Kochi- The not so Smart City
Published April 1, 2010 | Kochi, the financial capital of Kerala refuses to grow. The administration or the municipal corporation has shown no sign of willingness to develop the city to some standard. Even the minimum bare infrastructure is outdated.
The city has accommodated 600 percent increase in vehicles in the last 10 years, and still the roads in the city are all single lane. More than 75 percent of the police force is on Kochi roads controlling traffic or chasing non-helmet rider and no-belt drivers (you cannot expect them to do a better job). Except for huge Flats and apartments, Kochi for sure is putting a poor image.
Have a look at the pictures to see a strange, lethargic attitude of the authorities. A cable drum roller parked on the one-half of the road. It appears like the cable company after laying the cable abandoned it to the fate of the road users. Imagine the state of the people who frequent this road. You need to update your Life Insurance premium regularly, after all insurance is good.
Walk at your own risk, Kochi has no footpaths, no proper bus stations, undisciplined public transport system, no proper use of space. I do not want to sound sarcastic, but I hope the concerned authorities and the governing bodies know how shameful this is.
Changing governance doesn’t make any sense, you need to have a society that demands changes
Unfortunately Kerala is no different from other state, the will-power is just missing. Hope Kochi catches up with other cities which are galloping faster.
Cochin Twestival 2010 – A meet up of tweeters of Kerala
Published March 26, 2010 | It was yet another festivity in the city of Cochin last day with the cities avid tweeters converging at ‘Somewhere Else Cafe’ for the much awaited ‘Cochin Twestival 2010′ – A meet up of the twitter community in the state. This one-of-its kind Twestival is the second global Twestival which apart from Cochin was hosted in many other cities across the country including Banagalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata and Goa on the same day. This years Twestival happens to be the first ever Twestival in Cochin with the celeb guest ‘Archana Kavi’ (Neelathamara fame) gracing the event.
The event was coordinated by a team of young lads all from different fields and cities who with their hard work and efforts pulled up all the needed for the Twestival. Sajan Mani (@vmsajan), an organizer of Cochin Twetival 2010 (@cochintwestival ) addressed by telling how he along with few other gang members worked out day and night to make this dream come true. He even narrated his experience behind the Twestival and how last year no one showed up but this year the Twestival turned out to be a great event for Cochin. Sajan also added that, many rock bands including an international band had agreed to perform for free. But due to lack of venues and sponsors they had to drop the idea. He even expressed his gratitude for the support he got from few people who made this happen. Firstly he thanked the owner of ‘Somewhere Else’ Cafe, who agreed to lend the cafe free along with free welcome drink for the guests of Twestival. While DJ Arvee (@djarvee) also voluntarily preformed for the Cochin Twestival.
The Twestival was attended by quite a decent number of people from across the state, you can find them at http://tweeple.in/compare/1/. Twestival also supported the cause for under-privileged with the help of Concern Worldwide by generating funds for them using social media as the platform. The celebrity guest Archana Kavi (@archanakavi) remained the center of attraction with tweeters asking all sorts of questions, for which she elegantly replied. She seemed very pleased at being part of the first ever Twestival in Cochin, after proving her talent in her recent flick ‘Neelathamara’ this Delhi based Malayalee actor is at present shooting for her upcoming flick ‘Best of Luck’.
In conversation with ‘Archana Kavi’ -
1) How is twitter helpful for celebrities to make a link with their fans?
Archana – Well, Twitter does help a lot to have a one-on-one communication with our fans and we get to know what they feel about their stars and it even helps to reach out easily.
2) Can Twitter be thought as a tool for reputation management?
Archana – Not exactly, I don’t feel so, may be others might take it as a tool for building their repute for me its just a medium to stay connected to my friends, fans and well-wishers.
3) Do you reply to all the tweets?
Archana – Not for all, Like I can’t reply to a ‘hi’ to hundreds of people who wave me a ‘Hi’ each day, still I try my best to make sure I reply to most of them.
4) Do you think that twitter has come as a boon for the new celebs who can reach out to the masses easily, something yesteryear celebs missed?
Archana – Ya sort of! Now most of the celebs have a twitter account and they do tweet a lot about themselves, what they feel, what they are doing, and how they are and even reply to their fans.
Tweeples hurled plenty of questions on her with few funny questions as well, like with her second name ‘KAVI’ (Poet), have you ever written any poems lol!. Making her contribution for the cause the celebrity too contributed donation for Concern Worldwide foundation (@concern ).
Apart from Archana Kavi the highlights of the Twestival 2010 remained the stand-up comedy by budding stand-up artist Siddharth who with his funny acts forced the gathering to laugh out loud. The mega event winded off with DJ Arvee rocking the party with some of the foot-taping
tracks. The MAD (Make a difference foundation) guys were also part of this festivity and called for participation for the foundation, they even handed over questionnaires for tweeters to be filled out and returned back to know their views about MAD and to seeks willing people to join up with MAD’s initiative.
In all, it was a nice experience to be part of such an event which winded up with new ideas, noble deeds and lot of new friends and tweet pals. Kudos to all the guys behind Cochin Twestival 2010.
Union Budget 2010: Nothing to cheer for Keralites
Published February 27, 2010 | It was a long wait for the Keralites before the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee finally announced the Union budget 2010. People of Kerala were expecting something to cheer about this year, but it turned out to be a disappointment for them, with the total revenue allocation for the state dropping.
Well this year’s budget seemed to be favouring more on the province from where these ministers hail from, first it was the Railway Minister ‘Mamata Banerjee showering goodies to West Bengal in the railway budget 2010. Followed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s proposal to include embankment schemes along rivers Bhagirathi and Ganga-Padma in the Central Sponsored Flood Management Programme, will benefit the people of Eastern state. At large the budget 2010 has thrashed the hopes of Kerala which was expecting something this year.
The left government of Kerala has termed the budget to be a corporate’s budget with nothing for the common man. The so-called common man was bearing the pressure of inflation and with this budget it seems the “Aam aadmi”(common man) has nothing to be happy. Even the Kerala government were continuously demanding relaxations to protect the domestic sector by maximizing the custom tariff of primary agricultural products but nothing came out for them this year.
Highlights of Union Budget 2010
What got dearer :
- ACs
- TVs
- Big Cars
- Petrol
- Diesel
- Cigarettes and Cigars
- Non-Smoking tobacco products
- Air Travel ( due to the rise in fuel prices)
What got cheaper:
- Mobile phones
- Medical Equipment
- Agricultural Equipment
- CFL bulbs
- Clean energy equipments like solar panels
- Set top boxes
- Compact Disc
- Toys
- Books
The budget might have triggered the sensex to crawl up by 176 point but it failed to please the people with fuel prices going up. It seems people of Kerala have to wait for the next year’s Union budget to find if they have something to cheer.
On being asked to the people about their say on this budget, they were not so excited. It seems the calculation of the common man of Kerala has completely gone down with the hike in fuel price and nothing special for the state in the budget!
Count your stars if you are on Cochin road!
Published January 2, 2010 | Cochin, the financial capital city of Kerala represents largely with narrow roads with hundreds of cars and no parking lots. With millions of vehicles of all sizes on the road, the need for wider roads is just a dream (keep dreaming).
Secondly the roads in Kochi are not safe. No there are no robberies or dacoits on the roads, it is a different ball game. You may meet with an accident even if your are not at fault. The roads are so narrow and crowded and everyone is fighting for space. So if you reach home safely in the evening don’t ask for more. Accident is not new in Kochi, you will only be surprised if there is none reported in a day.
This morning I saw people gathered on the bridge over the canal near our Karma Kerala office (Subhash Chandra Bose road). Was wondering what happened! thought the Corporation might have agreed to clear off the hyacinth that was a breeding ground for mosquitoes. I took a closer look only to see a tipper van submerged in the water. It first looked like 1) the driver wanted to be a diver for a day, 2) wanted to cool his heels so took this noble plunge, 3) or effects of the New Year hangover.
None of my guesses was right till a passerby elucidated that another vehicle with a drunk driver (probably) at the wheel slammed into the rear of that poor parked tipper throwing it into the canal. This happened in the early morning and luckily there was no pedestrian or other vehicles on the road. A poor old lady was counting her stars as
she overslept and was late today for her morning walk.
It means even parked vehicles are not safe in Cochin roads. This reminds me of another incidence on NH-17, which is horrifyingly narrow with houses close enough on both sides of the road. One night another drunk driver rammed into the nearby house and into the bedroom injuring the man who was sleeping peacefully. Others in his neighborhood got up the next morning only to see this truck parked in his room!
Every other policemen is seen hunting for drunken drivers, but still nothing works. Kochities care less about traffic rules and driving etiquettes. Accidents are rampant. There is no proper definition for roads in Cochin. If we try to get a pedestrian survey, you will probably end up with litigation. The road to this city never grows.
Battling it hard on tracks
Published November 25, 2009 | How many of you have ever given a thought about those millions of poverty ridden people who do have nothing to lose but still weave golden dreams. Well, if you are quizzing what their golden dreams are, then its just to live another day with adequate food and shelter.
Living with such a dream is a family who came to Kerala two years back with a hope to sustain their livelihood. There assets were few pairs of clothes, an old suitcase which never shuts and a harmonium. This family is lead by Devendra (42), Kamala (32) and daughter Sapna (13).
Though they don’t hail from Kerala nor do they have any ties with ‘God’s Own Country’ still they say, they like this place which embraced them with open arms. Now the big question comes; did they get that channel or path to sustain their life here! Music paved their way earning them their bread, but they don’t do any street shows nor they go door to door.
On the contrary this family performs in trains plying in Kerala. Their day starts early and winds up late. You can spot them in Passenger trains, Express and even Super fast trains, selling their skills for mere coins. They do have to face many abuses of those Railway Officals (T.T) who make things worse for them.
On being asked how much do they earn a day, “some time two hundred to three hundred a day while at times have to contain with fifty to hundred bucks” said Devendra. He also added that he has to bear the dis-interest of many of the passengers who do shrugs off them. But he also thanked many of those passenger who do behave nicely and even applaud their skill.
Singing on those hit Bollywood numbers and other languages in order to some how get enough money to earn their food remains the only goal for the family. No time to think for any other thing, the 13 year old girl wish to study and go to school one day.
There are many such hopeful families who comes to this state in a hope to make a living for them and their family. It may be the labourer working in any of the construction sites near to your place or any street vendor selling toys. In the rat race, many of us don’t even realise or notice such faces do exist around us.
Aren’t we all slowly becoming victims of our self-centred existence?
Sabarimala – The centre of faith and devotion
Published November 21, 2009 | Like every year the doors of the famous temple Sabarimala were once again open for two months for the pilgrims. Being a devotee of Lord Ayyappa I was also one among those millions of pilgrims waiting to get a glimpse of Lord Ayyappa. The temple gets thronged with devotees especially during the main pilgrim season from November to January. Mandalapooja(Nov.17th)and Makaravilakku(Jan.14th) the two main events of the pilgrim season. The temple remains closed during the rest of the year except for the first five days of every Malayalam month and during Vishu (April).
Throughout the route to pamba we spotted hundreds of pilgrims marching ahead to their destination ‘Sabarimala‘. After reaching ‘Pamba’ ( the third longest river in the South Indian state of Kerala and considered as the Dakshin Ganga due to its association with the pilgrim centre – Sabarimala) I was much pleased, the way the authorities have cleared up the banks and made ample space for the pilgrims to take the holy dip in Pamba.
After taking the holy dip in ‘Pamba,’ we marched towards the Pamba Ganapathy temple, we started our journey bare footed with Irumudi Kettu (Irumudi is the only travelling kit which a pilgrim carries on his head during the pilgrimage) on our heads toward the hilltop Sabrimala shrine. Metal detector and scanning machines were installed to keep a vigil. Thousands of devotees were marching up chanting ‘Swamiye Ayyappa’ ‘Ayyappa Swamiye’. Even the arrangements seemed quite perfect this year with many commendable works by the dewasom.
Glimpse of the development this year :
- Construction of new Cardiology Centre.
- Broadening of pathways
- Concreting the pathways
- Building up new barricades on the way
- More resting shelters on the way to the shrine.
- Medicated water stalls for devotees
Many temporary restaurants and tea stalls were there on both sides of the pathway. We all were moving on chanting the name of Lord Ayyappa, and suddenly the climate changed,and it was rain all over. Soon we moved on to those resting sheds constructed this year, again we started our journey towards the shrine after the rain.
Walking for an hour more we finally reached the ‘Nadapanthal’ where devotees were queued waiting for making it to the 18 holy steps. All along the journey I found more devotees from Tamil Nadu, Andra Pradesh and Karnataka rather than Kerala and few foreign nationals were also there stating how popular Sabarimala is. As one steps on those holy eighteen steps, a full throated cry goes up from the devotees, “Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa!” It is the realisation of a mission. Policemen were deployed all around. After few struggle we managed to those 18 steps (Pathinettu padi) made up of pure gold, where policemen were standing on both side of those 18 holy steps pulling up devotees quickly.
Actual Timings during the Mandala Pooja – Makaravilakku Season
Opens at 0400 hrs 0400 hrs
Nirmalya Darshanam 0405 hrs 0405 hrs
Neyyabhishekam 0430 – 1130 hrs 0425 -1130 hrs
Ganapathi Homam 0435 hrs 0430 hrs
Usha Pooja 0730 hrs 0730 hrs
Ucha (Noon) Pooja 1230 hrs 1300 hrs
Closes at 1300 hrs 1330 hrs
Opens at 1600 hrs 1600 hrs
Deeparadhana 1830 hrs 1830 hrs
Pushpabhishekham 1900 hrs 1900 hrs
Athaza Pooja 2230 hrs 2230 hrs
Harivarasanam and Closing at 2250 to 2300 2250 to 2300 hrs
My eyes were taken by surprise to see such a massive turn out of devotees, the Lord Ayyappan temple (Sreekovil) was glittering with gold all over it, from roof top to pillars and doors all made of pure gold. In the sannidhanam there is a shrine of Lord Ganapati which is also recently platted with gold facing to the south-west of the main temple, known as Kannimula Ganapati. The special offering to this deity is Ganapati homam.
After worshiping the two deities, we moved to our camp. Though it was 10 pm but the buzz and enthusiasm of the pilgrims made me to realise that its nothing other than Gods blessing which keeps those pilgrims active even after walking for hours bare footed.
Next was to buy the prasadam, the queue for arvana was really long with devotees waiting to make it to the counter. I felt the lazy approach in the arrangements made by the police, as many devotees jumped the queue to buy the prasadam. After an hour we got the arvana payasam (prasadam of Lord Ayyappa).
Next morning we woke up early to take the holy dip in the ‘Bhasma Kulam’(About a 100 metres away is the shrine of Malikappurathamma. where hundreds of devotees takes holy bath in memory of the tapaswini Sabari who entered a fire to end her mortal life. It is after her that the peak is named Sabarimala). After taking the holy dip we started our journey back to pamba, while descending on the route we saw tall trees standing dead straight appearing like skyscraper. We spotted many ‘Doli’(Palanquin) carrying old aged and disabled devotees. I appreciate the efforts by those palanquin carriers who carry pilgrims on those hilly terrains.
Being the first day of Mandalamasam there was huge rush of devotees. After reaching pamba, again we took a holy dip refreshing ourselves from the fatigue of descending down the hill. With the first dip in water something brushed my feet, it was a mundu – Many devotees abandon their mundu after taking the holy dip on their way back.
In order to avoid any traffic congestion heavy vehicles were not allowed to be parked in the parking lot near pamba. So we opted for a public transport towards Nilackal (An important Temple enroute to Sabarimala and located between Plappally and Pampa) an intermediate halting area with ample parking facilities distributed separatley as per states, like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andra Pradesh. This year lot more parking area was allotted, from there I boarded my bus and started my return journey with the hope to come back again next year, with more fervor and devotion. “Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa”.
It's all in the 'Name'
Published November 19, 2009 | Almost everyone loves their names and when it reaches out to the public on a positive note then one really feels proud or honoured. Well, this race for popularity is not only shared by high profile people or celebrities who crave for the so called ‘popularity’. But these days Kerala villagers are not willing to miss out on a single opportunity to bring up their names in limelight in one or the other way.
Kerala has always been known for its rich culture and traditions, with festivals on almost week in one or the other part or region of the state. Let’s peek into the other side of these festivals which offers a golden chance for those popularity craving morons to come out to the limelight and shine out like stars. Talk about any small or big temple festival in the villages in Kerala and you can see how active these temple committee members are not discussing the programs or events, but more concern about how big and colourful their pictures are on the brochure and pamphlets.
The popularity saga doesn’t ends here, even special supplementary is issued in local newspapers with almost half page dedicated to the committee members showing off their colourful pictures and names in bold. From young to old everyone wants to look their best on the pamphlets and brochures. One more trend which is very much in practice these days is the way people love to donate things or money, ‘good indeed’, but the catch is that they want their names to be mentioned. I’ll share a recent incident which made me think, “are donations given for some gain?”
It was like any other day, but some fuss was there in my locality, later I came to know that the ‘deepasthambam’ (many-tiered lamps) placed in the ‘Aal thara’ (a Banyan tree with a base foundation considered to be sacred) in our place collapsed, soon a meeting was called by the committee and donations were asked to bring in a new ‘deepasthambam’.
“The estimate amount is around 40 thousand INR”, said one committee member, so all decided to pool in money as donation, this was all really commendable. But then came the idea of why not inscribing the names of the donors on a marble plaque and fix it for public view near the new ‘deepasthambam’ as a remembrance.
Really a small, but an eye-opening instance tells us that, villages too have been infected by the so-called popularity syndrome.
Kerala villages: Abode to moral values
Published November 10, 2009 | In this materialistic era where artificiality and selfishness has over powered our moral values and customs, there are instances which highlight how people still believe and practice such morality in real life. A recent experience of mine made me think morality and humanity has been washed off in our so called modern society.
Well, Kerala has always known for its rich culture, traditions and hospitality, but with the changing trend this so called ‘God’s Own Country’ seems losing out its cultural heritage slowly. In the race for livelihood the city goers in Kerala have some how forgotten the values of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (which means that the whole world is a single family).
Amidst the rat-race of daily life people have programmed themselves to be least bothered with what is happening around them. For instance on the city roads if untowardly any ill-fated guy meets up with an accident, it’s upon his luck if anyone really stops, putting his work at stake to help the victim. Well this is a normal scene nowadays, which has pointed fingers over how artificial people have become and how soon they have forgotten their values.
But, in my case I feel quite lucky enough to be living in a Kerala village where people still are rooted to their values and culture to a great extinct. Now, what I am going to share with you is a personal experience which forced me to sit and think that the decision to relocate to a village rather than a city was a wise decision of my parents.
It was a Sunday morning and I was going to the near-by market on my Hero Honda motorbike. As I was about to reach the market a stray dog suddenly jumped in front of my bike. As we all knows stray dogs are known for their menace, and its the same in my village. Many riders end up in mishaps with these road side dogs and that day it was my turn. Though I tried my level best to avoid the accident, as the elders say, “what has to happen will happen”.
The collision was not so fierce, but I got severe injuries on my ankles and knees, it all happened in fraction of seconds and as it was over, the culprit dog smartly fled the scene of accident. It was a Sunday morning, even though village roads hardly have any traffic, and on Sundays the streets usually remain deserted.
After the mishap, it was at first a bit difficult for me to understand what had happened, as soon as I tried to lift my bike which was lying about 5 feet away in pain, one of the passers-by spotted me lying on the road injured. Soon they stopped and lifted me up and my bike. Soon few more other passers-by gathered and everyone was doing their best to make me feel comfortable and that genuine concern was very well clear in their eyes.
I was for a minute taken aback by the way they were concerned about my condition, it made me think of the values and helpfulness that still exists in our villages. By experiencing this I felt really happy to find that, the village people in Kerala are still unfazed by the artificial and self-centred lifestyle, which the people living in city have adopted.
Marriages are made in the cyberspace
Published February 13, 2009 | Once upon a time, finding a life partner was a simple affair in Kerala. Typically marriages between first cousins or immediate neighbours were the order of the day. Marriages will be fixed by the elders in the family and very often the groom and the bride might not even see each other before they tie the knot.
Things changed when professional ambitions took the Malayalees to distant lands both within and outside the country. Soon, the responsibility of finding the life partner was shifted to the marriage brokers. All you need to do was to give a copy of the biodata and your expectations of the life partner to the marriage broker, who travels the length and breadth of the State to find the most appropriate match in no time. The broker makes his appearance at the crack of the dawn with his hallmark clutch bag held in his armpit, which will be stuffed with the testimonials, snap shots and biodata of his clients. He scratches his head and informs the motive of his visit to the bride’s father- he needs cash advance and pocket money to visit the boy’s place. He tries to hook the boy’s family by his exaggerated description about the girl and her family status and uses lavish clichéd expressions like the girl is as fair as milk and has hair that sweeps the floor when let loose and a million other things.
If the horoscopes of the boy and the girl are found to be matching the families make their visits to each other’s houses to fix the wedding date. The broker nets a handsome commission from both the families of the bride and the groom. Some business savvy brokers even calculate their commission as a fixed percentage of the groom’s salary package! NRI candidates or those with professional degrees like engineering or medicine are always in great demand in the marriage circles and the brokers often demand a higher fee for fixing such alliances.
Time have changed further. These days, malayalee marriages are done mostly through News paper advertisements or online wedding portals. The popularity of online weddings is due to the fact that it allows the groom and the bride to see each other and talk to each other even if they live on the opposite sides of the globe, with just a few mouse clicks!
Though arranged marriages still remain the most popular option among the youngsters, online weddings have made it possible for inter religious and inter racial weddings with ease for those who wish to choose their life mate. One can expect more winds of change to sweep the marriage field in the days to come where innovative wedding ideas and trends will play cupid in fixing the matches.
Sky is not the limit
Published January 5, 2009 | Sky need not be the limit when some innovative persons put on their thinking cap! Kerala has always been a fertile land for innovative and creative ideas to take roots. There are associations and clubs of all possible genres in Kerala. From Tall men’s association, to bald men’s association and unmarried men’s clubs- the list of organisations that strive to bring together people of similar interests under the same platform seems endless!
Though for many ordinary Joes , it might appear a bit strange, such organiations, flaunt a decent membership and are quite popular in the city. These bodies also play an important role in popularising their cause apart from notching up the self esteem of its members.
For instance, though a pot belly could be a cosmetic problem for many it can be made a cause for celebration by being a member in these clubs; at least that is what the stupendous success of the competitions among pot belied men held by some of these clubs is any indication. If you thought a large tummy would put you in an awkward situation, just remember that there are quite a few brave souls who show it off with pride and consider a symbol of manliness.
Remaining a bachelor all through your life might not be an enjoyable experience for your family members and friends; however once you become member of the unmarried men’s association, you will start enjoying every moment of your bachelorhood that you would even go whole hog convincing your family and parents to drop the idea of getting you hooked by way of marriage! In case you have a hard hitting and innovative idea and a strong fan following, then nothing can stop you from cobbling up an association in Kerala. Bravo!