Meet Mary
“At a certain age (I’ll leave you guessing) I suppose many of us get curious about our ancestry and I am no different in this regard. Like many Australians my story has been one of migration and adaptation. My parents were born and raised in Kerala and we spoke both English and Malayalam at home. They were a dynamic and extraordinary pair: Fearless, entrepreneurial, creative and ambitious. Certainly Indian, Purely Keralan. I wondered what sort of a place hails people such as these.
And so, over 20 years ago I began to explore India with friends and family and most naturally my home-state of Kerala.
Through these experiences I have found that my emotional connection with Kerala was actually shareable and fascinating to the extent that I wanted to repeat these rewarding journeys with others.
And here I am… from my home base in Melbourne, Australia, bringing together people from their seemingly different backgrounds and seeing them connect and appreciate the common thread of each other’s cultures. For instance a woman, grinding rice. To understand she labours for her children as you and I do. To share a boat ride as the locals travel to start their day. To learn a new skill, such as tying a sari and swapping a recipe with a local host. That to me is what extraordinary travel experiences are made of.
In every trip, I have noticed in myself and my friends a lightening of the spirit. It’s amazing… I have always loved travelling for this reason and this is what is at the heart of my very personal Pure Kerala tours.”
Shaped by the history and experiences of her Keralan family, Mary has long nurtured a fascination with India. Spellbound by its rich history and vivid colours and charmed by its diverse and complex culture, she has enjoyed numerous solo visits to Southern India spanning over the course of 25 years.
