Perumathura is like a small peninsula surrounded by the Arabian sea in the west, Muthalappozhi estuary in its north and Kadinamkulam backwater in its east, with only two major bridges, constructed in the last two decades that can get us across these water bodies (of course except the sea). Going further southeast, the backwater gets expanded making it difficult to construct bridges and the only way to get across and reach directly to Azhoor on the eastern side of Perumathura is by ferrying through the Kadinamkulam backwater on small wooden boats steered by the ferrymen using bamboo. It was Sajid who first took me along with Prof. Anu Joy to enjoy this serene experience of cutting through the calm backwater, rich with diverse creatures, during a beautiful evening of my first week. We witnessed a lot of birds like cranes, water hens, ducks and a surreal sunset from the middle of the backwater. As we were lost in its beauty and more talks on the same, I could not ask much to the ferryman.
On another day, when I was actually not sure what to do and kept strolling through Kottaramthuruth, I didn’t have to think twice seeing the ferryboat about to begin the journey to Azhoor. Apart from me only an old couple was his passengers, giving me more liberty to engage in a conversation with the ferryman. He recognized me quickly and asked me the updates of my study here. He told me that currently only two boats are ferrying across the backwater from 9am to 5pm in the daytime and in the past, there used to be more ferry services at different points in huge wooden boats that can carry many people, goods and even motorcycles. Now, the existing two ferryboat services are paid by the local government body and not the PWD which used to take care of this before the construction of the bridges. He then told a lot about the nature of movement of water in the backwater at different point of time during day and different seasons, its depth, and the varieties of marine creatures in it which according to him is more delicious than the same in the sea. After reaching Azhoor end and paying a visit to to the coir mill situated on the banks of the backwater, I took his boat in which I was the only passenger and we had a warm conversations on many things. When we reached almost middle of the backwater, we saw a man crying at us and waving from the Azhoor end, signalling he wants to join us. Happy to spend more time on the water and with the ferryman, I welcomed the new passenger, and the ferryman, smiling, deftly turned the wooden ferry to pick him up.
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