KOCHI: It’s about 11 pm on Thursday. The honey-glazed moon is shining bright. And, like scene from the film Life of Pie, the placid waters of Kumbalangi come alive with a mesmerising blue glow. “It’s kavaru season,” says Antony Toji, a resident of the picturesque island village off Kochi. The seasonal phenomenon of blooming bioluminescent algae emitting bluish radiance has been drawing people from far and wide, he adds.
His friend and our guide Bijoy K T chips in with a chuckle: “It’s been a week… the place remains crowded till the wee hours. We haven’t slept properly for days.” As we roam the village, there is a traffic snarl near a small pathway leading to an isolated farm, where there is plenty of algae and microorganisms that glow in saline water. Families and youngsters — from several parts of Kerala — are here for a night out. “The crowd is less today,” says Bijoy
Some people are returning, grumbling. There, apparently, is a drop in kavaru sightings. “We let in the lake water to wash the microorganisms away,” says Junes P T, a prawn farmer. Junes is quite crossed with the burgeoning crowd. Many people, he says, jump into the chemmeen kettu (prawn farm), while some throw rocks into the waters to see the ‘magical glow’.
“We are not rich farmers. We have to repay loans,” he adds. “I tried telling the people not to mess my farm up, but they won’t listen. So, finally, we had to get rid of the algae formations. We welcome everyone, but they should not harm our livelihood.”
Junes says ‘kavaru’ has been attracting crowds ever since the film Kumbalangi Nights became a hit. The film has a lovely scene that captures kavaru in full bloom. “However, it is not something unique to Kumbalangi. Kavaru can be seen in places such as Chellanam, Pallithode, and Cherukadavu as well,” he adds.
Suddenly, there is a ‘flash news’: speeding on a bicycle, a teenager announces that kavaru has been sighted at a nearby pond. People, who were leaving, rush to the spot with renewed vigour. Bijoy and Antony, meanwhile, take us to a secluded house. Nearby, under the shade of trees, we finally get to see the real deal up close. “In the coming weeks, as the moon wanes, you will get a much better view,” they say.
As we leave, there is a rush near a pond, where kavaru can be seen. A local resident, Jayan, has seized the opportunity and set up an ice cream cart here. “Business is brisk, it will pick up during the weekend,” he says. Policemen have reached the spot to manage the crowd. “It was unmanageable on some days. Some people come inebriated and unruly,” says an officer. “There were groups even from Bengaluru.”
As we leave by 1.30am, visitors are still trickling in.
What is ‘kavaru’?
Marine biologist Aneesha Ani Benedict says kavaru or bioluminescence in lakes, like in Kumbalangi, is due to microorganisms and algae. “When salt water from the sea enters the water bodies here, they trigger the algae like Noctiluca scintillans to bloom and glow,” she explains. “A high rate of eutrophication is another trigger, she says. It occurs when the environment becomes enriched with nutrients, increasing the number of algae and plant growth in brackish and sea waters.”