Today we had a walking tour through Aleppey, south of Kochi. Our host was a local woman who told us the history of the town. It has a long history of trade and she showed us streets that had housed Gujarati, and Jain traders in particular. Others groups had traded too. Sadly these beautiful buildings are in a sate of disrepair and for sale, so who knows what their fate will be.
Decoration typical of Gujarati trader's building.
And door.
Jain temple.
She was also concerned by the general condition of India and had tried to tackle the issue of garbage and rubbish at a local level. She said the government was not helping, and she was the first person I had heard say so explicitly that elected representatives simply pocketed money paid in taxes and became rich themselves and were not tackling any of these problems. She was more optimistic in that the people were becoming more aware and refusing to stand for it. Time will tell.
Having done all this, she explained that she was "married off" after finishing her education and had never worked. Her children had now left home, and she was involved in preserving Aleppey's heritage. An impressive achievement given the social pressures she had faced.
K
