Sailing the Backwaters of Kerala in ‘God’s Own Country’

For two days, we’ve drifted past schoolchildren waving from grassy banks and coconut groves, watched fishermen untangle their nets at dawn, and played endless games of travel backgammon on a rickety little table on the deck, as the kettuvallam houseboat glides through Kerala’s sleepy backwaters, greeted by kingfisher calls and the gently bobbing palms that …