanying persons affected with leprosy were not allowed to get down and had to say goodbye there.

Some persons arriving in Nagashima knew that they will never see their families again and they will not have an opportunity to leave the island. Many persons, especially the young ones, arriving in Nagashima did not know they were there for life. Many were persuaded to come because they were promised free medication and free lodging, and after cure, going home. They only knew that they were there for good when they got there, asked to change their name, and signed the autopsy agreement.

Looking at the old jetty with its broken down stones, and thinking of the desperation of those persons was one of the most touching moments during this visit.

Conclusions

Nagashima gave an impression of detached, clinical efficiency of dealing with people who had leprosy. It was a closed world with its own houses, schools, orchestra, sports groups, associations, jail and crematorium.

In 1998, some residents of Japanese leprosy sanatoriums went to the district courts to claim that segregating persons on the island was non-constitutional. Not all residents were happy with these law suits and people who fought for this had to face hostilities. The courts agreed with their plea and the residents were awarded a compensation and the Prime Minister of Japan apologised to them on behalf of the nation.

Leprosy had been in Japan for many centuries. First records of the disease are from 8th century. People affected with the disease had faced prejudices and stigma and were forced to live in leprosy villages. However, during all those centuries, the harsh measures adopted in 1930 such as complete isolation in an island, lack of contact with families, forced abortions, etc. had not happened. Why did they happen in the 20th century?

Visiting Nagashima was an opportunity to reflect on the use of medical systems to take away the dignity of people and even to torture them. It has happened in other countries and it still happens in many parts of the world.

Let me conclude with a question for the readers - what is the use of keeping alive the memory of places like Nagashima Aiseien and Komyoen? Can our young generations learn anything from such places?

In spite of the pain and suffering that are easy to imagine when one visits a place like Nagashima, my memories of this visit are also about the sheer beauty of Nagashima and the cheerfulness of the former residents and doctors, who welcomed us, showed us around and shared its history with us.

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