The Morning Will Be Pleasant

When Shell Silverstein penned “Where the Sidewalk” ends, he surely must have had India in mind. Actually probably not, as the sidewalks do not end here, but rather simply don’t exist at all. That’s not to say that people here do not walk, because getting around by foot is a much used form of transportation, but that there’s no designated space in which to do so. Instead, pedestrians here just share the road, in at tacit agreement with drivers that as long as they stay as far to the side of the road as possible, the drivers will do their best not to turn them into mashed Indian road kill. 

Whenever I arrive at a new destination, day number 1 is always reserved for exploring, preferably by foot. It’s a way to orient oneself to the geography, cityscape, people and transportation of a new city, and I love every step of understanding as the chaos begins to slow and sharpen into a recognizable and friendly city around me. 

In Kochi this is possible, but it comes with the added tension of trying to navigate the same streets as the trucks, buses, cars and rickshaws that are forever honking and beeping their way through the maze of unorganized traffic. They drive on the left in India, but that appears to operate more as a suggestion rather than an enforceable law. Instead, most drivers accelerate recklessly through traffic and around pedestrians, parked vehicles and other roadside obstructions, occupying whatever center piece of road might be available and under the presumption that should another vehicle be coming in the other direction, both drivers will at the last second swerve to the left and then continue on their frantic way. 

But beyond the streets India is peaceful and calm in a way that seems so natural. Our travels and explorations on day one took us beyond the busy streets of central Kochi, across the channels by ferry and into a quieter world of one of the adjacent islands, where strolling along the dirt road offered far fewer chances for collisions, save for the occasional rickshaw passing through. Here was a world of small houses under tall shady palm trees and streets lined by lagoons and canals. Here the locals waved and offered a “hello”, and here the pace of life seemed much more agreeable to a world under the hot Kerala sun. 

Already Kerala seems to have two worlds, organized chaos right next to unorganized tranquility. The people that we meet here seem to function fine with it, not letting any of the madness take away from their pleasant and quiet demeanor. The people of Kerala, and India much the same I believe, offer a kind and hopeful attitude, one that can make you feel calm and at home right away. Even the newspaper weather forecast was optimistic in manner befitting the Indian archetype. Today might be cloudy with a chance of some rain, but still, the Hindu Times assured me, the morning will be pleasant.