A new light: Lighthouse tourism in Kerala

KOCHI: "What is there on top,” asked a woman to ICR Prasad, a retired assistant engineer at the Directorate of Lighthouses and Light Ships. This is one among the 18 mainland lighthouses in the state, built over various periods since the 19th century as a marker of the trade link Kerala had with the rest of the world. “Even in Kerala, I have seen families who had migrated to Australia bringing their children on an outing to Thangassery Lighthouse and they explain how their forefathers were associated with the seas,” he says. Probably to bank in on such sentiments and on the awe that people have for lighthouses, the Union government has etched larger plans as part of the Maritime India Vision 2030.