When former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee chose to holiday here in 2000, he surprised the nation with his Musings from Kumarakom, saying time was ripe "to resolve problems of the past" and "move towards a better future". Kumarakom, on the banks of Vembanad Lake, has that effect on people. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a special way with words, but Kumarakom does provide oodles of inspiration.

This placid resort village on the Kuttanad backwaters drags the muse out of even the most poetically challenged. So pack your quill and head for what are arguably the most beautiful acres along the Kuttanad backwaters, to palm-fringed canals, clumps of coir retting in water, a fishing boat returning with the day's catch, a boat laden with pots and pans making the rounds to shoppers in waterfront houses.