From the archive record
In this Kerala village in the backwaters, early morning scenario is very much like any other village in India. Women are queuing for water and all the daily household chores are carried out. The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast (known as the Malabar Coast) of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state. The backwaters were formed by the action of waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range. The Kerala Backwaters are a network of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes and inlets, a labyrinthine sys