Ayodyha

Let me begin my thoughts by reaffirming that demolishing Babri Masjid was wrong especially in a secular and democratic nation like India. Those who did it ought to be punished so that such acts are not repeated.

Yesterday the Indian supreme court gave the verdict on the centuries old Ayodhya dispute. The timeline for the dispute is as follows:

- 1528: Babri Masjid built by Mir Baqi, commander of Mughal emperor Babur.

- 1885: Mahant Raghubir Das files plea in Faizabad district court seeking permission to build a canopy outside the disputed structure. Court rejects the plea.
 Click here for the full events.

The final verdict  : Entire Disputed Site Goes to Hindus for Ram Mandir, Muslims to Get 5 Acres of Alternate Land
It is not a fair judgement since one cannot demolish a structure and build another based on hearesays alone. If so, entire India would need to be dug up to right whatever wrongs imagined or otherwise. But I think SC wanted to end this dispute in a peaceful manner and it is indeed a relief to note that the Muslim board has accepted the same though it could be out of compulsion. But it is clear that India needs peace. The animosity between the two communities is not new. Blame it on various invasions and specially partition. Invasion was unavoidable but partition was avoidable. The fate of millions were decided by few men who only wanted power? 

Why did the 1947 partition of India unfold the way it did?

The context of World War II and the transfer of power were critical in shaping the violence. During the war, the British jailed much of the Congress Party in India. In the meantime, more violently inclined nationalist movements flourished, some bearing an imprint of fascism. Indians who fought in the war came home with violent experiences. They and their arms were recruited into new defense groups and paramilitary volunteer bodies attached to these violent movements, such as the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and the Muslim League National Guard. Some Indian politicians in provincial governments began to use such groups for policing as they shifted from being the opposition to being the government.

Although the agreement required no relocation, about 15 million people moved or were forced to move, and between half a million to 2 million died in the ensuing violence.

If one thinks the above did not affect the remaining Indians then one is naive and shall never understand the Ayodhya issue too. I think the two communities continue to test each other. They hide their insecurity and fears and at times erupt in riots. Now with a nationalistic party at the helm it is not getting better. But what if the courts had given a different verdict? There is no guarantee that the government would have been able to quell the unrest. This am sure is one reason the Muslim community is accepting the verdict while hoping to move forward.

Sometimes one hears from the south of India, specially Kerala boasting about religious tolerance as opposed to the north of India. Maybe they should look at the following map to know who was affected the most during the partition if not by the various invasions.

The extent and patterns of ethnic cleansing that led to the collapse of minority population shares in then western India was not anticipated. As late as November 1945, the Commander of the Indian Army, Field Marshal Claude Auchinleck, predicted that the “principal danger areas (for ethnic conflict) are likely to lie in the United Provinces, Bihar and Bengal”, these having also been the principal areas where religious rioting had taken place in the years leading up to Independence (Figure 2a, and Jha and Wilkinson 2012). Yet, the patterns of ethnic cleansing were very different (Figure 2b), and the areas that Auchinleck thought would be most susceptible to violence still enjoy sizeable minority populations to this day.

If Ayodhya is viewed against this backdrop let this verdict take the nation forward since there are many wounds still festering. India is indeed diverse and can never be like another democratic country. But the least one can do is understand the issues involved and stop escalating issues.

Source:
https://news.stanford.edu/2019/03/08/partition-1947-continues-haunt-india-pakistan-stanford-scholar-says/
https://www.news18.com/news/india/ayodhya-case-verdict-live-updates-ram-janmabhoomi-babri-masjid-ayodhya-mandir-news-samachar-supreme-court-uttar-pradesh-2379563.html


https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/chronology-of-events-in-ram-janmabhoomi-babri-masjid-land-dispute-case/articleshow/71980846.cms

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/ayodhya-verdict-sunni-wakf-board-not-file-review-petition-112032
https://voxdev.org/topic/institutions-political-economy/drawing-line-short-and-long-term-consequences-partitioning-india

Kashmir

If there is heaven on earth they say it is in Kashmir. 

Maybe it is because of this that everyone is fighting for this piece of land. History tells us that Kashmir was once ruled by a king who sought help from newly independent India in order to avoid being invaded by Pakistan. While India tried to win the hearts of Kashmir by giving it a special status and by pouring more money that it has ever given to other states, Pakistan never gave up it’s pursuits. In fact, the first war between India and Pakistan was fought over Kashmir and the next one in 1965 ensured that Pakistan shall be forever under the grips of the military regime. 

(The Indo–Pakistani war of 1965 caused thousands of deaths on both sides with a heavy deployment of armoured vehicles)


India had two options: either give up Kashmir or make Kashmir a part of India in every way. Over the years India tried in every way to make Kashmir a part of India but it has never worked. Pakistan never gave up and has always encouraged militancy among the Kashmir youth. Even today if you converse with a Kashmiri who fights for independence at the end his/her support is for Pakistan.

 In the late 1980s, separatist discourse gained momentum in Kashmir and the military insurgency started spreading in the valley against what is perceived as an Indian occupation. 





Now one may wonder why India should resist this. If Kashmir is ever separated from India it is for everyone to see that Pakistan shall occupy it within no time. Why not says Pakistan. But shall the world ever say that? Look at the both the nations and where they stand after 1947. The same set of people or DNA started building a nation. Where does Pakistan stand now? How good is it’s economy as compared to India?



As of 2019, GDP of India is around of 10 times greater than Pakistan. In nominal terms gap is wider (above 10 times) than ppp terms (below 10 times). India is 5th largest country of the world in nominal method and 3rd largest economy in ppp method. Nominal ranking of Pakistan is 43 and PPP ranking is 25. India's economically largest states Maharashtra has GDP ($334 billion) greater than Pakistan. Margin between these two countries was lowest in 1993 when Nominal GDP of India was 5.43x of Pakistan and highest was in 1973 (13.53x).





Now let us see how minorities have fared in both the countries over the years.


In India, if in 1951 Muslims were 9.8% as compared to 84.1%  of Hindus, in 2011 it is 14.23% as compared to 79.8%.  



It is obvious that the Muslim population in India is not declining whereas in Pakistan the situation is getting worse day by day.



At the time of partition in 1947, almost 23% of Pakistan’s population was [composed] ofnon-Muslim citizens. Today, the proportion of non-Muslims has declined toapproximately 3%. The distinctions among Muslim denominations have also becomefar more accentuated over the years. Muslim groups such as the Shias whoaccount for approximately 20-25% of Pakistan’s Muslim population, Ahmadis whohave been declared non-Muslim by the writ of the state, and non-Muslimminorities such as Christians, Hindus and Sikhs have been the targets ofsuicide bomb attacks on their neighborhoods, had community members converted toIslam against their will, and had their houses of worship attacked and bombedeven while they were inhabited by worshipers.”








How did minorities fare in India over the years politically and economically?

A small list of positions minorities have/are occupying in India.



APJ Abdul Kalam(Muslim- Former President)

Manmohan Singh(Sikh- Former Prime Minister)

Giani Zail Singh(Sikh- Former President)

Zakir Hussain(Muslim- Former President)

Mohammad Hidayatullah (Muslim- Former President and Chief Justice)

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (Muslim- Former President)

Mohammad Hamid Ansari (Muslim- Former President)

Sonia Gandhi(Roman Catholic- Former Congress President)

Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi (Muslim- Former Chief Justice)

Altamas Kabir (Muslim- Former Chief Justice)

Jagdish Singh Khehar(Sikh- Former Chief Justice)

S. Y. Quraishi(Muslim- Former Chief Election Commissioner)

Nasim Zaidi(Muslim- Former Chief Election Commissioner)

Sunith Francis Rodrigues(Catholic- Former Army Chief)

Joginder Jaswant Singh(Sikh- Former Army Chief)

Salman Khurshid(Muslim- Former Foreign Minister)

Syed Akbaruddin(India’s current UN representative)

Asif Ibrahim(Muslim- Former Chief of Intelligence Bureau)


These are some of the most important posts of India.


And, the list is unending(Even if I don’t include Actors, Sportsmen, Businessmen and many other notable non-Hindus in India.)






Whereas in Pakistan the national assembly rejects a bill that allows non muslims to become the President or the PM.




Now let us return to the present status of Kashmir.

The Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir was rendered infructuous by The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019 (C.O. 272) issued by the president of India on 5 August 2019. Indian President Ram Nath Kovind issued an order under the power of Article 370, overriding the prevailing 1954 Presidential Order and nullifying all the provisions of autonomy granted to the state. The opposition calls this unconstitutional and without any precedence. But it has precedence if you look at Indian history. The state of Goa came into existence thus but even now there are many Goans who want Goa to be an independent state.


The fight for freedom began in the 1940s as India inched closer to independence from British rule. But Goa remained a Portuguese colony until 1961, straining relations between India and Portugal as the former's support for the anti-colonial movement in Goa grew. In 1955, India even imposed an economic blockade on Goa. 



In 1961,the Indian army invaded the state after the Portuguese fired at Indian fishingboats, killing one fisherman.







If you think Goans have given their pursuit for freedom then you are wrong.



Thepetitioners appeal to the current members of the United Nations GeneralAssembly (UNGA) to review the subject matter of this petition with a freshperspective as the conscience keepers of world peace. The UNSC resolutionS/5033 was passed in the 988th meeting on 18.Dec.61 with 7 members out of 11voting in favour of the motion calling for India to withdraw its forces fromGoa to its pre 17.Dec.61 position which was vetoed by USSR, a permanent member.





As for this letter’s claim of genocide, it is utter nonsense.



If Kashmir is looked at from the point of religious majority, let us look at another princely state in India which joined India much later. While Cochin joined in1949, Travancore joined only in 1956. 





Even now my mother who experienced the princely rule states that those times were much better as compared to now. Now I may disagree as much as I can. J



Kashmir too will have its problems in the years to come but am glad that the current step was taken. This will give its inhabitants a chance to experience India just like any other Indian. Without the intervention of Pakistan I believe Kashmir shall prosper and shall truly become an Indian paradise. 

If not, let India give up Kashmir to it's fate. 



The restrictions imposed on tourists intending to visit the Kashmir Valley will be lifted today following a direction from Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Monday. On August 2, the state administration had issued a security advisory asking tourists, especially pilgrims taking part in the annual Amarnath yatra, to leave the Kashmir Valley as soon as possible. Back then, the government had said this advisory has been issued due to a "terror threat" in the Kashmir Valley.

An interesting conversation if you have time to read.

Source: 
https://www.resetdoc.org/story/brief-history-india-pakistan-conflict-kashmir/
http://statisticstimes.com/economy/india-vs-pakistan-economy.php
https://www.quora.com/Which-country-is-worse-for-minorities-India-or-Pakistan

https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/pak-national-assembly-rejects-bill-non-muslim-cant-be-countrys-pm-or-president20191002194738/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-42390008https://www.change.org/p/prevent-genocide-of-goan-christians-by-communal-corrupt-illegal-indian-administration-in-goa-former-portuguese-colony-where-goans-are-forced-to-immigrate-from-their-own-motherland-to-other-countries
https://www.thehindu.com/features/kids/Joining-hands/article14410304.ece
https://theconversation.com/kashmir-india-tomorrow-part-3-podcast-transcript-115732
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/kashmir-tourist-advisory-ends-today-shutdown-political-detentions-continue-1607746-2019-10-10

Those beautiful places on earth

A tweet took me back to Peerumade and the one day trip that we made to that place. Just like Munnar and Ooty, even Peerumade and Kuttikanam have changed. Since the tea estates no longer seems to be viable much land has been sold (illegally one presumes) and many cottages and buildings have sprung up. More educational institutions too have been built since the climate is good and it is far away from the usual distractions.

A resort up on a steep mountainside astonished me and we thought of exploring it. I remember climbing that mountain and finding lost or wandering cows and even small caves where wild animals made their home. No idea how this place was given up for a resort. The road that leads to it goes through the estate where I once lived and it is very narrow and steep.

We found none when we reached there.

 Maybe because it is the monsoon time and hence off season. Water source is a small dam built at the bottom of the resort.

One can see Kuttikanam and much of Peerumade from the spot.

Maybe next time one should book early and stay at least one night out here in the wilderness before more buildings come up and take away all the charm.

And time flies....

Landed on this page accidently and thought why not jot a few lines. Am sure just like me those who followed me too have abandoned this blog :).

Daughter is back with us and has now joined as a trainee. She comes home tired and the other day heard her asking her father how I manage my cooking after work. Am sure she never realized it until now. Even I was just like her at her age and was much reluctant to spend time in the kitchen. But now am a seasoned cook and a homemaker. Somewhere along the way I even started enjoy cooking! Maybe it is the urge to eat tasty food and to serve it to others. Daughter cooks too and very tastefully. But now she is very busy.

Out here Summer is at it's peak and I read cities in India are running out of water. It seems more cities will join by the year 2020. It is a dismal scene and will be disastrous if immediate action is not taken. Think it is time for India to declare water emergency.

An impending water crisis on a scale hitherto unrecorded in recent history is predicted by 2020. Unless some miracle happens, it would mean groundwater touching zero by next year in 21 cities nationwide. That such a catastrophe was waiting to happen was known. In fact, this very alarming prognosis was underlined in the Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) report released by NITI Aayog in 2018. But it failed to attract the attention it deserved, given the national preoccupation with the recently concluded general elections.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/from-the-viewsroom/the-water-emergency/article28117923.ece

The best way to develop an efficient water cycle is to reuse it whenever and wherever possible. For instance, you can collect water from washing veggies and fruits and reuse it for watering the garden.

Using recycled water for flushing can help bring down your water bills by 30-40 per cent. Collect water from your RO filters in a container and reuse it to wash utensils or mop the floor.

Trap rainwater by installing Rain Water Harvesting systems and reuse it during summers when taps in many Indian cities run dry. It’s not as expensive as you think and can even be retrofitted on an existing house.

https://www.thebetterindia.com/175497/save-water-conservation-home-world-water-day-india/

Monsoon in Kerala this year is weak and last year's flood has disrupted the ground water table too. It is time to count every drop and save.....

How easy it is to divide..

Yesterday was the 70^th death anniversary of Gandhiji, the father of my nation. It was on January 30^th 1948 that Gandhiji was killed by  Nathuram Godse. Godse must have killled Gandhii because he did not like the idea of ahimsa. Although one associates Indian independence with Gandhiji’s ahimsa, I think this nation was born out of the blood of innocents and it was not only the blood of Gandhiji. This worst bloodshed happened during the partition.

The Indian independence movement must have started with Gandhiji’s idea of ahimsa which led to the Quit India Movement or the Civil Disobedience Movement but it is time we remembered the partition.

An excerpt from Gandhiji’s speech on the Quit India Movement

I believe that in the history of the world, there has not been a more genuinely democratic struggle for freedom than ours. I read Carlyle’s French Revolution while I was in prison, and Pandit Jawaharlal has told me something about the Russian revolution. But it is my conviction that inasmuch as these struggles were fought with the weapon of violence they failed to realize the democratic ideal. In the democracy which I have envisaged, a democracy established by non-violence, there will be equal freedom for all. Everybody will be his own master. It is to join a struggle for such democracy that I invite you today. Once you realize this you will forget the differences between the Hindus and Muslims, and think of yourselves as Indians only, engaged in the common struggle for independence.

Maybe it is out of pain or even shame that the subcontinent fails to acknowledge the bloody partition that gave birth to two nations. It is said that 1–2 million people died during the partition of British India. This should actually make everyone very, very angry since a few leaders took decisions so casually that it led to the killing of so many innocents. This anger should have made everyone pledge that it will never happen again. But tension simmers.. between the two nation and within India.

I think even in our school books we skip or skim through the partition maybe since it was an utter failure of our founding fathers. But this nation should have allotted an entire textbook to this topic to make everyone very angry. Angry enough not to divide the nation again on religious grounds.

Gandhiji was against the whole idea of partition, yet he had to take a bullet.

Why Pakistan and India remain in denial 70 years on from partition

The division of British India was poorly planned and brutally carried out, as fear and revenge attacks led to a bloody sectarian ‘cleansing’

On 3 June 1947, only six weeks before British India was carved up, a group of eight men sat around a table in New Delhi and agreed to partition the south Asian subcontinent.

Photographs taken at that moment reveal the haunted and nervous faces of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Indian National Congress leader soon to become independent India’s first prime minister, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, head of the Muslim League and Pakistan’s first governor-general and Louis Mountbatten,the last British viceroy.

There is still a mystery at the dark heart of partition. Ultimately, it remains a history layered with absence and silences, even while many mourn and talk about their own trauma. Nearly every Punjabi family – Indian and Pakistani – can tell a tale about a relative uprooted in the night, the old friends and servants left behind, the nostalgia for a cherished house now fallen into new hands. Far fewer are willing to discuss the role of their own locality in contributing to the violence. Rarely, oral histories tell of culpability and betrayal; more often, guilt and silences stalk the archive.
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Who were the killers? Why did they kill? Much evidence points not to the crazy and inexplicable actions of mad, uneducated peasants with sticks and stones, but to well-organised and well-motivated groups of young men, who went out – particularly in Punjab – to carry out ethnic cleansing. These men, often recently demobilised from the second world war, had been trained in gangs and militias, were in the pay of shopkeepers and landlords, and had often been well drilled and well equipped. They took on the police and even armed soldiers on some occasions

.

The politics of an assassination: Who killed Gandhi and why?

Historians and scholars have written extensively on “who killed Gandhi and why?” and the answer, obviously, doesn’t end with Godse. What Godse told the court in an attempt to explain why he chose to pump three bullets into Gandhi’s chest at point-blank range provides a glimpse into the politics of the assassination, writes Abhishek Saha

people were whipped up by demonisation of the other, encouraged by the rhetoric of politicians and a feverish media"

India and Pakistan teaches partition or the birth of the two nations differently. But to be fair, I think India is more balanced in its approach. 

If I am right, partition gets an entire chapter only in Class XII of CBSE as follows:

NCERT ClassXII History Part 3: Theme 14 – Understanding Partition 

3. Why and How Did Partition Happen?

3.1 Culminating point of a long history? Some historians, both Indian and Pakistani, suggest that Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s theory that the Hindus and Muslims in colonial India constituted two separate nations can be projected back into medieval history. They emphasise that the events of 1947 were intimately connected to the long history of Hindu-Muslim conflict throughout medieval and modern times. Such an argument does not recognise that the history of conflict between communities has coexisted with a long history of sharing, and of mutual cultural exchange. It also does not take into account the changing circumstances that shape people’s thinking.

I think it is not enough. It needs to be stressed again and again to the future generation that religion can divide brutally. It is up to them to change it. The older ones are tired.

Source:

http://ncert.nic.in/ncerts/l/lehs305.pdf
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/05/partition-70-years-on-india-pakistan-denial
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quit_India_speech
https://www.hindustantimes.com/analysis/the-politics-of-an-assassination-who-killed-gandhi-and-why/story-iUJqKjuw0sP9nAfc5KcOII.html

Further Reading:

www.1947partitionarchive.org/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/partition1947_01.shtml

The Omnipresent Indians

Yes..they are everywhere!

Recently a tweet from Sushma Swaraj made me look up Togo, one of Africa’s smallest country.

She tweeted:

 

 

The crew, who are employees of a Merchant Navy firm, had set sail for South Africa on October, 2013 from Mumbai. While returning in the month of July, 2014, theirship got stranded in Nigeria and the entire crew was arrested for violating laws of international waters

 

But if you thought Togo did not have any Indians then you are mistaken. In fact, "The republic of Togo in western Africa has bestowed its highest civilian award to an Indian national, Chander Verma, the country’s former honorary consul in India"

Even Togo has a small Indian community of about 250-300 people out of a population of 6.6 million.

Anyway, this is not about Togo but about the fact that Indians from all walks of society have migrated to all parts of the world since ages. It is heartening to note that wherever they have gone they have ended up as assets and seldom as liabilities. People become a liability when they fail to adjust to a new culture/environment, have criminal tendencies and have nothing much to offer from their side unless they are trained and only if they can be. Generally Indians had one more advantage: education. This became more evident to me after Trump's ascension to the throne (yea..it looks so!)  and that brings me to the country where Indians love to go or pray very hard to go. I think it is America that has brought the best out of Indians?

If you look at statistics, Indian immigrants stand third in number, after Mexico and China in US and they are the most educated.
 

Indians who are having less than high school education is only 6% while those with a Bachelor Degree or higher is 78.7%.

 

 

 

Their English language skills is also next best to the native English speakers.

  How else are Indians faring in US?

With 14 entrepreneurs on the list, India was the leading country of origin for the immigrant founders of billion dollar companies (Unicorn)  

If you want to know more about the Most Powerful Indian-Origin CEOs in the United States

And guess which University is as good as those in US?

 

Unicorn Nursery: Outside the U.S., India’s IIT Produces the Most Billion-Dollar Startup Founders” 

Hence it is clear that Indians have the right education and skills but yet needs America to help them win. So what could be some of the reasons?

 

“The quality of life in the US is much better than in India. The biggest benefit of this move has been financial"

“I always wanted to travel alone, but back in India, I could not do it because I did not feel safe. But here in the US, I go on a solo trip almost every other month,”

But....

“I could move back to India in a heartbeat if I get to do the same kind of work that I am doing here,” Kumar of Cognizant said.

Now that Trump may tighten/reduce H-1B visas, will India retain some of them? Will India produce Unicorns in India itself?

Not sure if either Bush or Gates ever said the following but it was being passed around happily via social media and I finally tracked it down.. :)

 

Source:

  http://nfap.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Immigrants-and-Billion-Dollar-Startups.NFAP-Policy-Brief.March-2016.pdf
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2017/02/10/unicorn-nursery-outside-the-u-s-indias-iit-produces-the-most-billion-dollar-startup-founders/
http://cis.org/Immigrants-in-the-United-States#frontpage
https://qz.com/903575/for-indian-techies-the-american-dream-financial-stability-and-even-marriage-prospects-hang-on-donald-trump/ 
http://www.luxpresso.com/photogallery-lifestyle/top-indian-born-ceos-in-united-states/15081185/6

A road trip to cherish-3

Was supposed to finish this narration last week but something literally stopped my breath! What else but demonetisation? The initial reaction was shock and then the feeling that finally something is being done about it. Then came the nagging doubts, knowing well how the Indian administration works. How in the world are they going to manage this exercise! As for it's long term effect, not even Harward experts seem to have any clue, so why break my head? And knowing our politicians, if this only to fool the voters, then it is going to burn them for a very long, long time. So let me leave it and get on with my trip.

We decided to leave Panaji early in the morning so as to reach Kerala in time. The roads were free at that time except for the cows! Think Goans are letting their cows use the roads during the night. A dangerous action for the cows as well as the vehicles. We decided to go slow until daylight broke completely. It brought back memories of Kumily- Kottayam road of yesteryears, when cattle for slaughter were made to walk all the way from Kambam, Theni etc, to Kerala. They could be seen in all sizes along the roads.


What are you doing on my road? :)

Did click a group of them but cannot find it now.

Thus we reached the Goa-Karnataka border and we still had the Feni and Wines to be taken care of.

 We had packed them into our bags and the police guy wanted to see our bags. For sure they found it and Hubby was asked to see the Inspector or whoever was heading the police station. He went along and was asked to pay IRS 2,000! The whole stuff did not cost that much but since we had no clue of the rules or regulations and since we did not want to waste time, had to settle for 1000. Yes.. it was a bribe. Meanwhile, Son was asked to show the papers by another guy who demanded IRS 100. Upon telling him that all the papers were fine he said this is the custom. After all that trouble, not many takers were there for the Feni. I think Kerala toddy is much better.

The drive through Karnataka was smooth except for a few stretch where the roads are being widened. It is only upon driving through Karnataka that made me realize that it is blessed with so many rivers. The beaches along the road beckoned us to stop but we had to reach Udipi in time to visit a friend.

We halted at Udipi and was treated to lunch by our friend. They almost made us break the journey by enticing us with so many places that Udipi has. The Krishna temple that I once mentioned on this blog is one of them and so is Manipal where so many from Kerala come to study. We promised to visit another day and continued our journey. We thought of halting at Kozhikode but realized it will be to late to find a good hotel. The drivers were fine with driving non stop (it would be almost 25 hours of driving) and since they were taking turns to sleep, it looked okay.

The GPS did take us through a vey bad stretch of road in Kasargod which delayed our journey even more. It was near Kasargod town, when we stopped for refreshments that a strange incident happened. There was this ice cream parlor which also had a board saying Tea/Coffee available. We stumbled out of the car, much tired and in want of something to drink and maybe eat too. Upon asking the father and son duo (they looked so) who were running the shop if they served coffee, they said there was no coffee but can serve tea. We waited for quite some time and found no tea coming. Later, the fellow came and said that there was no gas to boil the tea. Just when we were about to enter the car, we saw the fellow happily boiling something on the fire! Why did they refuse to serve us? I still do not have an answer to this question and at the next stop, both me and daughter stayed in the car while coffee was brought to us. Did not want to test anymore and go without refreshments but this was the first time we encountered such a behaviour in Kerala. Hence it was with much dread that we halted at Kannur for dinner. It was getting late too. But to our utter surprise and delight, we found the hotel(Bamboo Fresh) crowded even at 10:30 pm. A very jolly crowd too. Maybe it was the Onam spirit and celebration.

The rest of the journey was mostly nodding off and waking in between to see if the drivers were fine.  Reached home the next morning and used the day to rest. Thus ended our road trip and maybe next time we shall plan a longer one.