Is Kerala thirsting for water?

Yesterday  I heard in the news that Bharathapuzha has broken into two pieces.. the river has refused to run it's course! It is normal for this river to run a little dry during the dry season but this is the first time that it has been entirely broken up. There were newspaper reports about rampant sand mining on this river.

Sand-mining had led to depletion of the groundwater level and had affected the water flow. Saline water entered the river easily, especially during summer. The three-month ban on sand-mining during monsoon was also not being enforced, he said.

But let me forget this river for a moment and talk about the one that runs in front of our place. It has it's origin from both the Pampa river and Manimala river. Both these rivers originates from the western ghats and from the district of Idukki. It has to be fed by rain and for the last two years monsoon has not been good. The Pamba is considered as the Dakshina Ganga (Southern Ganges) due to its association with Kerala's Largest Pilgrim Centre - Sabarimala. Manimala river passes through the districts of Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and finally joins the Pamba River at Muttar near Tiruvalla in Alappuzha district; very close to our place. From here it runs it's course through Kuttanad and joins the great Vembanad lake. 

The following photos were taken in year 2007. During each monsoon, this river spills onto the road but since the last few years it has not done so.

More photos can be viewed on my other blog : 

I also remember the time more than a decade back when this water came around the house too. This happens very rarely. 

 The following photos were taken during June of year 2009.

You can see the level of water. I doubt if water level will ever rise like before. 

Kerala is indeed going to face tough times. 

The State Disaster Management Authority has declared four districts drought-affected, with the monsoon months of June, July, and August bringing very little rain.

The districts declared drought affected are Wayanad, Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki, and Kollam, an official press release said on Thursday. The State as a whole has received only 77 per cent of the normal monsoon rainfall so far. Rainfall was especially less in the above four districts.

Recently during a discussion I realized that most Keralites are not aware of the relation between low lying  fallow lands (Wet Lands) and ground water table. Earlier Kerala had much wet lands either as paddy fields, temple ponds or small ponds dug in each plot to catch the rain water and let it seep back into the ground. This person whom I spoke to wanted to know why we should retain paddy fields if we are not cultivating. Yes it is unfortunate that we are not cultivating and I am sure it looks like a waste of land but these low lying lands are important since only they can replenish the ground water. 

Each rainy season brings enough water to Kerala and can be used wisely. Rain water harvesting has started in Kerala but the decision is late.

The Government of India has directed the State Government to provide certain provisions in building rules, pertaining to incorporation of rooftop rainwater harvesting arrangements in building.

I fervently hope that monsoon will not fail the coming year too or should it? Just so that people will wake up finally? Else like Kuwait, one should build desalination plants for water supplies. But water is not the only issue. Can one imagine Kerala without all the greenery? I would rather quit my state than see it is such a sad situation. Then there is the issue of power too since 35% of power comes from hydroelectric power stations which depend on rain water. 

From March until the monsoon the well in our place becomes muddy since the level of water in the river falls very low. Right now we are pumping the river water and letting it seep into the ground. The water in the well is then just enough for a small household. We are also planning a solar energy system if we get a good company to do the same. A rain water harvesting system is also thought of. The day the river in front of us dry up then one can be sure that Kerala has become a desert!

For sure, if adequate measures are not taken the following scenes will be seen all over Kerala.

http://www.commonfloor.com/news/flat-dwellers-facing-water-shortage-in-kerala-27262
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/article2963866.ece
http://www.cedindia.org/2008/10/development-of-drought-indices-for-kerala/

Why this fixation?

Yet another discussion in Twitter made me realize that the media fixes our focus on certain issues, states etc. It all started with the BBC article on Haryana and "Why rural sexual violence remains rife in India"http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20003610 … The reasons for the same has been blogged, discussed fought over upteen times by many. The following are some of the reasons that we have been hearing and is reported by BBC.

"I'll tell you the main reason for these rapes," explains Suresh Koth, one of the elders.
"Just look at what's in the newspapers, on television. Topless women. This is what's corrupting our youth. After all this is India, not Europe."

One council elder was reported as saying that girls should be forced to marry young to protect them from rapists. Others routinely blame Western influences.  

But when I tweeted that topless women are elsewhere too but why rape happens mostly in Haryana, I was asked if there is a basis for "rape happens mostly in Haryana".  This made me check into existing reports and the result was scary. Haryana is behind some other states! Please have a look at the following chart:

This means that while the nation focus on Haryana, rapists in other states are getting away. What attracts the media towards Haryana? The Khaps?

Now if you are wondering like my friend if MP has more rapes due to to it's high population then why not Punjab (479)  and Chhatisgarh (1053) which is similar in population to Haryana (733) ?  

When it comes to major cities Delhi (453) is a hopeless case and Mumbai (221) comes second in the incidence of rape.

And if less women are reporting to the police in Haryana, the media should be picking up even less. So are the women in MP least bothered when they are raped? Or is the local and national media hesitant to print it? If so why? 

Ahmedbad in Gujarat, Asansol in WB, Dhanbad & Jamshedpur  in Jhakarnd, also Bangalore in Karnataka were the  best cities for women and children during year 2009 since no rape was reported. Unfortunately it has changed drastically. I have added the 2009 figures later.

But why is our media fixated on Haryana?  To shame someone? The government in power? But whatever, it is good if authorities compared such data to see why rapes occur in some states/cities and not in others. What are the factors that aid the rapists? The media did report in general about but when it comes to individual incidence the readers as well as the media seem to prefer Haryana. Until I looked at this report I was under the impression that there is no state worse than Haryana. Also I was under the impression that Bombay is a women friendly city but although it is not as bad as Delhi, it still comes second. 

As for Kerala, it is worse. It has also become number one for overall crimes. But I do wonder if it because crimes are reported without any fear in Kerala unlike some other states.

The original reports can be downloaded from this site and the following is a copy of the discussed matter.

Incidence of Rape in Year 2009 - State Wise

Incidence of Rape in Major Cities - Year 2009

Is the Metro Man E. Sreedharan arrogant?

A few in the media and others seem to be trying their best to make him so.

Who is E. Sreedharan? Why should he be arrogant? I think he is not a man familiar just to the Keralites but to the majority of Indians.

Konkan Railway ( A Forbes article on him)

The managing director is 77 years old, spiritual and is laying tracks like there's no tomorrow.

On a recent Saturday morning Elattuvalapil Sreedharan arrived at a dusty construction site on the outskirts of Delhi to check on the progress of India's first high-speed airport train. In spite of round-the-clock work, progress on boring a huge tunnel into the earth was not up to mark.

"This we discussed. I gave them guidelines," says the soft-spoken 77-year-old engineer who is managing director of Delhi Metro, the capital's gleaming subway system. After finding out that a contractor was stymied by a cash flow problem, Sreedharan freed up Delhi Metro funds to pay for materials so work could continue.

This is the kind of no-nonsense, bureaucracy-busting efficiency that is Sreedharan's hallmark. It helped him to accomplish what had seemed impossible in India: finish building the initial $2.3 billion subway system in 2005 under budget and almost three years ahead of schedule.
 

Main article: Konkan Railway

 

Though he retired, the Government needed his services and he was appointed the CMD of Konkan Railway on contract in 1990 by the then railway minister, George Fernandes. Under his stewardship, the company executed its mandate in seven years. The project was unique in many respects. It was the first major project in India to be undertaken on a BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) basis; the organisation structure was different from that of a typical Indian Railway set-up; the project had 93 tunnels along a length of 82 km and involved tunneling through soft soil. The total project covered 760 km and had over 150 bridges. That a public sector project could be completed without significant cost and time overruns was considered an achievement by many.

Awards and accolades

• Railway Minister's Award (1963)
• Padma Shri by the Government of India (2001)
• Man of the Year by The Times of India (2002)
• Shri Om Prakash Bhasin Award for professional excellence in engineering (2002)
• CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) Juror's Award for leadership in infrastructure development (2002–03)
• One of Asia's Heroes by TIME (2003)
• AIMA (All India Management Association) award for Public Service Excellence (2003)
• Degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris causa) from IIT Delhi.
• Bharat Shiromani award from the Shiromani Institute, Chandigarh (2005)
• Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by the government of France (2005)
• CNN-IBN Indian Of the Year 2007: Public Service (2008)^[7]
• Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India (2008) 51525
• D.Lit. By Rajasthan Technical University, Kota, Rajasthan, in 2009
• Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris causa) from IIT Roorkee, 2009.

Pampan Bridge



Konkan Railway Bridge

Does he have a right to be arrogant? Of course yes! Who has a problem with it? Not the ordinary Keralites but a few with vested interests. While the Kerala ministers swear to the Keralites that they need him, behind the curtains they are doing their best to keep him out of the Cochin Metro project. If he is there how shall they benefit from this big project. Right now there is a lot of confusion and one is made to believe that DMRC itself does not want him!

Nothing good comes to Kerala, not even the service of an exemplary man who belongs to the state of Kerala.

I pray that Keralites protest hard and make sure this man heads this project else the project is doomed... only cash shall flow.

RIP Thilakan

Yesterday one more giant passed away.

Picture source: The Hindu

It is sad to see the favourites bid adieu to this world we know. Selfish as we are, we want them to entertain us forever.

Thilakan was one of a kind and can never be replaced. He survived solely on his skills and his passion for acting. Like Murali, he needed no props nor a God Father. The cinema wanted them and it had to fit them in. I remember the days when Thilakan was hounded by the Malayalam film industry. Though one did not enjoy watching the drama, It provided an opportunity to see the ugly side of many of our actors. They might be comedians, lovers or heroes on the film screen but in real life they were as ugly as the villain on the same screen. It was also during the same time that a film call Dam 999 was to be shot. A big trumpeting started before the shoot and curiosity led me to their website. Thilakan was supposed to have a good part in this movie. It was all about dams and the disasters it can bring and based on a true incident that happened in China which claimed the lives of 250,000 people. Yes.. it was a big cause to fight for. But soon I chanced to read on their site that Thilakan is being replaced since various associations, mainly AMMA and FEFKA threatened them with dire consequences. The people behind the movie cowered under the threat and Thilakan was replaced. I remember writing to them and asking them how they intend to take such a big cause like dams if they cannot face minor hurdles like casting an Actor of their choice.

But the movie did not run well and Thilakan moved on to other pursuits mainly his first love – drama. It did disappoint his fans but soon to the delight of the true cinema lovers (not the mad fan associations) cinema was forced to bring him back. He was at his best in Indian Ruppee and many others but if not for those silly association, I continue to believe that we could have seen more of Thilakan. Now he is no more and we saw the crocodile tears and meaningless eulogies on TV. We saw how even his death was used to hog the lime light by many.

It is at times like this that one misses the true cinema artists like, Prem Nazir, Murali, Cochin Haneefa etc. Prem Nazir used to be evergreen lover but when age overtook him he gracefully withdrew and accepted roles that suited him. We saw him in dignified roles unlike the current superstars who never seem to age except in the eyes of the audience. I wish some of them would take heed of what Thilakan himself said.

I have high regard for Mohanlal. He is a brilliant, natural, flexible actor. Problem with Mohanlal is the company he keeps.

Mohanlal continues to be a favourite and I am sure there are many more roles that he can do to mesmerise his fans but he continues to blunder away his time with heroines as young as his daughter.

Thilakan also told about the various lobbies that worked within the industry and specially mentioned the Nair lobby. I am sure there are Christian lobbies too. If a place like Kuwait can have them why not the Cinema Industry. If you join these clubs, one can have an easier access to jobs and to the society in general. I am sure there was a lobby that catered to Thilakan’s own caste too.

Whatever, I wish his death would brush away at least a bit of murk away from the industry.

I know we shall never see them perform again but let me post this tweet that caught my eyes.

#IfIwasGOD I would bring back Thilakan.

Air Kerala

If there is one project every Keralite or at least the NRI shall support, it will be the proposal to start an airlines. This is a very viable project and I am sure each NRI will gladly part with a minimum of 10,000 IRS for this project. The money can be collected quickly and if this can be run by the one who managed the Cochin Airport project, V J Kurian,  then it will be too good.

Air India has been royally ignoring / abusing Keralites since many years. The recent one was the cancellation of 168 flights so that these air crafts can be used for Haj purpose in UP! This is when there are flights which barely operate with minimum passengers in other states that could have been used. Air India Express is the one that is used by many since it is a low cost airlines. (We are yet to use this since it was always famous for cancelling at the last moment)

Air India lands NRKs in soup

Dealing a deadly blow to air passengers from Kerala, the Air India and Air India Express are continuing with the cancellation of their flights from the state and diverting them to Uttar Pradesh on the orders of Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajith Singh, to carry Haj pilgrims from there.

Since September 17, the national airliner and its arm have cancelled two dozen schedules to the Gulf alone.

In March when the pilots started their strike, the two airliners had to cancel over 160 schedules almost every month.

 I am sure those going for Haj from this state are unaware of the gross injustice done to many. There would be many Keralites grieving for a lost job, opportunity, a vacation etc. only because of these people.

Only recently, after watching a malayalam movie "Adaminte Makan, Abu", I realized that there are many rules for Haj. In the movie the old couple is trying everything to fulfil their lifelong wish to do Haj but is finds it hard to collect enough funds. This is when their Hindu neighbour offers money; but this was rejected by them since they are not supposed to take money from non-Muslims specially when they go for Haj.

Abu refuses it, saying that it wouldn't be halal and hence could anger God.

In this case, aren't these Haj travellers breaking this very same rule when they use the subsidised air tickets? Is it not from the tax payers and the majority of them being Hindus? Beats me. Hope someone explains this to me one day.

As for Air Kerala, I hope this project sees light. They can have both kind of flights. A low cost airlines similar to the current Air India Express and a normal one. This shall cater the needs of all the NRI's.

We shall only fly!

Yesterday I was listening to this MP from Kerala supporting the Airport at Aranmula. Actually I have nothing against Airports and if it comes to Aranmula it would be easier to catch a flight but are Airports the number one priority for Kerala?

As per this author..

CHENNAI: In Kerala, they have their heads in the clouds and eyes on non-residents. A fifth international airport—and India's first wholly private one—is coming up in a state where no highway is more than half as wide as the National Highways Authority of India's standard minimum of 60 metres.

 No other state in the country has as many international airports. Tiny Kerala, where narrow roads are the norm due to lack of land, clearly bets its future on its vast army of non-resident Keralites whose remittances account for 31% of the state's GDP.

  Fittingly enough, the new airport is coming up at Aranmula in Pathanamthitta district, where a toy plane flown into a crowd could well hit a non-resident Indian.

 Anyway let me tell you how this MP, P. J. Kurien justified. He says that every traveller bound to Trivandrum or Cochin airports would be going in two cars! Now I dont know how he came up with this idea. Maybe he was thinking of the escort cars that accompany the ministers? In this case he wants us to imagine 100 travellers and hence 200 cars that commute daily to these airports and the pollution, the fuel consumption etc that this creates. We hear that around 700 acres of land is to be acquired for this airport and this may include paddy fields too.

"The area is a wetland, and a flood-plain region for the seasonal flooding of the Pampa river, and there are paddy fields, too," said NK Sukumaran Nair, general secretary of Pampa Parirakshana Samithy, an environmental organisation leading the agitation against the project.

But our MP asserts that environment would be much better off without these cars on the road. What an idea sirji!

Sometimes I hate myself and it is when these people evoke the same feelings of those who bombed our parliament.

These MP's and their cronies must have already acquired a sizeable property within this area and must be now waiting to book their profit as usual. 

I also read that Reliance holds 15% stake in the company that is going to develop this Airport.

KGS Developers, in which Anil Ambani's Reliance Capital and Reliance Infra hold a 15% stake, expects the first flight to land at Aranmula in less than two years.

If they are really depending on the Gulf NRI's to bring in the traffic then it is good to note that within a span of 20 years, Saudi is ging to be a major oil importer mainly since they guzzle more gas internally and since their oil reserves are running dry. This holds true for other Gulf countries too.

"Our analysis shows that if nothing changes Saudi may have no available oil for export by 2030," said the report, adding that it ran the risk of becoming oil importer.

The country already consumes all its gas production, 9.6 billion cubic feet (ft3) per day of natural gas, all of which is entirely consumed domestically.  

 
And at the rate Kerala is emerging, very soon it shall turn into a concrete jungle. Which tourist would then want to visit Kerala? Even my retirement plans shall go up in smoke in case I live that long! We would only be retiring to another desert. 

I am starting to hate all those who send these idiots to the parliament. It would be only appropriate to copy this tweet;

Define INDIA: A place where the Cartoonist is in jail, and the Cartoons are in Parliament.

Justice will be done.

When this comes from the President of the United States of America, we believe it. Obama stated this in response to the brutal killing of the US ambassador to Libya yesterday. 

Barack Obama vowed on Wednesday to hunt down the killers of US ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans during an assault on its mission in Benghazi as suspicion grew that the diplomat was the victim of an organised attack by an Islamist group.

Yes, they will avenge the killing for sure. But if I am to shift this scenario to India my mind refuses to conjure such an image. Can you imagine MM Singh uttering such words and even if he ever utters them will you believe him? We are yet to punish Kasab. We don’t have even have any clue of the Indians who helped him. Never mind terrorism, let us talk about the other burning issue: corruption. Scan after scam has eroded every Indian’s trust in our democracy, yet has he done anything to restore the trust. Instead of assuring us that justice will be done, he discredits the institution that was only doing it’s job. It is similar to a company’s CEO ranting against the auditors whose only job is to set accounts straight.

Yesterday MM Singh was in Kerala to inaugurate “Emerging Kerala” and did open his mouth to give nothing to Kerala. He only promised yet again (this was promised 8 years ago) that he shall give an IIT. God knows when! 

Prime minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said the proposal to set up an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kerala was under Centre's consideration

 

But our much ‘beloved’ economist who asserted that 32 RS is enough to live in India said that Kerala should not look for food security and but use the paddy fields and import food from other states! It really proves that he knows nothing about Kerala.

Vice-Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, speaking at the end of the session, said that Kerala could as well forget paddy cultivation as the State’s food security requirement could well be met by import from other States.

 

For Kerala the low lying lands are necessary for many other reasons, ground water table being the main one. If one is to raise land and construct concrete structures it will be a total disaster. As for food security, Kerala has not forgotten what happened when Mullperiyar Dam issue was at its peak. Tamilnadu stopped sending vegetables and milk and there was none from the center to intervene. In fact one wondered if Tamilnadu was not part of the Indian states but from Pakistan!

Anyway like every other Keralaite let me dream of a Kerala which shall indeed emerge from its lethargic state. Let me also hope that India will one day have a leader like Obama.

Tall dreams I am sure!

The nightingales of Kerala..

They are still on the rooftop, threatening to jump to their deaths.

As the country celebrated Independence Day, three nurses on strike Wednesday threatened to commit suicide by jumping off their hospital's terrace.
The three nurses readied to make the suicidal jump as the strike by a section of the nurses in Kothamangalam Mar Baselious Hospital, numbering around 100, entered its 114th day

The three nurses are deep in debt and this action has been taken out of mere desperation since one of the nurses have not been able to pay back the dues for the educational loan taken for her studies. With a meagre salary and trying to make ends meet, the bank was getting ready to seize one of the nurses' house as part of recovery proceedings.

Among the main demands made by the nurses include the implementation of established working hour norms, shift system and cessation of dismissal of nurses by management under the pretext of some contract conditions.

How did this come about in a state like Kerala where the daily wages of a labourer runs from 400 to 600 IRS per day? Even a household help if hired from an agency has to be paid between 5,000 to 7,000 IRS per month.

 It is not that these hospitals are not making profit. Every in patient hospital bill has this funny entry on it "Nurses service charge".  Is it because most of them are from the fairer gender that they are ignored thus? Here in Kuwait the story is very different since the nurses are being paid well. In fact they are the lucky ones who get increments frequently. I guess it must be because their service is valued out here. It is the case in US and Europe too.

It is also amusing to find that this hospital is run by the Church. This injustice can be resolved by the members of the Church itself. Or is the Church only to be visited on Sundays and to be forgotten on the rest of the days?

Kerala CM silent on Kothamangalam nurses' suicide threat

16 Aug 2012, 1310 hrs IST

Kerala News: THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy refused to react to the strike staged by nurses of the Mar Baselios Hospital in Kothamangalam. Chandy kept silent when reporters asked his opinion on the issue.

One wonders when the CM shall break his silence. Or is he allowed to take only the confession cubicle?

Let us have some fun too..

It is jail time for a few politicians in Kerala. The vengeance drama started with Ex-Minister Balakrisha Pillai I guess. Not that he stayed in jail for a long time but it got the stone rolling.

Now we have two major leaders/ MLA in jail for murder.

Kerala high court on Monday dismissed the bail pleas of CPM Kannur district secretary P. Jayarajan and T.V. Rajesh, MLA, the 39th and 38th accused in the Shukoor murder case.

Subsequently, Rajesh surrendered before the Kannur judicial first class magistrate court.

Justice S.S. Satheesachandran, dismissing the applications, observed that the violence that followed the arrest of Jayarajan was indicative of the need for protection of the interests of the society, and hence the petitioner, at a stage when the investigation was in progress, was not entitled to get bail.

Not sure how long they shall stay inside the jail though. And if and ever the next party comes to power I am sure we shall see a few from the Congress too inside the jail. There are enough corruption, looting and murder cases to be unearthed. All these years it used to be, "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" policy by both the parties and the voters just stood by like donkeys. But I think for corruption cases the judiciary should make sure that at least a part of the money is recovered from the concerned fraudsters and if they are convicted, their MLA/MP rights should be scrapped. This will ensure that the tax payers shall not pay a paisa more to these looters in the way of pension etc.

It is indeed fun time for the voters.

Why should the politicians have all the fun; let the voters too have a bit of it!

Edited to add:

 A vigilance enquiry has been ordered against Minister KM Mani and Chief Whip PC George. 
http://mangalam.com/index.php?page=detail&nid=596030&lang=malayalam


Source:

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/kozhikode/rajesh-held-no-bail-jayarajan-120

Eat happily or warily?

It was the season of food poisoning for the media. It is always thus. One incident is enough to start a chain of events and then there will be nothing more. Everything shall continue the same way.

It started with the death of a person who ate Shawarma. This must be the first such incident in the world. Later one got to read daily reports of food poisoning and raids. Many hotels were closed down and many stayed closed in fear of raids!

But I do think that many hotels are taking their customers for granted. Maybe they are getting enough revenue from those who seek their daily spirit.

Recently we went to a hotel in Tiruvella for dinner. We had finished shopping from a new outlet and since Hubby needed to get his pants altered, we chose the nearest hotel. It is one of the oldest in the town. We glanced through the glossy menu and saw many delectable names. With much anticipation we placed our order with the head waiter. This is when he suggested that we order just chappathi and chicken curry if we want to get our order fast. Although our original order was not that great, he told us that it will take more than 30 minutes. Since we were all hungry we decided to take his advise. Thus started our wait for the food to arrive. 10 minutes, 30 minutes and 40 minutes passed. Hubby decided to collect his pants in the mean time. Later the food arrived and we wanted more chapathis. It was after considerable time that it arrived. Later when Hubby arrived we found that we might need more chapathis. This is when the waiter told us thus: " Did I not give you 2 just now? Even when it was meant for other guests I gave it to you! ". Hunger can lead to many emotions and I don't blame Hubby when he lost his temper. He was just about to dig into his food when he hears such 'encouraging' words. In Malayalam they say " Paysa koduthe kadikkunna pattiye vanghichathupole ayi" or we paid for a biting dog. Here we are spending money to have some food but we are scolded for stating our needs. He gave it to the waiter and the head waiter comes with explanation that there are many functions going on and hence they are busy. In reply Hubby told him that in this case they should just close the restaurant and not open it for business. By then he had lost his appetite and went to find the manager. The manager nodded his head and said sorry. Anyway that was the last visit to this hotel.

It was this same experience we got in Bangalore. We had a booked one called " Ivory Inn" through the net. I had called them and asked them if it was near to MG Road etc. and I was told it is very near. But it is only when we saw the rooms that we found that we had been cheated. Since it was late at night we couldn't find another. This place was also far away from main Bangalore. We shifted from there the next day itself. We had found this place from Trip Advisor but next time we shall be very careful.

It is time the hotels made an effort to keep customer service their prime objective. With customer service should come cleanliness and quality. After all we are paying for it and if you lose customers who shall pay for your livelihood?
 
Thought  I shall add how things are done out here. It is mandatory that sandwich / shawarma shops operate in full view of the customer. This way they are forced to keep things clean. They normally have an open room where one can see everything being done. Municipality also checks frequently and those who violate rules are sealed. Our government too needs to operate thus. A dream?

Where are you my dear lady?

Where art thou ?

Why have you abandoned us?

As usual the dates were fixed for June 1st but you did not grace us with your presence?

At times we might have cribbed when you unleashed your full power but please dont treat them seriously. You should know that we cannot be without you. There are some of us who make annual trips just to see you, to touch you.We carry precious memories of your visits and nothing can compare to you.

Yes it is the monsoon that I am talking about. Normally by the end of June the rivers would be full and so would the dams. But this year monsoon seems to have abandoned Kerala. If she does not make an appearance Kerala is doomed! Without power and water, what shall it's residents do? Even those standing in queue for their daily spirit would need a bit of water :)

Every year when we go for vacation we watch the river slowly rising. Although monsoon can be a bit irritating  Keralites know that without it, the state would die a slow death.

It is time for prayers!

Another trip to cherish..

We did a lot of travelling this vacation and saw new places in Kerala. I have not travelled much through North Kerala but this time we could touch upon Mahe, Talacherry etc. The roads are good but not the drivers, specially the bus drivers. They just come barging upon you and force you to leave the road even if there is enough room for them. Hubby being accustomed to the Gulf roads got really irritated. But they have nothing to lose hence one need a lot of patience.

Mahe was good to have a tank full of petrol since the price was much less compared to other places but this was offset by the petrol price in B’lore. I think the highest in India?

The road towards Madikeri for a stretch of 25 km was very bad and we were happy to reach our destination. We were booked at Club Mahindra and I enjoyed the ambience. We did not do much of sightseeing but we drove quite a bit to reach the Coffee board and another nursery. We were lucky to get a few coffee & orange saplings and a few rose plants too. Coffee does grow in our area and we wanted to try the Coorg coffee since Coorg is famous for it . Another notable factor is the Coorg girls. They are very good to look at :) 

 

The bit I enjoyed the most at Coorg was waking up in the morning and sipping a hot cup of coffee from the verandah which faced a jungle of sorts. With only trees and bushes and with a climate to soothe you, it was heaven on earth. We did not want to budge out much and the children had their share of activities.

Our next stop was Blore but we also managed to see the largest Tibetan settlement at Bylakuppe in Coorg District, near Kushalnagar.

Read more: http://www.itslife.in/travel/namdroling-monastery#ixzz225ZaAo1i

It was bustling with monks who obliged us with a few snaps too.

A Kannadian fare that we enjoyed..

 

We reached Bangalore around 7 PM, but Bangalore disappointed us terribly. It used to be an elegant city once upon a time and I have some good memories too. But it has lost all its charm and we just wanted to get out of it. The hotel we booked online was also  disappointing and to find this place we hired an auto guy to show the way. It took more than 2 hours through heavy traffic and road blocks. Too many vehicles, construction and nasty drivers have made this city a nightmare for drivers. Bangalore is also facing water woes and as per my cousin the bore well that they dug to 200 feet was later dug to 800 to yield no water. Many are selling water and thus a tank load of water costs 500 IRS. This is being shared by residents. She has to take turns in using this. My aunty stays at a place where there is no water shortage but she fears that the situation might change in the future. Guess it wouldn’t be wrong if one says that B’lore is similar to how Mumbai was a decade or more earlier. Things are expensive too. I found that a curtain that we purchased from Cochin was 100 IRS more in one of the malls.

Guess after the hectic construction work is over B’lore may change. We did not want to venture out much except to visit relations and for this we hired a taxi from the hotel. We did manage to visit the Bannerghatta National Park. A trip that we enjoyed.  The tourists are well protected now. I remember the incident where a girl was snatched away from her father in this same park.

http://www.karnataka.com/bangalore/bannerghata/

Later we shifted from the silly place that we had hired online and took a one closer to the Mysore road..yea we wanted to get out ASAP. 

Our next stop was at Wonderla and it offered the same pleasure as the one in Cochin. Well maintained. We had one more family friend with us who wanted to stop for a day at Mysore but we wanted to reach home and hence left Wonderla at around 3 PM. We wanted to cross the wild life sanctuaries before dark but is was not so. It was solemn faces that viewed the road for elephants, tigers etc. On our previous trip if we had prayed for a sight of wild animals, this time we all prayed fervently to get us out of the park before the animals ventured out.  Though Hubby was forbidden by his mother to drive at night we refrained from telling her and decided not to halt anywhere. The new road from Trichur to Cochin was superb and it took us only 30 minutes. Since there was a traffic block at Nadukani where we lost 1 hour and later another hour at Patambi since we lost our way, we managed to reach home at around 4 AM.  We realized that we were going in circles when we passed the same broken down truck twice! There were no proper sign boards unlike the road to Calicut.

We also found time to spend at Thekkady when temperature started rising in the plains. Thekkady has changed much since 3 years. Earlier one had only Spice Village (expensive) and Ambady for your food but now the whole lake road is dotted with restaurants; from exclusive French restaurants to Gujarati Dhabba. New construction is also going on. Since there were no rains the mosquito menace was a bit irritating. As per the Kumali residents, it is perhaps due to their prayers that the rain is sparse this time. They still fear the Mullaperiyar dam and doesn’t want the dam to fill up! I am sure the ones across the border are now praying hard for rains. They better solve this issue fast so that the rain Gods can do their job :)

I also visited my school at Kuttikanam this time. To the embarrassment of our children I was found running around clicking photos. I asked them to wait until they reached my age! My favourite Peerumade is also changing with new projects coming up. I hear that even Amritha has plans to develop something. Wonder what? Hopefully nature shall be preserved?