Kerala Tips

The minimum education qualification required to apply for the post of a Lower Division Clerk in government service is SSLC (10th standard pass). The pay scale is around 3000-5000 and it is not easy to get this job. You need to work hard in the PSC test to get in.

But unfortunately in order to become a politician or an MLA or an MP you don’t need any educational qualifications. Better still there are no qualifications required even to become a minister or chief minister. What!??? A position such as Chief minister is so important, yet you don’t even need to pass SSLC to command that position? Then how can that person lead a team of highly qualified bureaucrats, or police officers? How can this be even remotely reasonable?

So it is no wonder when someone like Kerala chief minister Achuthanandan makes fun of our previous president Abdul Kalam(a well known scientist and scholar). Our chief minister is in a different league. He had never seen 8th standard or above in school. He is also the brainchild behind the beautiful farmer torture mechanism called "vettinirathal"*.  So it is no wonder that he thinks Kalam is just another guy who sends "vaanams" to air.

The context is India’s nuclear deal with United States. Anyone who has read the full agreement can see that the agreement explicitly excludes any military use of nuclear energy. It is an agreement to bring accountability of nuclear material supplied to India for power generation, nothing less nothing more. People like APJ Kalam is intelligent to see the big picture, while other less intelligent ones have a tough time to know what it is!

The lack of any minimum qualification for politicians is a big mistake our early generation did when they drafted Indian constitution. They should have put a minimum qualification like SSLC with a clause to increase it in due time.

PS: Some of you may be wondering what "vettinirathal" is. This was a violent and criminal movement in which gangs of people destroyed farm crops in the name of ant-reclamation strike. What is more funny is the fact that the people being targeted were poor farmers who was working hard to escape from poverty!

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In Malayalam there is a saying - "onnukila asante nenchathu allengil kalarikku purathu" which when translated means "either on teachers chest or outside school".  You get the idea.

The same thing happening in technology adoption Kerala. When it comes to Kerala government departments such as KSRTC, Electricity Board or Water Authority technology adoption is zero. You cannot book tickets through online or pay your electricity bills online.  But at the same time areas where we need to be careful, government introduces online facilities in a reckless manner.  Making results available online is good, but it should be backed up with offline facilities at least during the initial stages.

You don’t send men to Mars overnight. You first explore space, then land at moon couple of times and then think of going to Mars! Otherwise what you will get is a bunch dead bodies floating in space.

For example, take the case of higher secondary single window seat allocation (plus one admission). This is a perfect example of how NOT to roll out a service online. Obviously as any other government department, we can guess that the people who rollout these are not selected on MERIT.

• You could see long lines outside Internet cafes. What government and education department needs to understand is that there are a lot of citizens without Internet access.
• The plus one allotment list was supposed to be available only through online. No intimation or no other way to know allotment details! Can’t these "government IT experts" at least take a print out and paste it somewhere?
• When the results were published, the site immediately went down. I know some guys who stayed at Internet cafes from morning to evening to get allotment details!
• The entire site is in English. My God! guys this is Kerala and our mother tongue is Malayalam and not English. At least provide an alternate page in Malayalam!
• Every one is in complete darkness as to the whole admission process. Only one thing is certain. You have only one day left to join the school where you are allotted. That is why parents and students panicked and almost spent the entire day at Internet cafes. What is this? A WAR?

Now here are some interesting items to consider.

• I seriously doubt how secure these systems are. I heard that after computerization, changing records in many offices is easy since it requires a simple database update for someone who knows computers.
• Is the allocation software reliable? Is it tested?  Is its algorithm tested?  Only god knows. Considering the capability of our other government departments, I can only pray.

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One of the news items that caught my attention today was from Deepika newspaper.  This newspaper is junk, but I monitor their online edition to see what they are cooking. Here is the gist of the story that caught my attention,

A group of well educated adults was arrested on immorality charges from a Kollam resort by Kerala Police. Kerala police recovered laptops, mobile phone, foreign liquor and some sexually explicit images from the hotel room.

I was wondering what is wrong in owning laptops, drinking a glass of beer or owning a mobile?  I agree storing sexual images in laptop is illegal, but I can also bet that at least 80% of computers in Kerala contains pornographic images.

Now Deepika publishes another article within an hour providing an analysis of the story. It is infuriating and total nonsense. Here is a snapshot,

People arrested on immorality charges claimed that they are friends and they used to party together.

Some of the parents also responded that this is not big deal. They claimed that this is common in the countries they had stayed.

First of all who made police into a moral police?  If a group of adults (whether male or female) assemble at a private party without violating any laws why are these idiots arresting them? 

What is so horrible is the fact that newspapers such as Deepika also encourage this sort of police raj. In the above article, they are making fun of the people who got arrested and they portray police as a superhero rescuing us all from the dangerous immoral people.

In developed countries whenever such nonsense is perpetrated by Police, newspapers rightly take the side of poor citizens who are being harassed.  But in Kerala, the newspapers itself encourages such human rights violations. And my dear friends, this is where human rights is important not when you resort to violence and harthal!

It is sad that newspapers who can work as a catalyst for social change is actually writing articles like a third rate gossip magazine.

This has become such a big nonsense that these days I carry a copy of my marriage certificate whenever I travel with my wife. Otherwise some stupid SI in Kerala police will arrest me by saying that I am doing "anaasyasyam" (immoral traffic?) with my wife!

Trivia : The SI who arrested these people who were looking their own business became a hero! Probably he will get a promotion soon! Now do you know what happened to CI sugathan who arrested CPI politician Supal in a serious case of attacking a police station and releasing arrested criminals? Well, he got suspension!

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It may give intense pleasure to those who are living outside Kerala to know that our beloved Kerala State Electricity Board has started 30 minute power cuts for everyone. This is affectionately called as load shedding. The monsoon god seems angry with Kerala and this year we may see power cuts for a few hours every day.

Here is another funny thing. Our government is trying hard to bring more employment in the state by telling companies to come here and setup factories. There is only one problem. After you start your factory and then bribe all the trade unions to take care of your union problems you realize that there is no electricity available! It also helps that diesel is now costly.

There are two hydro electric projects that can bring stability to the electricity generation for some time. One is the athirappilly power project and the second one is at silent valley. The silent valley project is sabotaged by lion tailed monkey and there is no hope. Athirappally project shows some hope but there are enough intellectuals in Kerala to block that also. So in short prepare for 5 hour or 10 hour power cuts soon.

But all is not lost. I have some "socialistic" ideas. Do you know that this word was added to our constitution by Indira Gandhi?

My Proposals to handle power situation in Kerala

• Introduce ration system for electricity. Allot every individual 0.3 unit of electricity per day. This will be very helpful to rationing officers who are jealous of RTO officials getting more bribe.
• Start a new corporation called "Kerala State Power Monitoring Corporation". This corporation needs to be a dedicated corporation for monitoring Kerala’s electricity shortage continuously. Allot a Mercedes Benz/Skoda Octavia for the corporation chairman and other top officials.
• To reduce power requirements make Wednesday a mandatory public holiday including shops and government offices.
• Add a new electricity surcharge for people above poverty line. I recommend this to be 25% of the bill amount. Use this money to advertise in paper and TV to switch off at least one light every hour.
• Ban incandescent bulbs from market. Authorize health inspectors to raid any shop which sells this bulb. Health inspectors will surely appreciate increase in bribe.
• Fit motion sensors in government offices to switch off fans and lights when there is no one in the office. This will substantially reduce electricity requirements especially since NGO unions are always protesting or organizing political meetings outside!
• Ban the use of refrigerators. Just like the gun license introduce a refrigerator license. There should be a set of guidelines on who can get a fridge. For example if there is a diabetes guy who needs to preserve medicines in fridge. Authorize Kerala police to raid houses to find hidden fridge. My dear policemen, think about increase in your income!
• Remove all street lights. Who need street lighting? Light from cars and other vehicles are enough right?
• Ban washing machines. This means that women will have to hand wash clothes and overall will improve the health of our overweight women!
• Start a new research institute for "power generation from lightning strikes". If we can utilize all the lightning strikes it is estimated that we can generate 200MW of electricity! Appoint a scientist (read: stupid political slave) as the head of this institute.
• Ban all use of computers in government offices, reservation counters etc. This will give more jobs and reduce our electricity requirements.

PS: Hey guys another good news just came in. There is a harthal in Idukki tomorrow. Enjoy!

PPS: I seriously think that India should introduce capital punishment for calling harthal. This proposal is no more ridiculous than calling harthal every day!

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It is almost 10 years since I first read O.V. Vijayan’s masterpiece novel Khasakinte Ithihasam (Legends of Khasak). Last week I re-read it and I was amazed how subtle and rich in content this novel is! If there is one Malayalam novel you must read, this is the one!

It is said that Malayalam literature can be divided into two periods. Malayalam literature before Khasakkinte Ithihasam and Malayalam literature after Khasakkinte Ithihasam. Trust me, it is not an exaggeration.  Khasakkinte Ithihasam was a revolution in Malayalam literature and even today it remains as one of the best novels ever produced in Malayalam.

Malayalam literature is very young compared to for example English literature. It has also a bleak future since majority of Malayalees think that medium of education should be English. There are very few good novels/stories/poems in Malayalam and I think it will only get worse since Malayalees themselves are ashamed of the language!

I personally believe that in Kerala, Malayalam language education must be made mandatory and it should be the mandatory medium for education for at least up to seventh standard.

Introduction

Khasakkinte Ithihasam is comparatively a small novel(180 pages). It is said that O.V. Vijayan took over 10 years to polish the story in the current form. The book was first published in 1969 and since then it is one of the best sellers in Kerala. This book is also available in an English edition (written in 1994) titled "Legends of Khasak" which is also written by Vijayan. Interestingly the English version is NOT a literal translation of the Malayalam version. I have read both and from my experience the Malayalam one is much better and natural than the English one.

Review of Khasakkinte Ithihasam

The protagonist in Khasakkinte Ithihasam is Ravi, who comes to Khasak(a village in Palakkad) as a teacher. The story begins by the arrival of Ravi in the village and ends when he returns back from there(there is a surprise in the end). In the story we also learn that Ravi is a genius in astrophysics with a post graduate degree in physics.

The story progresses with Ravi’s interaction with the people in Khasak and through this Vijayan weaves an intricate and complex web of human relationships. He brilliantly mixes deep philosophical questions with almost brutal depiction of people at Khasak.

There are many powerful characters in the novel and some of them that stick in your mind are the mentally retarded appukkilli,  Allappicha Mollakka (mullah), Maimoona and Kunhamina. The story is not about Ravi, it is actually a collection of stories of above people in Khasak.

The story is intense and at times very sad. Vijayan mixes myth, reality and his personal experiences very effectively. The story is also notable for its sexual undertones and black humor.

If you have been to Palakkad before and if you visit the place after reading this story you will get a completely different experience. Vijayan’s Khasak is inspired by Thasarak village in Palakkad. The description of the palakkadan village in the novel is so powerful that I found that itself an unforgettable experience! Here is an extract from the first chapter,

അവിടെ ഒരു ബെഞ്ചിലിരുന്നുകൊണ്ടു രവി കൂമൻ-കാവിന്റെ ചിത്രമുൾക്കൊള്ളുവാൻ ശ്രമിച്ചു. നിലത്തറഞ്ഞ തേക്കിൻ-കുറ്റികളിൽ കെട്ടി നിർത്തിയിട്ടുള്ള നാലഞ്ച്‌ ഏറുമാടങ്ങൾ ആയിരുന്നു കൂമൻ-കാവങ്ങാടി. പാതയവസാനിക്കുന്നിടം ചെറിയൊരു മൈതാനമായിരുന്നു. അതിനു ചുറ്റുമാണ്‌ ഏറുമാടങ്ങൾ കിടന്നത്‌. അവയുടെ പുറകിൽ തൂവരക്കാടുകളിലും വാഴക്കൂട്ടങ്ങളിലും നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ട കുടിലുകൾ. അവയ്ക്കെല്ലാം മുകളിൽ ബലിഷ്ടകായന്മാരായ മുത്തച്ചന്മാരെപോലെ പടർന്നു നിന്ന മാവുകൾ. നീല ഞരബോടിയ പരന്ന തണലുകൾ.

The book is small (180 pages) and it is possible to finish it in one sitting. But what I would suggest is to take it slowly. Like a good scotch whisky (chivas regal?), if you take this book one chapter at a time you will enjoy it most. Now this is one novel which can be read multiple times and yet you get a different perspective every time you read it! My guess is that at first Vijayan would have written it as a big novel and trimmed/compressed it to increase its effectiveness.

Details of the book Khasakkinte Ithihasam

Author : O.V Vijayan
Publisher : D C Books
Number of Pages : 182
Price in India :  Rs. 75
Required Reader Intelligence : High
My Rating : 9.5/10 (don’t die without reading this!)

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In my last post I was wondering what happened to Kerala Police. In order to know why Kerala police is behaving in such spineless manner we need to go back a bit in time.

Remember the goondaism against Big Bazaar(Trivandrum) by CPI 6 months back? During that criminal attack on the retailer,  CPI goondas openly attacked police on camera. Check out the following video (courtesy youtube and amrita tv) in which you can clearly see criminals attacking police.

What happened afterward?  The CPI chief Veliyam Bhargavan himself went to the police station to free these criminals. Not only that, he even called ministers to come to police station to free criminals who were arrested for beating up police on camera!  Where else on earth can you see such scenes?

Another important thing to note is that the people who are attacking the police are elected representatives in Trivandrum corporation!

I guess police got the message after this incident and they just stand watching when any ruling party members go on rampage. SFI has almost transformed itself to a political militia similar to what you see in african countries (the only difference is that they don’t have guns). In the recent stand-off between DYFI and Yuva Morcha, almost all main goondas of Trivandrum were seen during the fight. Political parties are now maintaining private armies of goondas and the "goonda law" is now in cold storage.

Another mafia group (Vyapari Vyasayi groups) are going on strike again from July. They are saying government should enact a law banning monopolies. What I think is that government should ban this group itself! This time we can see more destruction and damage (since police may not provide any protection). It appears the only way to protect oneself in Kerala is either to surrender to the party or to hire private goondas.

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Take a look at the photo of the street fight between BJP and Marxist party in Trivandrum yesterday. This goonda (from the marxist side obviously) is openly challenging law and order and see what our policemen are doing! They are helping him to throw stones at the BJP guys on the other side. Can anyone do this so openly if he doesn’t get the assurance that he will be untouched by the police?  Can YOU even think of doing this?

The primary job of police is to ensure law and order. If anyone violates law, police is supposed to take action. Hell, even when police have the suspicion of violation of law, they are supposed to take action. But when police become so openly biased, everyone looses trust and it is the straight route to hell.

Courageous and independent police officers are becoming extinct in Kerala. Now if someone tries to be a good police officer, we have the human rights commission to harass them.

Last week a Circle Inspector was photographed hitting a goonda (from KSU I think) trying to break into teachers training program(remember -  illegally). Now human rights commission recommended suspension for him (without even considering that the CI was attacked and was acting in self defence).  Does "human rights" mean rights of the criminals? 

If a goonda attacks me at home and I use force to get him out of my property, will human rights commission take case against me? "Human rights" doesn’t mean that I have the rights to violate somebody else’s human rights!

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In the last post I looked at the "controversial religious" section on the textbook and commented that there is no "communist ideology" in it. It seemed pretty good material.

Yesterday I was going through the entire textbook and noticed that in fact very cleverly some ideas and perceptions are injected using the book. What we need to note here is that this textbook supposed to be for seventh standard.

In the above the the guy on the left says - "I am a free citizen of India.  I have the freedom to keep my land without agriculture!". Now what you see on the right is a gang of thugs (I am using the term thugs because they are clearly blocking the road and seems menacing). They reminds me of the "vettinirathal team". The same set of goondas who destroyed property of farmers in many areas. Also note the vilification of the guy on the left picture (rich and he has a car!). Here is another example,

As you can see it almost gives an impression "Mukesh ambani" is a villain just because he has lot of money. Throughout text children are fed the idea that "having money" or "trying to make money" is anti-social. Clearly there is nonsense involved here. Remember that Mukesh Ambani gives millions of Indians jobs directly and indirectly not to mention about the services his company provides. 

Let me tell you my friends, things are NOT as simple as it seems. I suggest you completely read the seventh standard textbook before forming opinions. Clearly there is material in it which I would say is "controversial" and sometimes is of bad taste. Creating social tension should never be the aim of a textbook. We already have too much strikes and lockouts in the state. The textbook clearly encourages new generation to be worse (and violent) than the current one.

My conclusion is this - The textbook clearly requires a thorough review and correction. In its current form it requires only slight changes before it can be made into a "communist party manifesto"!.

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Check out the updated post on this issue here.

The seventh standard textbook controversy is snowballing into a major law and order issue in Kerala. The issue has turned into a fight between fake atheists and religious fanatics.

In this post, I am not going to look at what idiots on both sides are doing. Instead let us take a look at the text book contents. The controversial section starts with a heading "mathammillatha jeevan" (atheist jeevan or more precisely jeevan who has no religion).

The scenario is where a student is getting an admission in school. The rough translation is,

Headmaster : What is your name?
Child : Jeevan

Headmaster : What is your father’s name?
Child : Anvar Rasheed

Headmaster : What is your mother’s name?
Child : Lekshmi Devi

Headmaster (to parents) : What I should enter as child’s religion?
Parents : Leave it blank.

Headmaster : caste?
Parents : Leave that also blank.

Headmaster : What happens if he wants a religion when he becomes an adult?
Parents : Let him choose the religion he wants.

As you can see there is nothing much in it. Only an idiot will say that it is an attempt to bring communism (see my updated post).  At the same time, I don’t know what this utopian idealist scenario is supposed to achieve. Actually the above part was completely unnecessary in the textbook.  Take a look at what follows,

As you can see the textbook is actually trying to project the need for embracing religious principles. It is actually quoting the "golden rule" from bible, mahabharatham and kuran - "How you want others to treat you, treat them the same way".

Clubbing this with "the boy without religion" is going to complicate things, especially since the text is intended for a 12 year old!

Now the weirdest part is yet to come. Look at the following,

It is a question -

Which religious group is affected most by price rise, water scarcity, epidemics and earth quake? 

The idea here obviously is that everyone is equally affected and hence we are all equal. The intention in this chapter is good, but the execution is confusing. It can also lead to a lot of misinterpretation.

Well, that is the worst you can think about the textbook. Obviously there isn’t anything in the textbook which actually tells you to "embrace communism"! (see my updated post).

Food for your thought

• In Kerala you can do any nonsense providing you give it a religious coating. You can block roads, you can operate 2000W speakers full volume at 12 in the night, you can encroach national highway, you can almost do any illegal stuff provided you back yourself with some local religious sentiment.
• Now the same nonsense can be done with more impunity if you have the backing of SFI or DYFI. Law simply doesn’t apply to you.

Check out the updated post on this issue here.

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This is a view of the Chavara beach which is famous for its mineral deposits. This beach is very close to NH47. You can drive up to the beach from the highways. In fact a mere rise of 2 feet in tides can wipe out national highways at this stretch!

Indian rare earths limited mineral extraction unit can be seen from here. About 20 kilometers of this beach is suitable mineral extraction from sand.

Chavara is located about 10 kilometres from Kollam city towards north Kerala. 

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When it comes to road infrastructure, Kerala is lagging behind other states. Marxist party was opposing the national highway expansion program since they were against toll collection on the highways. As usual common sense came 2 years later and they mysteriously changed their stance and said tolls are good for the people. So after a delay of almost 2 years, national highway expansion (NH47) has started in Kerala.

Currently NH47 between Palakkadu to Angamaly is being expanded to a 4lane highway(some say it is 6 lane, but nowhere I saw it 6 lane wide) and the project is encountering problems from all sides. Local population is being brainwashed by a small minority who has commercial interests against the national highway. On top of that there are corrupt officials in NHAI (National Highway Authority of India) who is trying to make some money out of all this. For them delaying the project is a good way for extended bribe.

Recently project director for NHAI in Palakkad (B Venugopal) was arrested by CBI. He was demanding a sum of Rs. 1.5 lakhs from a hotel owner who needed no objection certificate. Corruption is now spreading its tentacles to the top and the fact that Venugopal is an intelligent engineer from IIT shows how deep it has gone into our society.

Coming back to the expanded highway, it may seem funny but there are 3 flyovers in a stretch of about 10 kilometers (chalakkudy area)! The NHAI vision here is to prevent highway crossings.  Vehicles and people randomly cross highway and it is single major reason why there are so many accidents on the highway. 

Yet there are idiotic elements in and around Chalakkudy who are trying everything to sabotage the highway expansion plan. They want highway crossings, they want extension of flyovers, they want the road to be "narrowed" where some of them have business interests. Now this is going to be repeated when the highway will be extended up to Trivandrum. Everywhere petty politicians and local trouble makers will try to sabotage the project.

I think government needs to deal with this firmly. They should not take anything other than the feasibility and long term viability of national highways into consideration. If there is a house or a shop, compensate the owner and relocate him. No compromise and no talks with locals is the only solution, otherwise this will drag on for years

Here is my advice for central government and NHAI.  If Kerala state doesn’t want a highway or is not ready to accept the conditions implemented elsewhere, just stop the project. I am sure malayalis will come begging for the highways in the future. Don’t worry,  we are used to it.

Chalakkudy and Irinjalakkuda are famous for its sabotage history. The Irinjalakkuda railway station is a classic example. It is located in a non accessible area because at the time of railway construction locals got it diverted away from Irinjalakkuda city! So even today the railway station is in bad shape and people struggle daily to reach there!

Another recent case was the railway fly over near Irinjalakkuda. But luckily that was executed even after strong local opposition. The reason for protest? - Some people will loose their business located near the railway crossings! There are also cases of people opposing installation of mobile phone towers even when there is no house for about 1km radius! (In Trivandrum city my house is located about 20 metres from a mobile tower!)

It appears almost everyone in Chalakkudy is protesting for something. Some people want to sabotage the athirappally power generation project (government should cut electricity to their homes) and some are protesting against national highways saying that it is for the rich and some others are protesting that chalakkudy highway junction is going to disappear and yet some others are protesting that expansion will affect their business. Now the agitation has spread to Muringoor where the locals are demanding yet another highway crossing. They are going to block the highway with this demand.

I guess very few realize the importance of national highways and the need to convert it into a 6 lane highway. 90% of goods that we consume are transported through this  highway (you will be amazed at the sheer number of lorries that ply in this route). The traffic is so high and the road is so narrow, there are daily accidents between Palakkad and Angamaly stretch. In the near future, even a 6 lane will be insufficient.

It is very sad to see that as a democracy we are failing our future generations. We divert a road just to benefit one single individual at the cost of millions of others using the road. Politicians with no intelligence and vision, the entry of idiots into politics and local panchayats etc. are pushing us backward. In 20 years, when it comes to infrastructure, Kerala will be the last state.

PS: Near my home there is a colony of about 100 houses. But the road leading to it is so narrow that even car can barely get into it. Once a small kid was walking with his father on this road and a car came. They had to almost stick themselves to the wall to let the car pass through. Then the kid asked his father - "acha, enthu konda ee roadinu veethi illathey? (why is this road so narrow?)"  to which his father(who was obviously angry since the car came so close) replied - "athu nammude mandan muthachanmar cheytha paripadiya (this road is built by our stupid ancestors)".

And I am sure we will also be considered as idiots by the coming generations for not having the vision for even 10 years ahead.

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In Kerala’s villages a bunch of hen relaxing under a sun shade is a common scene. I don’t know why I feel intense jealousy when I see them relaxing like this. In reality they might be thinking - "hmm, here is the guy on whose plate we will end up soon!".

Trust me, Watching them relax itself is a good way to relax!

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• Family of elephants - photo from Idukki

Whenever I read Malayalam newspaper in the morning, I usually end up laughing uncontrollably. Then my wife comes and catches me by my ear turning my laughter into a cry. She is worried that our neighbors will think that I am insane (I am sure some of the readers of this blog are ready to bet on this :-))

Today while reading Malayala Manorama, I almost laughed to death. It is a news article about arresting someone in Thrissur for black marketing of Railway tickets. Check out the articles snippet below.

You may be wondering what is so funny?  My dear friends, reality is that this guy is just a scapegoat. There are so many influential black marketing agents who sell like thousands of tickets per day.

After reading the above news item, I headed straight to a nearby railway station and was able to see ticket black marketing (I even captured it on camera, but decided not to publish it). In this case the agent is selling ticket for the Kanyakumari-Mumbai train and the buyer has actually boarded the train from Kollam or Trivandrum. He has ordered the ticket via mobile. From this station, he will switch to reserved compartment. Sometimes agent will get you a ticket on your name (using tatkal), but if it is a last minute request, he will use his pool of pre booked tickets in some other guy’s name.

Want to see how deep the black marketing is? Go to any railway station and randomly ask a porter that you need an urgent ticket and is ready to pay a premium of Rs. 100 or 200.

Another type of black marketing involves using station quota. Every station has a quota of tickets and some of them are manually issued. For example, vadakkancheri might have 7 tickets for a train. When you ask for these tickets at the counter, he will say there are no tickets, but in reality it is blocked by the black marketing agent.

Now why is this sort of high volume black marketing never caught? The reason is that these agents are invariably bribing railway officials and the network is bigger than you imagine.  In fact I overheard recently that if a railway official requires an urgent ticket, he orders it through these agents!

Wherever there is shortage of something, black marketing is bound to happen. Law enforcement is not the solution. The only solution is to ensure that you bloody meet the demand for train tickets. A classic case is trains to Bangalore. It is almost impossible to train tickets to Bangalore thanks to the bus lobby.

Railways is making 20,000 crore rupees in profit. But Railways has other priorities. Instead of putting more trains and more comfortable general compartments or adding new compartments, they are busy installing 32 inch/64 inch LCD TVs in Railway stations. Recently some of the railway officials in Trivandrum were arrested on corruption charges (for the LCD tv deals). I have seen a lot of people wondering why there are 100s of LCD and plasma tvs at Trivandrum station.

And to rub salt on the wound, Railways has converted 3 tier compartments to a torture chamber (even on AC compartments!). They have added a side birth between side upper and side lower. Now the question is where will this extra guy sit in the day time? The solution is to cram him to the seat on the other side. So you have 4 people sitting on a seat intended for 3 and traveling for 100 or 1000 kilometers.  Whoever suggested this improvement will put even our King Thuglak to shame!

In western countries passenger facilities and personal space is being increased in trains. But in Indian Railways, idiots are actually turning the wheel back (Remember, railway profit is coming directly from commercial freight). Have you ever traveled on a general compartment? If our jails are full, we can send criminals to these general compartments as punishment.

What is needed is not LCD screens or high end vitrified tiles on the platform. What is needed is good food on the train, sufficient personal space, clean toilets, comfortable journey and availability of tickets. (God, I don’t want to start on the quality of food available on train. I will just share an anecdote - I was once traveling on a day train and there were 2 foreigners on the adjacent seats. All of us bought "vellayappam and muttakkari"  and foreigners starting eating. There was some foul smell and I was wondering where it is coming from. When I opened my packet I realised that the curry is rotten! I had to throw it  away and felt really sorry for those foreigners who thought it is the taste of that curry. The moral of the story? Always carry your own food and don’t even think of buying from the train. )

PS: From the perspective of someone who needs an urgent train ticket, these agents are like angels. We should remember this before judging them…

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Ramakkalmedu is a small village/hill station on the border between Kerala and TamilNadu. It is famous for the strong winds and the breathtaking views of Tamil Nadu villages from the hill top.  If you are looking for a reason for buying a high end binoculars, plan a trip to Ramakkalmedu today!

The name Ramakkalmedu is derived from Rama-kal-medu (Rama’s foot on the rock). According to the folklore, Hindu god Rama had set foot on this rock while searching for his wife Sita abducted by Ravanan. Any way if someone needs to have a bird’s eye view of  Tamilnadu, I don’t think there is a better place than Ramakkalmedu. According to local experts, on a clear day you can get a good view of 6 major towns of Tamilnadu!

Ramakkalmedu was a relatively unknown tourist destination till recently. Thanks to its location (between Munnar and Thekkady) and also due to wind energy farms setup recently, this place now attracts thousands of visitors every day.

How to reach Ramakkalmedu tourist destination?

Ramakkalmedu is located in Idukki district and can be reached from Thekkady-Munnar route. You can find some decent hotels in Nedungandam or Kattappana and both places are nearby.  Ramakkalmedu is about 20kms from Kattappana town and the road is narrow but in good condition.

Ramakkalmedu distance chart

Please note that the distances given below are approximate. Also distance varies depending on the route you take.

Nearest railway station: Changanacherry (90km)
Nearest airport: Madurai (145km) and Cochin International Airport(Nedumbasery - 185km)

Check out the following maps for more information.

In the above Google earth photo, the structure visible on the top right is the "kuravan and kurathi" statue details of which are available below. As you can see that the road takes a sharp right turn on the bottom left of the map. This is where you need to park to go to the biggest mountain which is located towards the left of this junction.

Ramakkalmedu Trip Report (with photos)

I reached Ramakkalmedu in the evening and my family was with me. It was an unplanned visit and hence I was short on time. The experience was so good that I am planning a visit to this place again, only this time I am planning for a trekking expedition.

From Nedumkandam, the road to Ramakkalmedu is narrow, but there are hardly any potholes. As you drive along, you will first see the wind turbines installed for power generation on the right side. It is possible to drive up to a wind turbine, but due to lack of time we decided to head straight to the Ramakkalmedu hill.

Following is the zoomed photo of a wind turbine visible from main Ramakkalmedu road.

The main road ends at a small junction and there are couple of shops where you can get tea/drinks and relax a bit.  From this junction, you can either take a right turn and drive up the hill to reach the official Ramakkalmedu or park the car at the junction and take a walk to the left side mountain. The photo below shows the right side road with official welcome sign.

Unlike the thugs at Aathirappalli water falls (that is for another post), there is no entry fee and there are no restrictions right now.

Again due to lack of time we decided to skip the official place and head straight to the left mountain which is the tallest structure and gives the most beautiful view of TamilNadu vilages!

As you turn left you will get a feeling that you are going into a cave. After about 50 metres you need to take a right turn and then go up the hill.

Once you start climbing towards the mountain top, you can see the "kuravan and kurathi" statue on the other side of the mountain. The wind at this stage is of medium strength. 

I am again going up and you can see the kuravan statue on the far right. If you look closely you can see tourists all around the place below. Some of the images can be clicked to get a bigger view.

Following is the rock you need to climb in order reach the top most place on Ramakkalmedu. It is not easy (especially since winds are strong)!

Towards the right side you can see the Tamil nadu stretching out to eternity! You must see it to feel it!

As you start walking towards the zenith of this hill, the wind speed gradually increases. There is a narrow road which leads to the last rock on the top. This path is dangerous as slip will cause you to fall down.  The height of fall will be so big that you will get time to repent about all your sins if you are to fall down. The white patch is the valley which cannot be focused by the camera!

This rock below is popular with bachelors. It is much below the main rock, but gives you a feeling that you are floating on air.

The winds at Ramakkalmedu are very strong and continuous and hence is an ideal place for Wind power units. The average wind speed is about 30km/hr and I have a feeling at certain areas it could go as high as 60km/hr and more.

Luckily the sky was clear and we could see Tamil nadu in all its glory as can be seen below. For a travel addict, this is the moment of orgasm!

Following towns are captured using zoom. Some of the towns that can be seen are Kambam, Kudallur and Theny.

Wind farms at Ramakkalmedu

Kerala chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan inaugurated the wind farm power generation unit at Ramakkalmedu on 27th April 2008.  Currently there are 14 wind farm units which supply power to KSEB grid at Kallar.  The cost of setting up a unit is around Rs. 4 crores and the power is sold to KSEB at a rate of 3.15 paise per unit. The wind farm units are installed with the help of Danish experts from Vestar Denmark and are being run by private companies.

It is estimated that from Ramakkalmedu alone 50MW of electricity can be generated from wind energy. Wind energy is the best energy source since there is zero pollution.

One interesting adventure will be to trek from the Ramakkalmedu top to one of these wind turbines. I guess for that you will need to have a team and start early morning.

Kuravan & Kurathi at Ramakkalmedu

The Kuravan & Kurathi statue is designed and built by C.B. Jinan and is the signature structure of Ramakkalmedu. This statue was erected in August 2005 and most tourists head straight to this place. The view of the Tamilnadu is not as good as from the other side. Kuravan & Kurathi is a native tribe of Idukki and  according to legend, Idukki dam (which is Kerala’s biggest power source) was proposed by a Kuravan. There is a resting place behind this statue.

Interestingly you will find ice cream vendors even on the hill top during evenings. There are some guys who are selling liquor. But you should stay away from it unless you went there planning to commit suicide.

Dangers at Ramakkalmedu

There are hidden dangers at Ramakkalmedu. Sometimes wind can be very strong and it is never a good idea to go to the mountain cliff. There are stories of people falling down and committing suicide. According to locals, retrieving the body of someone who had fallen requires experts since the slop is almost 90 degrees!

Also if you are taking your family along, return before sunset. There aren’t any guards and Malayalis can turn easily become a monster after a drinking peg of brandy or rum (unfortunately alcohol is openly sold at the mountain top). There are also broken glass on the top, so lookout for them.

While filming my family, some guy came behind me and said - "njanum photoyil kerattey"? It may sound innocent, but bands of bachelors can be deadly if you are in a vulnerable situation (read: you have a daughter/wife/mother/sister).

Summary

Ramakkalmedu an ideal place to spend an evening or to go for some real trekking expedition. This is one place where you can’t go in our traditional dress (mundu) - well you can if you don’t mind getting naked

This article will be updated after my next visit to Ramakkalmedu. I have a feeling that I have missed a lot of important/interesting stuff  at Ramakkalmedu and of course the thrill of trekking is too good to miss.

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It is unfortunate that even today authentic/informative articles on Kerala’s tourist attractions are missing on the Web. So from this week, I am starting an article series under the category "Kerala Travel Diary". In these articles I will try to capture the beauty of each tourist place I visit along with detailed photographs and location maps.

This week I will introduce you to the Veli Tourist Village near Trivandrum airport.

Introduction

Veli is a very popular picnic spot in Trivandrum and is heavily crowded during weekends. The major attractions here include boating in the Veli lagoon, a nearby beach, children’s park, games, horse riding and a lot of disgusting/beautiful(take your pick!) artwork on stone and grass by sculptor Kaanayi Kunjiraman. Veli is about 7 kilometres from the city centre and is very near to Trivandrum airport. You can catch a KSRTC bus (route number 155) or hire a taxi from the city. If you have your own vehicle, there is plenty of parking space. There are two parking slots and the second one which is a bit away from the park entrance has always free space.

Veli Tourist Village is open from 8AM to 6PM. Since Trivandrum has no night life and any night time activity is a playground of anti-social elements the park closes at 6PM.

There is a youth hostel near Veli, but I don’t know whether it is a convenient place to stay.

How to reach Veli Tourist Resort

When you come from Trivandrum city, you need to take the airport road which crosses NH bypass. Take the road which goes to Kochu Veli railway station and after about a kilometre from the railway station you will find the "Veli Tourist Village" sign board. If you continue driving through this road you will reach Vettukadu church and then Sanghumugham beach. The roads here are well maintained, but beware of unmarked speed bumps!

Veli Satellite Map (Click to view on Google Maps)

Veli Google Earth Map

Veli Travel Report

The entrance to Veli tourist centre is narrow and on the right you can see the ticket counter. A single ticket costs Rs.5 and there is no fee for camera.

After entering the tourist village, take a right turn and the first thing you will notice is a stone work by Kanayi Kunjiraman. I have no clue as to what it is, but thankfully Kanayi likes to call it "sunset"! But for the curious minded this thing is a time pass. You get a different perspective as you move around this stone work.

After having a good look at sunset, continue walking towards right end of the park and  you will see an abandoned children’s slider pool. Unfortunately this is not maintained for a long time. Don’t even think you allowing your children to play in it unless you want them to get cholera or something similar. This a symbol of government inefficiency and lack of any real interest in maintaining this tourist spot.

Continue walking and you will come across a fish pool and adjacent to the pool you will find some exceptional coconut trees. People say that coconut tree produces more coconuts when they are located near humans. The coconut trees near a house produces more coconuts than the one away due to this reason. It is probably due to the sheer number of people who visit Veli that coconut trees here are full of coconuts. That itself is view to wonder at!

On the left of the fish pool you will find a grass artwork by Kanayi Kunjiraman. This is a nude and provocative artwork of a woman lying on the beach. It is something many people are ashamed to enjoy! I still wonder why feminists have not yet found this offensive! :-)Anyway Kanayi seems to have "female body weakness"!

Fish pool is big but is not maintained well (it stinks) and the water level is much lower than it used to be. Still you can find some fish (Karimeen etc.) in the pool. Earlier feeding fishes was attractive activity, but not anymore since the number of fishes are too low and they are obviously overfed!

They should have filled this with water and could have provided small peddle boats for couples/families. But who cares!

From the pool, take a left turn and you will cross a small bridge. After this you can see more of Kanayi’s stone artwork. Finally you will reach the Veli lakeside which stretches from beach side to Aakkulam. You can also see the road/railway track crossing the lake. There is a footpath on the right side which stretches up to Aakkulam. You can relax on the footpath or walk all the way up to Aakulam. There is also a good toddy shop (food was good when I went there) on this route. It appears that on the other side of the lagoon a resort is being built.

Take a left turn again and you will reach the boat jetty. You can purchase tickets for various boat types (speed boat, peddle boat etc.). This place also has a pigeon cage which houses some exotic types. You can relax here in the sun shade and buy drinks/food from here. The coconut water here seems to very diluted and I wouldn’t recommend it. Probably if you are rich enough you can buy the packed energy drink red bull from KTDC stall.

Speed boating is exciting and if you want complete privacy you should go for peddle boating. Don’t forget to put on life jackets. The safari boat goes up to Aakulam bridge and the ride is an interesting experience. High speed boat costs Rs.750 and carry 6 people at a time.

After the boating experience, continue walking towards the left end of the park. You will be able to see the sea far away. On the way you will come across a floating restaurant operated by KTDC. Sitting on the top deck of this in the evening is an experience. Unfortunately the food is costly and the service is bad. What I would recommend is to order something light from here just to spend time on the deck and have your food somewhere else.

In order to reach the beach on the left end, you need to cross a floating bridge on the lake. The creaky wood platform is a bit scary at first, but it seems fairly stable. Still I would advise that you cross only when the load on the bridge is less. Sometimes the bridge can be jam packed (especially in the evenings), so you might have to wait for sometime you can cross.

After crossing the floating bridge you will come across a set of small shops where there is plenty of chairs for you to relax and enjoy some coconut drink. You can also go for horse riding, but personally I don’t think it is a good idea for kids considering the risks. Behind these shops you will find a game stall and a small children’s park. The game of chance (where you will get 6 rings for Rs. 5 to try your luck on precision throwing) is addictive.

And the next stop is the beach. The waves here are strong and don’t venture too much into the beach (especially since there are no life guards here!). Your enthusiasm may disappear if I say that the city drainage joins the sea not very far from here!

Trip Summary - Veli Tourist Village

Veli is one of the best picnic spots in Trivandrum. The best time to visit this place is either early morning or in the evening. There are a lot of activities at this place and you can easily spend half a day here. Government inefficiency is all around, but still it is not as bad as in many other tourist places.

Travel Destination - Veli Tourist Centre
Geographical coordinates:  8° 31′ 0" North, 76° 53′ 0" East
Time of Visit - Around 3PM
Date of Review - June 2008
Last Updated on - June 2008

Share your Veli experience in the comments section below.

Note :- If you want to publish your tour experiences in Kerala, send me the detailed article along with your name and Web site (if any). I will feature your article in this section.

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