To be aboard a converted riceboat on the backwaters of Kerala is to experience India beyond the mainstream: tranquil, uncrowded, at one with nature. Our little thatched wooden boat moves as gently as a sleeping swan as we sit and read on the upper deck, rousing ourselves for meals from cook Pradesh's miracle kitchen, gazing at a time-stalled landscape of lush plantations and abundant groves of coconut trees. We are absorbed in green. The air smells of cloves, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg. We are aboard for just a few nights but the restorative effect is magical: as we dock beside the Taj Garden Retreat at Kumarakom, we skip on to shore, ready to again tackle the intoxicating muddle that is Mother India.  ¶ 10:47 PM