Incomplete odysseys

Almost half of Kerala would have started celebrating. #ARG winning. The other half consists of the #BRA fans. 4:51 PM Jun 12th via dabr  Retweeted by 5 people
 
 - Nikhil Narayanan on Twitter  (after Argentina's WC'2010 opening win vs Nigeria)

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And with this game, Kerala is out of the #worldcup .

 - InstantMusings  on Twitter (after Argentine annihilation by Germany)

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image courtesy www.goal.com

And at the end of another heart-breaking sojourn Argentina leaves the African shores, close on the heels of  neighbouring heavy-weights Brazil. Dejected, disappointed, desolate, humiliated...Another frustrating end to a hugely promising enterprise for millions of Argentine football fans of Kerala.

Argentina and Brazil may lie on the other hemisphere, wrong side of equator and are culturally, linguistically and racially like chalk and cheese compared to Kerala. Still, football crazy Keralaites carry the two nations in their hearts just like Lal Jose's Cuba Mukundan adored China and err, Cuba.

Ever wondered what makes these remote South American countries so close to Keralites?

Oh yes, if you want to explore political connections then Che Guvera was Argentine. hmm...commie-commie, bhai-bhai? Not the reason why I had a severe crush on Argentine tennis-beauty Gabriela Sabatini in my early teenage though she lost to that German blondie Graf more times than I could count then.

Oh there! Another German... hmmfff. :-(

Italia 1990 was the first time I probably heard about this country called Argentina, or should I say I saw and heard about this magic-man called Maradona and then linked him to Argentina. 10 years old at the time, football became synonymous with Maradona and Argentina to me. I stayed awake with my football-fan dad to watch the '90 World Cup matches but would eventually fall asleep someway through the match. Mostly it was the morning newspaper which broke the news of my favourite team's progress until resulting in the heart-break loss to West Germany in the final.

Maradona, Pele, vintage football, Che, Communism, coffee, samba... you can decide why, but Kerala's fondness of the Latin American footballing nations underlines the ability of sport to erase boundaries and cross barriers, to create legends which circumnavigate the globe irrespective of race, language and religion. 

And the beauty of erstwhile Latin American football is just legendary...

Argentina has been giving Keralaites regular doses of World Cup anguish ever since 1990. The presence of Argentina was the major reason why I followed Soccer World Cup closely ever since I learned the game. I remember walking back dejected from the TV kiosk in John Balan Park in Bartonhill, Trivandrum after watching Romania knocking them out in 1994. Holland repeated the honours in 1998. Argentina struck an unbelievable low when they exited the 2002 edition in the first round itslef. They bowed out to hosts Germany in shootout in 2006 and history repeats against the nemesis yet again, but today it has been calamitous!

The likes of Pele, Maradonna, Ronaldo, Batistuta and co and the visceral, agricultural football played by those geniuses naturally struck a chord with football-loving Keralites. Malabar is almost a battlefield when the World Cup goes on. Its a celebration, have a look...

It still continues. Nikhil said it right, a savage chunk of Kerala football fans have their loyalty to either Argentina or Brazil. With the disastrous results in the past 2 days of this World Cup, its shutters down for football frenzy in Kerala in a big way. Brazil knocked out, Argentina butchered, another popular team and European holy-boys England is already back, tail between their legs.

You may  come across some bald-heads dudes and peculiar figures with half-mustaches and beards in Vanchiyoor in the next 2-3 days. Sure, they're Brazil fans or Argentina fans. I hope none of my old pals are among them. :D

South Africa 2010 has failed to produce those magic memories consistantly; its all merely statistical. Great goals have been miserably few and far in between, big names turned mere bubbles overnight, branded minnows gave the bigwigs run for their money and the football 'experts' left guessing after all predictions and calculations went astray. 

Have we seen Kaka, Messi, Rooney or Ronaldo the way we wanted to see them? We've also seen Maradona and Dunga leaving the field humiliated. Last years finalists packed their bags home after Round 1. The whole world laughed at the English hype-stars and French disgrace-figures.

This is the beauty of sport. It can be philosophical at times, teaches you some of the most important lessons in life...

Great students never make great teachers. Same way great players seldom make great coaches.

Also how the line has blurred between a hero and a villain... Suarez, Gyan, Ghana and that last-gasp moment may just become the lasting legend of this edition.

You may be the best in the world but that does not necessarily mean that you will be the winner.How many times have we been taught that the best do not always win? (Don't assume that I'm trying to find an excuse for my pet-team's miserable performance)

PS:  With Spain just filling the last semi-final slot we may well see a new winner this time in South Africa. I'd back Holland and Spain to go and win it from here just because they have played beautiful football all through without tasting much success historically. But this young German side appear more and more threatening, with each passing match.

PPS: Almost forgot Uruguay, the other Semi-finalist. A country of 3.5 million people, yes, almost the same no of people in Trivandrum district. Not going on to useless whining, but anyone here has any high hopes of hearing the Indian national anthem in a Football World Cup before the end of our lifespan?

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Claim-game lolz

Story: Bakery Junction flyover inaugurated in Trivandrum early this week.

The ubiquitous no of street-smart cyber-journos in Trivandrum makes sure that the event is covered well and published like instant coffee! Full set of pictures at Ajay's Trivandrum Rising as usual. 

Credits: This one belongs to whom? The picture below may help, courtesy @jlusujith. The flexboard on the left heralds the Right stalwarts as the 'architects' of the Capital Road Improvement Project in 2003 and the board on right featuring the happy Left CM claims credits for 'finishing' the job. Confused?

Dedication: To all people of Kerala, especially the people of Trivandrum. this one also claims that Kerala and Trivandrum are in a development-dash. Ok, thanks! :-)

image courtesy Sujith. T. John

Factfile: Half a kilometer long, 2 laned flyover. 5 years in making. 

Juxtapose: Bangalore and Hyderabad completed nearly 2 dozen flyovers and underpasses in the last decade. Not bringing in Chennai or Delhi here for comparison because it'll be an insult. Apart from the Bakery Flyover only two similar projects were fructified in Kerala, one being the Palayam underpass, an extended appendage of the Bakery flyover and the other, the Arayidathupalam Flyover in Calicut.

Background: The TRDCL project was initiated by the Antony Govt in 2003 after public pressure against the zero-development in infrastructure in Trivandrum. A total of 42 km of roads were to be developed including one underpass and 2 flyovers.

Total project cost: 250 crore (including cost of land acquisition)
Time frame: 3 years (was to be completed in Nov 2006)

The idea was that the total project amount will be dispensed in 3 installments through allocations in the state budget. Punj Lloyd won the bid, commenced the work. But the global conglomerate had to fill hours scrapping the rust off their heavyweight machinery because the authorities failed to acquire and handover the land required for road works. So they packed up and left North.

Enter the LDF Govt. Minister Vijayakumar took interest, most of the land issues were sorted out. Work recommenced and hurray! We can fly-over Bakery at last!! :-)

Hold on...This is not the end of it all. There is another one proposed over the MG Road connecting Power House Road to Thakarapparambu Road. The Minister joked that the works will be over by 2011 October, ya, in another year!  lolz, this one involves relocation of scores of big businesses including the Big Bazzar shopping center and major shifting of utilities. The 3-year Capital Development Project is going to spill over into the hands of the 3rd successive Government! Given the 5-year plan we saw with Bakery Jn project,  there is no guarantee that a motorcycle would cross over the Powerhouse Road flyover in 2016, unless its equipped with jetwings.

A lot of good works have been done, we have to appreciate that. Even though there have been ZERO new projects to develop any new roads within the rapidly developing cities. Even though Mr. Vijayakumar is heralded as the patron-saint for Trivandrum the other road development works outside TRDCL are still stuck exactly where he took over in 2006.

Did he think that there was nothing else to look after apart from the 42km stretches included in CRIP?
 
In 2001, Trivandrum had 3000 souls working at Technopark. 10 years down it is touching 30,000. The NH Bypass which was a dream track for race-freaks, now see bumper-to-bumper traffic at peak hours. The Ulloor- Sreekaryam Road is just unbelievable! Still a modest 2 lane road holding 6 lane traffic, this is the lone way to reach the Medical College for ambulances and emergency vehicles. Widening of a 5km road connecting Ulloor- Akkulam with NH Bypass, which commenced in 1999, still hasn't gone one step further. Everyone forgot the MC Road works until Nalanchira for 4 years but suddenly some people got a brainwave from nowhere.

The only other project which appear promising is the 6-laning of the Karamana- Kaliyikkavila stretch of NH47. Here again, the onus of land acquisition falls on the State Govt. One of the busiest and congested stretches of highways in Kerala; its anyone's guess when the actual road-works would commence.

The reason I hear is that 'we are special'. Special in what sense? Be it highway development, city roads development, flyovers and underpasses, IT Parks or SEZs, the excuse is that 'Kerala is a special case'.

Special in population density, they say.  A mere glance at figures from elsewhere cripples that argument.

Bangalore planned and built a 4 lane 9.5km  Electronics City Flyover in 4 years. The 11.6km P.V.Narasimha Roa Expressway in Hyderabad passes over the most congested parts of the huge metropolis. Chennai and Delhi puts us to shame with the no of flyovers, underpasses and roads they build every year. Bangalore's population density is twice as that of any Kerala city, so that's not where the shoe pinches us.

Bangalore Elevated Tollway

When you look at the rehabilitation packages for evictees things become clear. People are sent packing by paying them a small fraction of the existing market rates and this embroils down to agitations, political foulplays, court litigation and so on. How many times have we seen this happen.

 Look at the Trivandrum International Airport and things become more clear. The landmark terminal is ready for commissioning, but the land needed for the next phases of development is yet to be acquired. There appears to be no honest efforts to get the land in Govt's possession and hand it over to AAI. This is extremely crucial for furthur expansion of the Airport and also for the crucial Cargo Complex. But our leaders appear to act napping whenever someone mentions it.

Vote bank...cold feet.

The same reason why we see 'all-party delegations' leave for New Delhi to bring in collateral damage.

Perhaps we must look back at history to see how the volatile issues related to land acquisition of VSSC in Thumba were sorted out diplomatically, including St. Martin's Church on the 600 acre grounds. A few tombstones are in the way of Airport Road in Pattoor for a Jupiter-year now, and the living souls pay the price. We know what we lack: a clever futuristic leader with a straight spine who genuinely cares for the future of our state.

In 2020 Chandigarh, Pune, Mangalore, Surat and Mysore would've had their infrastructure issues sorted out in a big way. Trivandrum, Cochin, Calicut and Trichur will still be crawling its way through, consuming decades building half-mile bridges.

Kerala is a 'special' case, so be it.

Bakery Flyover image courtesy www.yentha.com
BETL image courtesy skyscrapercity

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Granites galore!

Attention Keralaites! The year of the 'stone' has begun in Kerala. Just after the celebration of an unprecedented 4 years in office, Chief Minister Comrade Achuthanandan and collegues have kick started a nomadic state-trotting with a spree of inaugurations and foundation stone laying pan-Kerala. Yakkooo...At this rate the busybody ministers will be totally exasperated and the sculptors will have blisters on their palms by early 2011.

Not funny, but the CM's driver is on a well-deserved sickness leave, courtesy H1N1.

Comrade Achuthanandan and his PR Dept surely must've had a real hard time formatting the media ads to herald the 'achievements' of the Govt. Apart from the CM's smiling face, the artifact commie symbol and the corresponding Minister-in-charge, there was nothing significant to fill the page for many portfolios.

Minister Vijayakumar laid the second foundation stone (on top of the one he laid in 2001) for the development of Kesavadasapuram- Nalanchira Road in the capital just the other day. This was just after taking a breath from Technocity foundation stone, Infopark Phase II foundation stone (remember, the Smart City stone which VS laid in 2006 is still somewhere around hidden beneath bushes), Vytilla Mobility hub stone, Cyberpark stone, and a plethora of other tactics fabricated to fool the public. I won't be surprised if a fresh granite is carved for Smart City, guessing by some of the recent statements from the CM. And as TRDCL works in the Capital near completion, the city may well be choked with a plethora of inaugurations very soon.

What has this Govt given the young and unemployed ever since V.S. over-ceremoniously took over from Chandy?

It's and easy, single-word: n-o-t-h-i-n-g!

A mere look back at the promises V.S made just after assuming the power now is all set to bite the man back. From naming the V.I.P in Kilirur case, locking up all criminals and goondas within 2 months, to claiming the Govt land back from land-grabbers, anything which V.S touched scalded his own hands and burned the butt of his party, be it the Munnar fiasco which he himself admitted as a flop, the Smart City or any other project which he initiated. VS must be a modern day Midas because anything he himself involved in, as well as the other ministers touched also seem to freeze instantaneously. Look at Shobha Hi-Tech City, Salarpuria Knowledge City, HDIL Cyber City, Kinaloor and whatever, they're all dead ducks.

Four years have gone by and the Govt is still at sea with the socially crucial Private Professional College issue. Every year we hear some announcements and statements from the minister-in-charge which turn out to be mere lines drawn on water.

Lately, the Centrally-sponsored multi-million project of developing the TS Canal and connecting it to the National Waterway in Kollam has lapsed because those concerned never bothered to do their work. I don't see any minister or official worried about it, a project which could have hugely beneficial to thousands of ordinary people, apart from giving a major boost to the economy of the state. The national and local media reported the incessant lapse of funds many times, and in the end 2000 crores went unutilised. Who is responsible? 

The less we speak about the Highway Development saga unfolding, the better. We have lost 4 years purely due to the tomfoolery of V.S and his party ideologies, and it is almost certain that the ongoing 30m-45m dilly-dally will see the crucial project won't begin this year. And if the Congress Govt assumes power next time, the Commies are sure to let out the goons and gangs loose against land acquisition. I'd bet my house on that.

3.75 crore Keralites will lose out but why bother? Everyday 7 precious lives are lost on our highway alters, 2 dozens mutilated or handicapped but who cares? The rotten teeter-board politics we practice in this state will take us to the dooms.

CPM's backpedal on the ADB loan, Coca-cola, Expressway project, Smart City,  Professional College issue etc has underlined one fact. The Communist parties infest Kerala only to fudge out their slow poison into this land. Nobody at AKG Center or AKG Bhavan is genuinely bothered about the development or future of the state, they're ready to play any dirty games in the name of pseudo-socialism, just to gain political mileage.

Industrial development has almost come to a standstill in the state. That's not surprising at all. The Govt still speaks about PSUs and traditional industries like coir, fisheries and co as saviours. Oh c'mon, you want all the graduated, unemployed youth out of those colleges go out to open sea and start fishing?  The only other viable option I see (apart from escaping to Bangalore or Gelf) is joining the 'Quotation Gangs' which have expanded into thriving livelihood options even in small towns and villages. May be this is what Darwin meant by 'survival of the fittest'.

The major initiatives like the Brahmos, BEML etc have purely been Central Govt initiatives. Same with the case of premier institutions like IIST, National Maritime University or IISER. Other major projects like Vallarpadom Container Terminal and the LNG Terminal are heading towards commissioning, also nothing for the LDF Govt to lay hands on. Achuthanandan Govt has little to claim when it comes to new initiatives in any front in the state. Though the regime has been working honest and hard to get Vizhinjam Port off the mark, it is still some time away from realization. But I'd bet again that the granite will be up vertical in Vizhinjam with all the names on it.

And in the coming few months we will see more and more heavyweight 'stones' being laid, my strong guesses lie with International Airports of Kannur, Aranmula, Kottayam and Idukki. Also spare a few granites for the IT Parks planned in all 200 taluks of the state, also please don't forget to put one for Cochin Metro before you leave. Shall I also suggest some stones and ribbon-cutting for some bridges, roads, parks, sulabh toilets, health centers, bus shelters, traffic signals and fish markets. Anyone with a  knows that it will be all like stones in the water. The ship will go down.

How strikingly different has been the CM Achutanandan from the robust and revolting Opposition Leader we all knew! Pinarayi and team managed to tame the wild lion into a pussycat. But V.S has managed to hang on, we should give him that. He has manged what he always yearned for: to sit in that reverent chair on the III floor, North Block, Secretariat. But the important question is how did it benefit us Keralites?

Our politicians may not realize, or may not want to accept that the sand is slowly draining from under our feet. With virtually no sources of income being found for day-to-day chores, how long can Kerala afford to crawl? When other states are marching ahead with hundreds of job opportunities created every month, we're still boasting about the cliched Kerala-model. Migration and associated remittances from abroad have ensured that Kerala society doesn't crumble and fall into a state of civil-unrest. GoK plans to suck dry the NRI tits for its survival and has no back-up plans to set the foundations strong and straight.

This leaves us in a very precarious situation where Kerala State doesn't have a penny for social welfare, road works, water supply or poverty eradication projects without the burden of loans from foreign banks or begging in front of the Center. Remember the situation in 2001 when E.K Nayanar left the chair to A.K.Antony without a nickel in the treasury. Well, Achumama may well step down leaving us deep and buried.

For me the biggest achievements of the current LDF regime was that both Kairali TV and Deshabhimani  could build their multi-crore headquarters in the prime-most locales of Trivandrum city.

Kairali Towers, close to MLA Quarters, Trivandrum

So even for the staunchest commie supporter the previous 4 years will not have much to dance around about. Perhaps we will see the CM laugh again after the 2011 Assembly polls the same way he famously laughed after the 2009 Parliament results. Its not long away dear CM, you may better get all your stones carved out and set before the Code of Conduct is formally in place. Good luck! :-)

Images courtesy Keralatv.com, www.tribiz.in, fotolia.

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Holiday blues

Must say, the 11 day vacation was hectic than the busiest work schedule I ever had! Jeez, it was like a merry-go-round, hardly got a chance to set foot on the ground.

9th May 2010 meant it was one year since my little bundle of joy arrived into my life. No way I could afford to miss her first b'day, even when the Eyjafjallajokull fire-mountain threatened for a while. Ah no, back to good old Trivandrum in the nick of time, and ouch... the summer this time in Kerala was reportedly harder than usual.

No glitches to report though, the birthday celebrations went on fine :)

Got a chance to meet up with old friends. Sad, many of the old pals are now scattered around in Bangalore, Gurgaon, Kuwait, Halifax, Chicago, San Diego and the likes. Trivandrum, without them, now feels a lot different than it used to be 3-4 years back. And the couple of old friends left in Trivandrum, one is a surgeon in Medical College and the other an Area Manager of a Pharma Co, supervising from Kottayam down. In short, they seldom find time to look at themselves in the mirror or relax for a while on the commode.

Nevertheless, found some time to do what I love most to do when I'm in the city. Visited the new international terminal under construction in Trivandrum. Matter of pride and despair. Hoped to use it this time but ha!

Took family to the Zoo, myself going there after at least a decade! Lion, hippo, rhino, deer, monkeys, snakes, rats all ok, but where has the Giraffe gone?

Watched TRDCL change the looks of my city. MG Road works seen here, the surfacing of the road has been completed since.

Meanwhile the construction of the half-kilometer long flyover at Bakery Jn still carries on. We're promised vehicles will be 'flying over' pretty soon. hmmm...

The church has got back its old colours, and the road in front is being given a new surface, lane-by-lane.

City has got an extra touch of green though many trees have been axed down. But who will tame this litter menace? (empty plastic water sachets thrown around in front of the Martyr's square after some political/ religious procession left the scene)

Checked out a few eateries...old and new. Nothing beats Buhari at Attakulangara and Rahmaniya inside Chalai. You'd better try this one out if you yearn for the posh variety. Ambrosia @ Heera Grace, Kowdiar! Trendy, spacious, rich menu, nice ambiance but may well scald your pockets. 

Stayed a couple of days at the good old Tharavadu in Kayamkulam. My family bosses decided to raze down the century-old charming tiled house to build a modern concrete structure and it was my first time at the new house. The old one never needed a fan but it appears as if you'd need a 2 ton conditioning beast to make this thing livable. A goddamn greenhouse!

Not to mention the last 2 days in Trichur, at wife's home.

Hey, went to the famed Trichur gold-houses to get some metal for the li'l one. Mother-in-law was certain that we'd get year-round blessings if we bought gold on May 16th, Akshayathrithiya. Scam, but its not wise arguing with her. Gold merchants are making merry @ 13k+ per sovereign, but we get tons of free prosperity this day. Still awaiting the promised 'free' stuff...

Back to Trivandrum in Amritha Express.

Saw the MG Road being tarred in front of the AG's Office on way back home from the Railway Station. 2 days since, I read that the same road has been dug up by the Water Authority! (Image courtesy Keralakaumudi) Hail Public Works, Kerala!

And back...How disappointing I'm not flying out of the T3 :(  Guess the lobby and gate will be more luxurious than this. Next time, surely.And wait, don't tell me you haven't seen the sneak shots of the interiors of the new terminal. Click, and enjoy, thanks to Vivek, a smart techie boy and member of Skyscrapercity India forum.

See you again folks :-)

PS: Managed to publish in a hurry, an already drafted post about Shashi Tharoor's one year as the MP of Trivandrum. Guess who got impressed? :whistle:

Thanks to Shashi Tharoor's tweet, the article brought 3600 hits in 24 hours and has fetched 52 responses until today. Whew, some serious publicity for my hobby! :-)

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Shashi Tharoor: A year into the job

Spoiler: This post is a mere look-back on my MP Shashi Tharoor and how he has fared as the most hyped-up representative of Trivandrum. If you're looking forward to discussing the likes of cattle class, interlocutor, IPL and so on,  then you may please close this browser window asap. I propose to look at something very different and in all probability pretty uninteresting. Thanks...

The dates connoted in the passage indicate the tweets of @ShashiTharoor. You can access the tweet-archive on twimp.in or tweeple.in

I'm least bothered about the Foreign Policies and the erstwhile External Affairs conundrum of Dr. Tharoor, its all Greek and Latin for me. This is my perspective of my MP from my constituency and state, simple as that!

Dr. Tharoor surely must've taken this first year as an internship to understand the internal games of Indian politics, and surely got some very hard lessons. The gains for Trivandrum commenced the very day he announced his candidature. The constituency hogged national spotlight and Tharoor deservedly climbed the steps into the Lok Sabha by squashing the now obsolete commie opponent by six-figure margin. Period.

But not before he was taught the first lesson in Politics by the Trivandrum DCC, that you needn't try too hard to create enemies in Politics. His late night party with a group of 'red-class' businessmen irked some local Congressmen who were getting irritated by the limelight a newcomer like him hogged. Tharoor did start well,  on way learning that  if ever there was a 7-day a week job it was that of a politician (May 17). Before leaving for the Capital, he held a 3 hour meeting on the development needs of his constituency within a wide range of experts (May 17) including fellow blogger Ajay Prasad.

On reaching Delhi and assuming the power at his Office of MEA, Tharoor diplomatically handled the doubts about his open tweeting and also pitched in for Trivandrum's long awaited demand on High Court Bench. He was different from ordinary politicians we see around us when he openly declared that the struggle for the High Court Bench couldn't be settled anytime soon and that there has to be a softer stand adopted by the Trivandrum Bar Association. (June 17) The appointment of the one-man commission by the Ministry of Law is a direct reflection of the efforts Dr. Tharoor put in for the High Court Bench.

From eating 6 mangoes a day (June 9) to meeting with CM Achuthanandan in Trivandrum (June 13) Tharoor soon realized his priorities should be the unfortunate sections of society who lives on <$1.25 a day. Inaugurating his first bridge at Kazhakkuttam(June 17), initiating steps for new Passport Office facility, (July 6) and the successful inclusion of economically backward girls in Rai Foundation's scholarship (July 29) saw Tharoor stamping his arrival on all arenas of Indian public life.

It might be ironical to see his caricature as the US-bred-and-spoiled, blackberry wielding NRI Minister who connected with his Twitter constituents and not to the roti-kapada-makan folks in his hometown. 

Tharoor, like other politicians, didn't jump in front of the camera claiming responsibility for the fruitful proposals for Kerala in Rail Budget ' 09. There was just a quite tweet that he was so grateful to the Railway Miniters for showering his constituency and state with the best ever Rail Budget (July 9). And he did continue his efforts to make sure that all the proposals got implemented. Papers have moved more briskly for the Kochuveli and Nemom development plans, though the Trivandrum Central modernization project is still bonded by Fevicol somewhere. Depressing to say though, the 2010 Mamata speech was a disaster.

In a quite robust event Tharoor managed to get Trivandrum twinned with Spanish city Barcelona, the idea being co-operation for city planning and improvement. It was another joke for many eager Trivandrum enthusiasts (and Tharoor deterrents) because of previous experiences with other sister-city projects. Remains to be seen where Tharoor and Barcelona will take Trivandrum to. Fingers crossed. But unlike his predecessors Tharoor took a few useful steps forward, including evoking an official Spanish interest in Trivandrum's dream project Vizhinjam, (that now VISL is seriously looking up at a G-G model) making sure that his brain-child wouldn't be left stranded and become a point for his critics to joke about.

Tharoor's panaciousness saved Trivandrum from losing of the Mental Health Center of Excellence originally proposed in Trivandrum, to Calicut. Tharoor did vociferously fight for the city but it appeared for a while that the executionery power of the State Govt would win. State Minister for health Sreemathi teacher almost succeeded in taking the institute to her constituency but as Tharoor would tweet later, an MP can influence the Central govt but without the co-operation of the State Govt nothing gets done(Sept 11). But the one relief is that this tug-of-war didn't result in the State losing an Institute, like what happened with the IIT. (You can read more about it on Hijacked City on TrivandrumLife)


Tharoor's timely involvement in the Sree Chithra Tirunal Institute of Health Sciences and Technology expansion plans may save Trivandrum from losing yet another prestigious development to Malabar. This has been the curse of this city,  when the Congress led coalition is at the helm its Central Travancore-Cochin areas in focus and when the Reds are in control its the Malabar region which is given the thrust. Tharoor has been a welcome relief for Trivandrumites on that count and episodes like IIT, NIFT, NIALS doesn't happen too often.

It might be imperative to note the way he used the foundation in the name of his late father, the Chandran Tharoor Foundation to assist the Neyyar Dam kids to access their school safely. Airport Development, new road developments and infrastructural initiatives have picked up during the tenure of Dr. Tharoor, unlike the previous regimes where Trivandrumites heard more and saw less.

Even small things matter. Tharoor was earnest in appreciating even minor initiatives from his constituency because his Tweets carried the weight of Gold. Tharoor happily responded to a local web initiative http://www.filmydum.com/ to promote their website by his tweet. (Feb 2)

A new working platform was formed for the integrated development of the capital region, TCAN (Trivandrum Citizens Action Network), for expediting the developmental works for the city. (Mar 13).

Tharoor did hint at his hands were tied because an MP didn't have executionery powers. Quite right, the LDF Govt getting cold feet over Trivandrum becoming like  a family property for Dr. Tharoor just like Amethi for Rajiv Gandhi. Quite interesting when you think that the likes of Mr. Vijayakumar who was the fighting warrior for Trivandrum, has almost gone into a shell.

Tharoor may still regard his most important achievement as bringing the  IPL team to Kerala. Rest is history. All in all, a Greek tragedy...A great cricket enthusiast himself, Tharoor was instrumental in bringing the Rendezvous Consortia together for a Kerala team above the much stronger contenders like Ahmedabad, Nagpur and so. His works also helped in expediting the Edakochi stadium by KCA and also in the putting the skids on the similar stadium in Trivandrum as a part of National Games. Tharoor was very vocal about getting the facilities ready in Trivandrum to hold IPL matches, even as we speak now.


Just not IPL, it would be cruel to suggest that he is not trying to uphold his constituency when he has mentioned about efforts to bring in world-class events to Trivandrum, like the Hay Literary Festival (May8). These kind of events may give our local economy great boost than TRIDA building a market complex.


Some people feel that Tharoor hasn't lived upto his expectations, that they see no 'visible' changes. Well folks, what do you expect to see in 12 months? A palm-island in the Arabian Sea off Veli or a new Burj Trivandrum in the CBD or a Maglev from Attingal to Kovalam? First time in my living memory I'm seeing someone who're honest and committed to his constituency and ready to look beyond the 2.5 crores MP fund. Remember, all what our previous MPs had managed to do with that money was re-thatching a few school sheds, building public toilets and tarring a few roads to their in-law's houses... Tharoor has pretty much addressed the most needed development needs of the city instead of promising castles in the air.

Its just one year folks, and Rome was not built in a day! A small example: We are just getting to see some obvious changes to the urbanscapes of Trivandrum after the road development project was kicked off 8 years back! So how wise it is to write the post-script now?


Pretty much of the Tharoor critics seem to run and hide when someone talks about pointing out a suitable replacement especially for Trivandrum. Even hardcore critics who care about the city, gumly agree that the city can't get a better one, well at least in the next few years. 

Perhaps my political viewpoints may change over time but one thing I'm pretty much assertive about. Trivandrum may never get someone as committed as Tharoor, at least we have a person whom we can speak to. As his Congress deterrents said he wasn't accessible, but how ironic he was available at the press of a button to you and me.

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Kerala NH development: Back to bullock-cart era

This newslink tweeted by a friend has given a rather clear-cut caricature of Kerala's history of shooting ourselves in the foot.

T.V.R. Shenoy on Rediffnews

A journalist in Delhi, K T V Raghavan of the Railway Board called me over, chuckling, to his office to show me a letter from the Calicut Municipal Corporation.The city fathers were requesting the railways to refrain from building their proposed rail overpasses.


Like most other cities in India, Kozhikode had grown by leaps, so that what had once been countryside was now well within the town.


This meant the gates were often shut at railway crossings when a train was due. The Railway Board in Delhi thoughtfully decided to build two or three overpasses so that road traffic would not be inconvenienced.

The municipal corporation politely demurred. The city fathers' point was that a lot of people were making a livelihood out of the bus and car passengers left stranded until a train roared past -- those selling everything from lemon juice and coconut water to flowers and magazines.

Calicut has paid more than enough for that decision. The city, which is depended on by people of over 6 districts of Malabar still has railway lines criss-crossing the urbanscapes and suburbs on numerous points. All for lemon-juice wallas, coconut vendors and Ma-gazine boys?

The article also mentions the history behind one of the proud-standing avenues of Kerala: the M.G. Road in Cochin. How the visionary in Sahodaran Ayyappan was brought down to his knees by the idealistic morons of the times, leading to a cut down in the width of M.G. Road from 100 feet (30 meters) to 70 feet (21 meters). Now the authorities are contemplating the Metro, BRTS et al on the avenue but the shortfall of that badly needed extra meters dwindle all plans.

The rise of NH Bypass is Cochin is a classic example. The spacious road is going to replace the MG Road as the state's major commercial avenue in a few years time. Space crunch has really started to take toll on the MG Road, and the NH Bypass provides answer to all the problems faced by the former. The reason: Bypass Road has enough width to accommodate an 8 lane carriageway, service roads and a median wide enough to think of the skyway or whatever they're thinking about.

The article points a finger at the incredible imprudence of our leaders and organizations and inability to learn from old mistakes, the saddest thing that they keep on committing the same old mistakes time and again. The suicidal proposal to curb the National Highway development from the initial 60 meters to 45 meters and lastly to 30 meters is an example.

The argument is that the the thousands of small-scale businesses and residences along the highway would have to be displaced throwing a question mark over their future. T.V.R. Shenoy rightly points out to the humane angle of the argument but if the shoe won't fit, fixing the foot is the solution?

Here the matter is simple. The Govt, nor the opposition wants to take on one of the biggest unions of our state: the Trader's Union (Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi). The state will suffer, but who cares? It's the vote-bank that matters folks!

I have nothing more to say about this ridiculous decision by the all-party-honchos to arrest our state's progress. The article below pretty much sums up why those few extra meters matter.

Roads to nowhere from Trivandrum Rising. Ajay Prasad explains the heart of the matter in consultation with a specialist in Highway Construction. I quote, with thanks:

"Within 30 m, one can only think of 4-lanes without service lanes. This necessitates 24 m of Right of Way (RoW) but does not include such critical things as a utility corridor (necessary to prevent the road being dug up every week or so) or the gradient needed to correct dangerous bends. Once this is taken into account, we need at least 32 m.


Once the essential service roads are brought in, the minimum RoW needed goes up to about 45 m. (This was the minimum figure agreed as an exception only for Kerala).


Finally, wherever grade separators - flyovers or underpasses - are needed, the minimum RoW width goes up to 52 m."


With 30 m RoW only, we will be left with no service roads, no utility corridor, no drains - in short, poor roads. Forget widening to 6-lanes!


And this is not rocket science. The width is calculated in very simple terms. For example,


RoW = Carriageway width + median width + shoulder width + drain width"

Kerala is dreaming tall about Techparks, container terminals, International Airports and all sort of hi-fi things by forgetting the most basic of the infrastructure: the roads. I doubt if we are heading towards becoming the first space-age state in the world where aam citizens use flying saucers and rocket ships for town-to-town transit and even to go to the local fish market. Or else we all should get the technology behind the Iron Man thing...go whoosh, and you're there!

The Govt was seriously looking at Cruise ships (!!) between Trivandrum, Cochin and Calicut; my plea is to implement them as soon as possible. Arabian Sea may be last hope for many of us, and it may appear a terrible cliche if you imagine yourself on our 30m wide NH 47 a few years from now, catch ma drift? :P

Because if this is the road we are going to take, then we'd better stop dreaming high. For, it's not us that build our roads, but its our roads that build our nation.

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IPL-Gate: Pun unintended

[Statutory Warning: Some names and associated statements may create severe indigestion. Have some Gaviscon ready if you have]

The dust has settled on the MEA innings of Dr. Tharoor. And as a politically inevitable response, we're going to see the vacuuming of the the dust, dung and dirt from this IPL dinghy which effectively ran-out the minister. But some quarters have brought in the much needed fun-side to the fiasco by letting the world know what they felt about this all. Who else do you think? :P

Lalu Prasad Yadav is literally 'aghast' by the corruption he finds in IPL. He wants the Govt to take over BCCI and IPL, annex it into the Sports Ministry and perform an anointment.  I can foresee which portfolio Lalu will be interested in, if he gets in next time. But Sir, we're impressed by your honest attempt to sanctify our system. C'mon let's commence from Patna. Cattle-fooder for instance?

btw, Mulayam Singh Yadav is also reportedly 'shocked' and 'stunned' into submission by the rampant 'favouritism', 'money laundering' and 'unlawful activities' in IPL. According to the UP Supremo 'Cricket is a foreign game, it ought to be banned in India and Govt should promote desi games instead.'  Seriously, I'd like to know was this fellow is smoking.

"Yeh IPL kya hai, kya haaai yeh IPL" (What is IPL?), explains Hon. Minister Vayalar Ravi. Listen.

"IPL is a glorified gambling with black money. The Govt must look into it to see who is behind all this. Who are these people, where does the money come from? It is a matter of concern."

Moment of Eureka from Mr. Vayalar Archemedes Ravi! But why wasn't there no concern about all this before? Its not as if this IPL had suddenly mushroomed in the last summer rain. It took 3 years, and ultimately cost India a Minister, to open the can of worms that is IPL. I really hope something productive comes out of all this mess. Tharoor mustn't be made a scapegoat for nothing, especially when the High Court rejected a demand for a probe and the IT Dept has cleared him off any gain via this Kochi deal.

The third edition of the IPL is currently underway and in just 3 years its think-tank Lalit Modi has grown from a null-factor to a money spinner, ie in virtually no time. His growth chart, which looked like a rocket trajectory is all set to come crashing down like the WTCs of 9/11(yes, promising to bring down a few surrounding him as well). Someone who is not afraid to take on even the nation's Home Minister, someone whose career credits speaks for himself. Highlights:

The Telegraph

According to documents in possession of The Sunday Telegraph, Lalit Modi was convicted by a United States court in 1985 after pleading guilty to charges of possessing cocaine, false imprisonment and assault.

He was put on five years' probation.

From a school drop out, to a US University student acquiring a criminal record in drug-dealing and kidnapping, carrying on to become the all-in-all of Cricket India, Lalit Modi has it all in himself to make it to a Union Cabinet. What more could BJP ask for? He terminated UPA's poster boy, tainted the Govt and exhibits remarkable ability in multiplying financial assets in geometrical proportions. Oh, I almost missed out on the bollywood-ish traits. Look who is on the ramp, arms all over the former Miss Universe!

image courtesy ibnlive.com

No surprise IPL has openly exhibited its liking for blondes, brunettes and the femmes of especially (and exclusively) the 'white' variety. Like the two black cheerleaders who learned it the hard way, as did Ms. Gabriella Demitriades, neither IPL nor Modi play by the rules of decency, transparency or dignity.

He always has a few tricks up his sleeve as well...like that cock-n-bull tale on television about his Twitter account being hacked and 'some material' being deleted. What material dude, we've not lost our marbles yet hey...

Nevertheless, his business model impressed even the media-gods of our times!  Look at Pronnoy Roy showering the crook with praises when his New Delhi Television heralded him as the Businessperson of the Year 2008.



The Ministry of Finance is going to probe into all sources of IPL funding. (Newslink) Mr. Modi way well take a good few of the team owners, proxys and well-wishers to his grave. The high-flier, I guess, would be hurt pretty badly by the incessant fall from such great heights. Gravity is a cosmic phenomenon, so is Newton's III Law.

Let's wait for the real names behind all these IPL franchisee to come out. Already head-honcho Modi is doing some explaining about his blood relatives and buddies among the owner's list of some franchisee. Something which has been given tax rebates in hundreds of crores may well turn out to be a 'family owned enterprise' altogether. Waiting to watch how many roads actually lead to Pope in Rome.

Down far South, and a li'l bit to the West, some of the local leaders have expressed their 'sadness' over Tharoor ouster. Ramesh Chennithala's feeble voice was the first to be heard AFTER everything was over. He feels 'Tharoor should have been more careful' and that it shows 'how committed Highcommand is about ethics in public life.'  Newsreport

A big rofl! Ethics in Indian Politics?? First time I'm hearing of such a substance existing, I sure hope this isn't the Dark Matter those space guys are searching for. I presume this Ethics roll is handed over to all the members elected from all Assembly & Parliament constituencies, Mr. Chennithala?

To crown it all here comes a Kerala channel with a 'Vision' which spread the nitrous oxide like wildfire... Someone created a fake Twitter account of the IPL lady 'Sunanda Pushkar' (which has now been erased) quoting that she was 'very hurt by the ongoing allegations'. Our glorious channel guys actually jumped in and made this fake tweet their 'Breaking News' by actually quoting the fakie!!

Seriously mates, who gave you your certificates? Any novice will pass that account as a fake, clearly indicated by the profile picture of the run-of-the-mill media shot of the lady and a multitude of other indicators.

Guys, please. This is enough. This will rank up there, among the now famous hot-dog crack-up of the listless commie paper and the persistent spoofs of Kerala's most circulated newspaper (gulp). Pity. 

As for the IPL-gate and the Pandora's box, open sesame!

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