DUSK is beginning to fall as we kayak down the winding natural backwater canals for which Kerala is well known, our oars gradually finding a steady rhythm. Kingfishers and herons soar silently past lily pads and the crickets are beginning their evening chorus. The only other sound is the soft babble of village life on the riverbanks – groups of children happily splashing, taking their evening baths, their parents collecting water in cooking pots for meals, or washing dishes. Wooden canoes, traditionally used to haul coconuts though now just as likely to transport building materials, are being moored for the evening.

The village in question, Parippu, is a stone’s thrown from Aymanam, the breathtakingly beautiful setting of Arundhati Roy’s Booker prize-winning novel, The God of Small Things. As the sun sets the sky blazes red, a brilliant backdrop for the silhouetted palm trees. It’s not hard to see why this is known as God’s Own Country.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of Indian independence, following almost 90 years of British colonial rule. It’s a bittersweet event; both a national holiday and a reminder of the trauma and bloodshed of partition from Pakistan. Despite some understandable fears around security for travellers, particularly women, it was named by the Rough Guide as the No.1 country to visit this year. In its annual top 10 list the guidebook noted that travelling to India is now easier than ever, citing the launch of e-tourist visas, done online and approved within 72 hours, and tax exemptions on homestays.

India is known as a country to set the senses on fire, a mass of colour, noise and contrasts. Last year it overtook the UK to become the world’s sixth largest economy and yet about one-fifth of the population live below the poverty line.

With so much to see, it is tempting to try to cram in as much as possible. But as I’m travelling with two children, aged six and eight, a slower pace is what I’m seeking. The less hectic towns, villages and coastline of Kerala, in the country’s southwest, seem an ideal option.

There is certainly plenty of the latter to choose from with nearly 600km of Arabian Sea shoreline. And though Kerala may be best known for its beaches and backwaters – an intricate network of canals and lagoons – inland are the Western Ghats, mountains whose slopes support tea, coffee and spice plantations as well as wildlife from elephants to langur monkeys and tigers.

The state was formed in 1956, nine years after independence, by combining the Malayalam-speaking regions. The economic inequality endemic across much of the country is less apparent here. It has the highest literacy rate in the country – 94 per cent according to the 2011 census, compared with a national figure of 74 per cent – and the highest life expectancy at 77 years, nine years more than the Indian average.

It’s also a state with a distinct political character. Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hardline Hindi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power in 2014, regional politics in the left-leaning Kerala are a different story. Here communist flags fly along rural roadsides – the Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by the Communist Party of India, is now the ruling coalition. Despite commitments to a range of measures from improvements in food security to housing and health, strikes in the state are still common. In June the LDF eased restrictions on the control of alcohol, previously sold almost exclusively at government-controlled shops, allowing licences at an increasing number of tourist resorts, hotels and bars.

Kerala’s cities – in contrast to some of India’s metropolises – are smaller and more relaxed. The port town of Kochi (Cochin) is the most popular with tourists, particularly the historic area of Fort Cochin. This grid of old streets at the northwest tip of the peninsula is where the Portuguese erected their first walled citadel, Fort Immanuel. The Dutch East India Company later consolidated it with a circle of ramparts, though only a few fragments remain.

Here there are shops and cafes a-plenty, and several gallery spaces to explore. This city is fast becoming a cultural hub and now hosts the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.

Just a stroll from the centre, the iconic and elegant Chinese fishing nets, lowered on polls morning and evening, line the shore. Fish and seafood – of all shapes and sizes – are sold on the waterfront and the bazar that runs alongside selling mostly tourist tat is good fun, its sparkly goods and pocket-money prices (by UK standards anyway) make it a big hit with the kids. On the beach Indian families gather, shrieking in delight as the waves crash around their ankles. The industrial ships on the horizon mean you’d think twice about swimming here. But as darkness falls, and we eat deliciously coconutty Keralan fish and green mango curry on the pretty terrace of the Fort House restaurant while the twinkly lights of boats drift past, it feels idyllic.

From here many people head to Alapulzha, known as Alleppey, which has become the hub for backwater cruises, including the converted rice barges known locally as kettuvallum. Once they hauled rice, fish and coconuts. Now their cargo is tourists – thousands take cruises in these houseboats every year, which often come fitted with all mod cons including televisions, ensuite double bedrooms and fluffy towels. Yet the environmental price is high – studies suggest they are polluting the lakes and waterways, pumping out tens of thousands of litres of waste water every day.

There are alternative ways to experience the backwaters. Rather than take a cruise we decide to stay in its heart and book into the Backwater Heritage Homestay, near the village made famous by Arundahti Roy. Run by Xavier Joseph, whose family has owned the main farmhouse for four generations, the rooms here are basic if clean and cool. But the setting makes up for that, the beautiful garden where butterflies flit backing straight on to the palm-fringed river. From sunrise, accompanied by soft chanting from the nearby temple, till after sunset, when the moon hangs above the trees, the view is ever-changing.

There are bikes to borrow – we nip down to the local bakery for some onion bajis and curried pies or explore the nearby villages (the children run on to their porches to wave and shout as we cycle past). Trips on the river here are oar-powered, helping you slow your pace. Snacks such as deep-fried bananas and fresh orange juice arrive, unsummoned, on our return.

But the beach still beckons. Many tourists opt for those at Kovalam and the white sands of nearby Valkala due south but for the princely sum of 20p we take a ferry from nearby Kottayam across the vast Vembanadu Lake to Mararikulum where the sands of Marari beach stretch for miles. Tourists arrived in this fishing village less than a decade ago. While there are now a selection of homestays and a couple of higher-end resorts, along with an increasing number of beach shack stalls, restaurants and ice-cream sellers, the feel is relaxed.

At the beautiful Marari Dreamz homestay, less than 10 minutes’ walk from the beach, young hosts Allwyn and Jency have worked hard to create something special. A mango tree grows through the middle of our open-roofed bathroom, the bedrooms are stylish and there are hammocks stretched out across the gardens where cinnamon, cashew and banana trees grow.

Jency’s food, from spicy prawn curry to coconut and cabbage thoran to fresh limeade with cardamom, is not only wonderful but she’ll also teach you how to make the dishes and send on recipes afterwards. Allwyn drives us to a nearby village to watch the fishing boats come in and helps arrange ayurvedic massage – in which hot oils made from garden herbs and flowers are poured over the body. The kids play with their gentle pet dog Shengu.

The beach itself is the main draw, though, sands backed by whispering palm trees that offer much-needed shade in the humid heat. The sea here can be rough. But if a swim feels like too much you can sit and watch the waves crash on to the shore, the rhythm helping you take life at a slower pace.

TRAVEL NOTES

Getting there

Emirates has return flights from Glasgow to Kochi via Dubai from £448. Visit fly4.emirates.com.

Where to stay

Immerse yourself in the real India by opting for homestays such as Marari Dreamz Eco Homestay. Visit mararidreamz.com.

What to do

Kayak through Kerela with Plunge Adventures. Visit facebook.com/plungeadventures.