Published Paper Details:

This paper examines Abraham Verghese's The Covenant of Water through the lens of blue humanities, focusing on the spatial differentiation between Kerala's inland backwater environments and the coastal urban seascape of Kochi. The central argument posits that the contrast between familiar backwater environments and the threatening yet fascinating open sea exemplifies blue humanities' exploration of how different aquatic spaces shape human relationships with water--from intimate, domesticated waterways to the sublime and riveting open ocean. This paper reveals a critical gap in current blue humanities scholarship, which has predominantly focused on oceanic studies while neglecting the cultural significance of rivers, backwaters, and other inland water systems, particularly in postcolonial contexts, by focusing on a journey that transforms from the known domesticity of river travel to the anxiety-inducing vastness of harbor waters.