Enchanting Kerala

KERALA TOURISM NEWSLETTER

'Green Heaven, an Indian Oasis' by Stephanie Pearson

Stephanie Pearson, an American journalist has bagged the National Tourism Award for her feature on Kerala.  Stephanie who was in Kerala for a three week long stay has penned a spellbinding account on the state titled ‘Found: Green Heaven, an Indian Oasis. Left Behind: Your Overworked Self’. It was an article she wrote for the American magazine ‘Outside’ that fetched her the award. 

We share with you here, excerpts from her award-winning article:

“Anything can happen during Onam”, so begins her feature in which she offers you an absorbing account of the festivities of Kerala with a special emphasis on the sadya (traditional Kerala feast on plantain leaf) that she had; the exuberance of the Aranmula Boat Race, the rich wildlife and luxuriant forests, experiencing Ayurveda and much more.

“Over the years, Mahabali got morphed into an Indian version of Santa Claus, and you’ll find him everywhere; on billboards hawking new cars and in the flesh twirling parasols in parades,” Stephanie wrote in the opening paragraph of her article.

“Kerala, a laid-back tropical paradise where you can paddle hidden backwaters, trek the rugged Western Ghats, look for tigers, indulge in Ayurvedic treatments, and chill out on unspoiled beaches. Just leave your manic Western self behind,” extols Stephanie in her article on Kerala.

Stephanie’s award-winning article captures the quintessence of Kerala. Awed by the power of Ayurveda, she wrote: “The steady drip relaxes the nervous system and relieves migraines, insomnia, stress, and fatigue. It put me in such a relaxed trance that I wondered if Shiva himself was reaching down to erase my worry lines.”

For the full text of the article by Stephanie Pearson, click here