Aha! for Alappuzha

I have a theory.

The more the pronunciation of a place differs from its spelling, the more fascinating it is bound to be.

Alappuzha is not pronounced aa-la-poo-zha as I had presumed.


Hussain, the hardware engineer-turned-taxi driver-turned-tour operator, called it Al-poo-ra.

The 'al' is not tongue-in-cheek, it is tongue-to-the roof-of your-mouth.

it sounds like nothing in the English language.

the 'ra' almost sounds like 'da'.


Al-poo-ra..... say it three times in a row and you will need Strepsils for your throat.

No wonder the English preferred to stick to Alleppey.

Me? all I could say when I visited it was - Aha!