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Evergreen Estate Bungalow
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somewhere between the heights of Peer made and Vagamon, and the plains of Kumarakom, and Kottayam town, you will sit on the veranda of a white, 53-year-old art deco home, and not really care where in the world you are. For at Evergreen Estate, in the Mundakayam midland slopes, plantation life is at its laid-back best. George and Anju Abraham, owners of a 50-acre rubber plantation in Kootickal, are relaxed hosts, and typify Kerala's estate gentry. The much-traveled George is well connected in the tourism industry, and can suggest and arrange many a trip around his homeland.
In the Anglo-Kerala bungalow-style house, life drifts back to what it always has been since 1905, when rubber was introduced commercially by JJ Murphy. Wake up to hot coffee served in elegantly mismatched crockery, hot appams and stew in the family dining room. Dedicate the morning to a refreshing walk in the soft grass around the house, to inspect the rubber plantation, fringed by nutmeg, cinnamon, jackfruit and other tropical trees, a stone's throw away. While Kerala fare is the staple, Anju let's you decide what you would like to eat – she does a meen moily (fish stew) with as much élan as a fish bake.
There are several spots on the property to do – well nothing – but read, talk of the history of the place and hear about the English who pioneered the valleys a 100 years ago, the tight network of the Catholic Syrian Christian community with your host, or simply mull on life. The semi-circular sit-out behind the house lends itself beautifully to mid-morning lime juice, while the wrought iron swing allows you to catch the tranquil breeze of an evening. If you're there in the rainy season, the best place to watch the rain cascade off the building is from the front porch, sitting on white cane easy chairs, eating browned banana fritters. Now this is the life, you say.
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