HIDDEN INDIA: THE KERALA SPICELANDS

a PBS SPECIAL television documentary TO BE BROADCAST 2002

Just to the east of the city of Calicut, in the northern part of the Indian state of Kerala, a rocky headland juts out into the Arabian Sea. It was here, more than 500 years ago, that one of the most important events in written history took place. Just six years after Christopher Columbus placed the Spanish flag on a Caribbean island, the Portuguese merchant-explorer, Vasco da Gama arrived on the beach Columbus was actually seeking, the fabled source of pepper, cardamom, and ginger, the exotic spices so beloved by European nobility. Thus began the age of European exploration, conquest, and colonization of the world.

It is here that Hidden India: the Kerala Spicelands begins. The documentary introduces today's audiences to the culinary traditions and culture of this unique Indian state. Shaped not unlike the curry leaf that appears in virtually every dish, her narrow 335 mile length hugs the country's southwestern coast. Tropical lowlands studded with coconut palms and the cool mountain ranges of the Ghats provide a climate ideally suited for growing rice, cardamom, peppers cinnamon, and ginger. The world has changed profoundly since 1498 but the cultivation and importance of these foodstuffs continue much as Vasco Da Gama found them.

Viewers visit the Calicut wholesale markets where growers sell spices, fruits, and vegetables, conveyed in ox carts as well as diesel-powered trucks. We find coconuts carried in handwoven baskets on the heads of turbaned workers who spread out their loads to sun-dry in open air warehouse courtyards. We watch a team of women sweep, sort, and pack in hand-sown burlap sacks the peppercorns called "black gold" by ancient traders A modern day pepper planter describes the difference between black and white peppercorns, explaining why we pay so much more for the white variety American grocery stores.

Spice cultivation is labor intensive. On a cardamom plantation we see skilled worker selecting the ripe green pods from towering plants that carpet thousands of acres along the lower Ghat ranges, lending the name Cardamom Hills to the region. The estate owner takes us through the process of harvesting, washing and drying the fragrant ingredient so beloved by Scandinavian bakers and south Indian chefs alike. While most Americans think they know something about Indian cuisine (curries and chutneys), the common westernized offerings don't begin to display the subtle flavors, textures, and aromas of the many culinary traditions of India. These varieties come not just from regional experimentation, but from dramatically different religious and cultural traditions influenced heavily by international trade and foreign colonists. Kerala's pivotal importance on the international trade routes dates back to Roman times and her cuisine is as much influenced by what Arab and English merchants brought to her shores as what they took away.

Thanks to centuries of trade and the later arrival of European settlers, Kerala boasts one of the most diverse cultures in Asia. Christianity was introduced in the third century AD with the rumored arrival of St. Thomas and the establishment of the Syrian Orthodox Church. Muslim traders built their first mosque in India near Cochin in 629 AD. Hindu temples were erected by the wealthy feudal princes who greeted the Portuguese explorers and spread that ancient religion in all its variations throughout the region. Jewish settlements, too, were part of the Kerala mix as early at the First Century AD; a handsome synagogue dating from the 16th century still stands in Cochin.

Those religious communities miraculously co-exist peacefully in Kerala. Churches, temples, and mosques dominate the landscape in cities and villages alike, often two or three different religious buildings on a single town square. Their differing culinary customs, too, retain their distinct characteristics, with various spices, taboos (Hindus are vegetarians, Muslims eat no pork and avoid alcohol), and serving rituals that continue Today. Hidden India: the Kerala Spicelands explores these traditions with the people who maintain them. Coconut in all its forms, seafood unique to the Indian Ocean, a wide range of familiar and not-so-familiar vegetables, and a diverse palate of spices characterize a Kerala menu. To find the most authentic dishes, we go straight into the kitchen. Among the cooks, we meet a Hindu school teacher who prepares a holiday meal in her modest country home, then join a Muslim matriarch as she commands a family team of ten at her country estate.

Tracing the culinary history and customs of Kerala immerses the viewer in the broader cultural traditions of this unusual state. Colorful religious festivals – the Great Elephant March and Kathakali – dramatic boat races, fine handicrafts, lyrical dances and haunting music all contribute to an exotic mix of sights, tastes, and sounds. Add the colonial influence of the British Raj, a state committed to education, and one of the highest standards of living in India and one uncovers a corner of India virtually unknown in the United States.

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