Kannur was only a vague plan for some other time, until Theyyam became a bucket list item for D. Then we got hold of a schedule and a guide and landed in Kannur. Well, actually our Kannur flight got canceled, and we landed in Calicut, but that was a minor inconvenience. Passing by many places we only knew by name was a nice experience too.
Where to stay in Kannur
We had originally booked a place called Anansa Boutique Hotel but they canceled us a couple of months before the trip. Ah well. That got us to Sunfun. Our room was on the top floor, and only just ok, but the rooms on the first floor looked a lot better.
They don’t have a restaurant, but Kishore can help you with a simple breakfast. Alternately you could walk to Anansa’s restaurant, about 10 minutes away.
There are a couple of other new hotels closer to the town centre.
What to see/do in Kannur
The good part about Sunfun and Anansa is that you simply cross the road and you’re on Payyambalam Beach. It’s quite serene, but also has maddening traffic on weekends.
Kannur (St. Angelo) fort did remind us of the one in the neighbouring district – Bekal, but the latter was prettier.
This one does have its share of good views though.
The Arakkal Museum wasn’t in the plan, but we saw the signboard and I remembered them mentioned as unique in a Manu S Pillai book. I looked it up and it turned out that the matrilineal system meant they also had female rulers. That meant D had to see it.
I wished I could take all these home!
The weavers cooperatives were a big pillar in Kannur’s community, but over the years, modernisation and the younger generation’s lack of interest in this work has meant there are not many around.
Lokanath Weavers continue to be around and their products too are in demand, but their heydays are probably behind them.
The Cliff Walkway near the Lighthouse is another place for splendid views.
The Chirakkal Folklore Museum is a good place to visit if you’re interested in Theyyam origin stories. You will need a guide though. During the trip, our guide explained how Theyyam origin stories of two kinds – one connected to hindu puranas and avatars and the other deeply grounded in local history.
There are about 400+ kinds of theyyams, but only around 100 are performed. There is amazing scope for storytelling and showcasing, but judging by what I saw, I have doubts on whether that will happen. And that’s sad.
From what I understand, Theyyam began as a tribal ritual to remind and transmit the relationship of man with nature. As humans moved out of the forests, it was assimilated into the Hindu pantheon and larger society when consolidation began.
What is happening now is another level of consolidation as money pours in – traditions are thrown to the side, and there are communal forces trying to sanitise Hinduism into a culture that can be manipulated by Hindutva at will.
We spent an entire morning watching different kinds of Theyyams.
As you can see from the costume, this one is related to the harvest.
We also made a 2AM trip for the night version, an hour or so away.
There was a huge crowd already there but we managed to get seats.
But seeing the fire walk was a struggle thanks to the ballooning crowd.
What and where to eat in Kannur
We only had a breakfast at (New) Pulari, but I loved the ambience and the Appam + Egg Roast. We would have happily eaten here again but there were just too many places to try!
This was a place we did repeat, but for tea, and the fantastic view when you’re sitting upstairs.
There are a ton of tea options, but we kept it simple.
The Lebanese Chicken with hummus we tried out once for dinner wasn’t too bad.
MRA was our lunch spot in Pazhayangadi after our morning Theyyam visit.
Biriyani (as we spell it out in Keral Pradesh) is always a good idea, and this one had a very different rice. The burning issue here though, and one we argued with our guide, was that the chicken biryani did not have a boiled egg. As we told him, we felt cheated because the Malabar Chicken Biryani is supposed to have resolved the chicken or egg in the biryani context!
Beef is also always a good idea, and so is a fish fry. They also have a branch in Kannur, but the ratings don’t seem great.
Hotel Karthika took the honours for our favourite meal during the trip.
To begin with, they had the Chatti Choru, which was practically an aquarium with some four kinds of fishes, squid and prawn for the princely sum of Rs.220! Yes, unlimited rice, sambar etc too. And the women serving staff have a very motherly ‘eat more’ attitude to them. Absolutely charming!
We also asked for Kallumakkaya (mussels, which was D’s go-to food here) The food was just fabulous, but the chatti choru gets over fast, so be there by 12.30.
Since we wanted fewer carbs for dinner, we went to Naura Bistro, which though has only a handful of tables, from ambience and quality of food could easily have been Bangalore.
The Chicken Sliders were delish. In the background, you can see people waiting for a table. That was common!
Steamed Mussels, of course. This had a nice Thai broth that added great flavour.
The Vietnamese Beef Noodle spoiled the party though. Not because it wasn’t tasty, but they made us wait for an hour!
Wild Cafe is another pretty place for dinner. Again, very cosmo vibes.
The Indi Chicken soup is amazingly spicy. Highly recommended.
South Indi Seer fish for mains – Indian spices, spicy butter sauce and mashed potatoes aren’t the most common combo, but they really make it work.
This is Kallumakkaya Nirachathu, which you can find on the roadside stalls very near Sunfun. Mussels, ground rice and spice, fried.
Kannur Cocktail was a revelation. I absolutely disliked the ingredients – papaya, carrot – but boy, this was thick and yum!
The kids were drooling around Sign Laban, so we decided to figure this out.
Desserts from Egypt, turns out. We finally settled on the Umm Ali, and it was fantastically heavy, even when shared by two people!
Though our guide pooh-poohed it as more Calicut than Kannur, I had to try Banana Avil Milk. Mouzy was our best shot.
I absolutely loved it, practically a meal in itself.
Kannur did cheat us out of the last minutes of every sunset, thanks to clouds, but we did enjoy them, especially on weekdays when you have the place practically all to yourself.
Our perception of Kannur was dated – political violence and hartals. I found it to be quite a lovely town now. Fantastic community vibes, because it is not really very large. People jogging, cycling along the beach on a Sunday! The guide told us that after that they go to Pulari for breakfast, and sure enough, I saw one person whom I had spotted earlier walking on the beach.
I think the people are well represented by three auto rides we took there. The first refused to take more than Rs.30 from us. When he showed three fingers, my Bangalore mind talked me into taking out 300. Both of us looked at each other as though we had lost it!
The second charged us double rate, the guide said 9PM was the cut-off, and before we got in, he was arguing with the person in front of us on exactly that.
The last auto was arranged by Kishore (he is fantastic) and he was late. He apologised, and during the ride we began chatting about his daughter, who was a nursing student in Bangalore. He told us about his visit, and how he loved the pace of Bangalore when compared to Kannur. We were both seeing green grass on each others’ sides. He also told us how he had now started taking tourists around. When we said we had come to watch Theyyam, he said that he had visited Paravur (Cochin), and there he saw ‘our people’ (upper caste) doing a version.
I think, as travellers, we managed to get quite a flavour of the place. And loved it. To the point, where D and I even discussed living there on rent for a year to see how much we would like it as residents. 🙂