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Known in Malayalam as Papa Nashini ("sin destroyer"), Varkala's beautiful white-sand beach, Papanasam beach, has long been associated with ancestor worship. Devotees come here after praying at the Janardhana Swamy temple (said to be more than 2000 years old) to bring the ashes of departed relatives for "final rest". Unlike in many temples in Kerala, non-Hindus are welcome. A small government hospital at its north end, opened by Indira Gandhi in 1983, was set up to benefit from three natural springs,and take advantage of the sea air, said to boost the health of asthma sufferers. Backed by sheer red-laterite cliffs and drenched by rolling waves off the Arabian Sea, Papa Nashini is imposingly scenic and still a relatively peaceful place to soak up the sun, with few hawkers and only the odd group of ogling men. Its religious significance means attitudes to (female) public nudity are markedly more conservative than at other coastal resorts in Kerala; bikinis don't necessarily cause offence, but you'll attract a lot less attention if you wear a full-length cotton sarong while bathing. Few of Varkala's Hindu pilgrims wander up to the clifftop area,reached by several steep footpaths, or the more gradual path up from behind the Marine Palace restaurant, and by the metalled road from the village that was built to service a helipad in advance of Mrs. Gandhi's visit. Up here, the faintly cheesy New Age scene centres on the small Scientific School of Yoga & Massage, which offers Ayurvedic massage at Rs300 per session, meditation courses, "lifetime" courses in yoga (Rs750 for an unlimited number of lessons), and fortnight-long courses in massage ($100).
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Their small shop, Prakruthi Stores, stocks honey, essential oils, herbs and handmade soaps, as well as books on yoga, meditation and massage. The Progress Yoga Centre also offers massage sessions (Rs250-400) and seven- or ten-day-long yoga and Ayurvedic massage courses. Sivagiri Hill, at the eastern edge of the village, harbors a more traditional ashram that attracts pilgrim devotees of Shri Narayana Guru, a saint who died here in 1922. Born into the low ezhava caste, he fought orthodoxy with a philosophy of social reform ("one caste, one religion, one God for man") which included the consecration of temples with an open-door policy to all castes, and had a profound effect on the "upliftment" of the untouchables. Aimed unashamedly at the tourist market, the Varkala Cultural Centre (tel 0472/603612) near the tank, a few meters down Beach Road from Temple Junction, holds Kathakali (as well as Bharatanatyam) dance performances most evenings in season (6.30pm-8pm). Alternatively, the DTPC have just started their own nightly show at the Kerala Kathakali Centre, just behind the helipad on the cliff top; tickets are available on the day from the DTPC Tourist Information Office. The Rs125 admission fee that applies to either performance, includes sitting in on the fascinating process of applying Kathakali make-up (daily 5pm-6.30pm). Although in a real performance the make-up process is much more elaborate and usually takes much longer, the session that precedes a performance here provides an insight into the art. For those who would like to learn more, the centres also offer short courses on make-up.
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