The bewitching backwaters of Kerala were discovered by the elite Indian tourist in the 90’s. But Kumarakom found its place in the sun much more recently, and since then tourism brochures, writers and media have not stopped waxing about this exciting discovery on the backwaters itinerary of Kerala. The truth is that Kumarakom lives up to its hype. Till it was discovered by tourism it was just a sleepy little village on the bank of Kerala’s biggest lake – the Vembanad, inhabited by little more than the fisher folk and the migratory birds that have made the nearby island their home and the odd affluent Christian aristocrat from nearby Kottayam who would hop over for a weekend jaunt in his speed boat to hunt the birds from the sanctuary, which now are fiercely conserved.