Come January, Mamallapuram, the quaint little fishing hamlet comes abuzz with wayfarers from across the world. And, many of them ditch conventional hotels and resorts, choosing to stay with fishermen instead. Via these homestays, which are cropping up across the little town, they blend in with the lives of the fishermen, befriend local children and spend their days in the town’s many cafés, exchanging notes on yoga and prawn recipes.
In fact, many fishermen in the area have rented out the first floor of their double storey houses to these travellers. The rent ranges anywhere between ₹350 and ₹1,000 a day. Some let out their homes on an annual basis as well to fitness enthusiasts. Uma Mary, a yoga practitioner based out of Kochi, is one such. She sublets her space as a yoga homestay.
The upper floor of the house that measures up to 28x36 square feet has three rooms, including a meditating room where Mary lives. She charges ₹1,000 a day including food and yoga sessions. For separate yoga sessions alone, the charges are ₹300. “I want to give my clients an experience of healthy living. They tend to prefer vegetarian food; I cook the meals for them.”
As the yoga session takes place on the first floor, on the ground floor B Nithya, the landlady, peels potatoes while listening to Moondram Pirai songs, as she cooks lunch. She rents the first floor to Mary for ₹15,000 per month.
“I have taken a loan worth ₹7.5 lakhs to build the upper floor. This helps me pay off the loan. The past year has been financially difficult given we had no big catch due to the turbulent waves. Renting out the space helps us tide over,” she says, adding, “Mary is like a member of the family, so I’m willing to rustle up a homely meal for her.”
Similarly Saraswathi, another fisher woman in the area, has been letting out her newly first floor house for the last three months to a European tourist for ₹6,000 per month. “We prefer foreigners and families because they tend to keep the house clean. We do not want to rent our space to college students. Last month, my husband did not go even once to the sea. This month, he sat home for 18 days, because the sea was so turbulent. He was finally able to go back out only a few days ago, but came back with nothing. Renting out the house is our alternate source of income.”
Susan Thomas, who runs a restaurant here, also rents a local fisherman’s house. She too rents out the upper floor as a homestay.
“I charge ₹1,600 a night for two; I provide free WiFi and breakfast. We get lucky during December to March, because that is when the climate is at its best and it is festive time, with Christmas and New Year activities. Also, the music and dance festival held every year during this time draws in a lot of tourists.” Her turnover in these three months is about ₹1.2 lakhs and if she is lucky enough to get a family to stay for a month, maybe more. Some of them also give their ancestral properties a modern makeover. Like Joseph Antony Praveen, popularly called Joe, of the Joe’s Café. His father had left behind the building with a few rooms, which the son decided to open out to tourists.
The basic rooms are priced at ₹800 for single people, and master bedrooms that accommodate families of four as well, priced at ₹2,400 (including breakfast). With art on the walls, a hammock outside and plants in the balcony with colourful modas , this is a place that encourages community living.
Amanda Young, an Australian backpacker, prefers this arrangement because the basic rooms are compact and she feels like there’s a family-like ambience. “The relationship with the owner is also personal. I get to meet Joe and his family once in a while,” says the 33-year-old. Praveen has grand plans. “I am planning to open a rooftop open kitchen which the residents can use,” he says. The café below is the major attraction. Tourists troop down in the mornings for a hot breakfast and cup of coffee, stay on for hours, reading a book or talking to people who visit the café, says Young. During her brief stay, she has met even film scriptwriters. “I have been here for five months and have built a rapport with the fishermen, and am actively involved in beach clean ups. I also teach the fishermen’s children English, and they teach me Tamil in return. When I travel to a different country, I make sure I have a unique cultural experience. You build relationships when you travel. And, these kind of homestays are ideal for that.”
Some names have been changed on request.
