Sunday Special |
When the sky over Sri Lanka turned pleasant after three decades of civil war, two Keralites reached Colombo with the idea of taking the kettuvallam (houseboat), Kerala Tourism’s mascot, to tourists to the island nation. Sri Lanka can be said to bear a similarity to Kerala in its tropical climate, palm-fringed beaches, diverse landscapes and historical sites. As Sri Lanka rode high on tourism, the duo — Ernakulam native Jaison Panikulangara and Kozhikode hotelier K.T. Joseph — shipped a kettuvallam crafted in Alappuzha, the cradle India’s houseboat industry, to Colombo in 2013.
Sri Lanka had then emerged as a top tourist destination in Asia. Houseboats offer tourists a luxurious ride on serene lakes and this was arguably the first to be introduced there. But after five years of successful operation, the kettuvallam is up for sale as Sri Lanka grapples with its worst economic downturn since its Independence.
