So, window or aisle, mates?

If politics is more about numbers, then Kerala has impressed itself in the Race to New Delhi, 2009.

71.45% in 2004 to 73.33% yesterday, plainly translates to 4.12 lakh more citizens casting their votes than in 2004.

Here are the exact numbers, constituency-wise, for those interested.

From an impressive 81% in Kannur to an average 66% in Thiruvananthapuram, we've had our say about the incumbent government, about inflation, terrorism, development, caste, creed and so, to ridiculously alien subjects like Palestine, Israel and the likes...

How the common Keralaite will be affected if the Jews screw up Hamas is another question, but if some political party believes that finding alien life in Mars is going to influence our day-to-day life, then unfortunately there are sections of populace who'll nod to it.

While the spotlight shifts to the states in the next phases, the candidates, electoral and analysts have restarted their calculations based on the final figures available. Now how many times have they been proved completely wrong? Still, we do it to keep ourselves satiated.

Personally for me, the blues of being a non-resident Keralaite, being incapacitated to participate directly in the democratic process of my country for the first time in life, has been pretty melanchelous, I must say.

Why the NRIs, in spite of being a decisive vertebra of the economic nervous system, are debarred from having our say is as contemptible as it is iniquitous. Why couldn't the largest democracy of the world take a leaf out of its western counterparts, where being 18+ and holding a valid passport are good enough requirements to vote for your nation.

So until May 16, it is going to be a long and largely insomniac nights for the candidates and also to a good section of the public, who've got ample time to speculate about what lies inside them machines...

Lets wait, for the full monty..

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Campaign for change

Who told one man cant make the difference?

Who told Politics is not for the ones with academic radiance?



Think again! Trivandrum Lok Sabha constituency is anchoring the most eligible and magnetic of the contestants for the 543 comfy-seats in New Delhi! Dr. Shashi Tharoor. The man we believe could make the difference...

Traditionally, with rare exceptions, Trivandrum has often been voodooed to host a herd of illiterate, apocryphal, nugatory and phony vote-hunters who never used their vocal cords for the cause of the city. Neither did they have a grasp of what this coastal-capital town held in promise, nor did they attempt to get the priorities of the city right.

Reading through the vision Dr. Tharoor has outlined for Trivandrum, one could easily notice the difference between an adulterated and hollow election manifesto and Dr. Tharoor's plausible concepts of nurturing the city into a better one. WOW, this man needs to be given the chance; afterall haven't we enough faux pas? From the womaniser Nadar to the Charles-in-oblivion and lately the buttoned up Rambo Pannyan, this place deserves better, don't you think so?

Trivandrum has got the spotlight on it with Dr. Tharoor's candidature, the type of person any constituency would be proud to own. His professional qualifications, stints at top international offices, prolific writing & and charismatic figure which commands respect is enough to turn the heat on the opponents.

Not being the Devil's advocate here, but how he will be able to wade his route through the sludgy waters of caste, double-cross, money and all evil you could imagine is an uncomfortable question, especially in the prevailing volcanic political environment in the constituency.

My bet is on the apolitical middle class in the urban centers and on the remarkable ability of the educated youth of the city, who have exhibited clear signs of using their brain cells to choose. These new voters could just be the difference!



Come April 16th, the 11 lakh electoral in Trivandrum have the option of choosing the man who could turn the tables for their city. After exactly a month we will know for sure where Tharoor belongs to and how.

Are you ready for the change, Trivandrum?

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The Women Power?

The customary practices of mud-slinging, double-crossing and foul-mouthing amalgamated with the selection of dummkopfs for the biggest democratic exercise in the world is at the anticlimax.

In about a weeks time we will know for certain whom to look out for around our shelters, with that once-in-five-year Colgate smile and exhibition of oh-hello-there-my-dear-old-friend kind of intimacy.

Congress Candidates for 16 constituencies Courtesy: Keralakaumudi

2. 16 crore Keralites are obligated to dispatch 20 cast-offs to fill up the 543 seats in that colossal oriental building in New Delhi. Our two bigbodies, the dynamic and fragmented Congress and the bullheaded Commie blocs have drawn up the list of the most-eligible, with BJP still waiting for that Godot to open their account. Leave aside the age-old faces and the farcical candidatures, the list is all too lame with the glaring dearth of female candidates.


Our political parties appear astutely reluctant to hand the lead over to the fairer sex for some mysterious reasons. Apart from K.R. Gouriamma, there hasn't been a single femme good enough to hold the reins. And the ones who are remembered over time, like Padmaja and Shobhana George made waves for wrong reasons.

Its very strange that Kerala, with its high female literacy, advanced social indices and women-oriented family practices fail to produce women leaders of mass. Kerala, is more often equated to the Western world in relation to social development but pales in comparison when it comes to empowerment of women at the Executive and Legislative levels. It is unexplainable because ladies with the power of command has propped up even in highly unlikely states like Uttar Pradesh.

Arguing a case for the 'weaker' sex, CPI(M) has pitted the young and energetic Sindhu Joy opposite veteran K. V. Thomas in Ernakulam. The poignant SFI Vice President did give Oomen Chandy a run for his money in his own den in the previous Assembly race, and is an encouraging prospect in the long run.

The other lady-in-red in the ranks is Sathi Devi in Vadakara, but she is as non-inspiring as our Health Minister Smt. PK. Sreemathi Teacher.

Congress, as usual has been nothing short of an embarrassment to the womenfolks in Kerala. The ongoing juggling with the Kasargode seat underlines the party's indifference and dishonest attitude towards allowing the fairer sex to take over.

For any society to move forward the hands of women must be stronger. With the fairer sex shunted away from the major highways of power, it seriously handicaps the nations ability to reinforce the basics. Read it together with the unique issues Kerala faces within itself, we render ourselves responsible for leaving our women power unharnessed behind the levees.

What a waste of potential!

Check history, we can see that women has been able to penetrate more easily into the underbellies of our society. Certainly they exhibit more compassion and delicacy when dealing with issues at the foundational level, say, the alcoholism and related related domestic violence at the lower strata of our society.

If we can find a lady who is motivated by one particular issue, then we would most often than not come to a solution to that problem. Arguably because women tend to be driven by principles whereas menfolks may just be reaching out for the pleasure of power.

And hopefully a woman at the helm or in high ranks of Legislature would prompt the Kerala male to learn the art of respecting a female counterpart, one thing our guys need some iron-fisted lessons on.


I'm unaware if any political party has taken up the Women's Reservation Bill as an issue in their agenda. Its been a big and shameful farce when it came up in the house last time. Forget the bill, if our party think-tanks could be convinced to bring in more Sindhu Joys and Shanimols to the frame... not as a ritual without any intrinsic purpose, but as an honest attempt to kick start a much needed change.

Oh, in the meantime we don't want more Jayalalitas, please. One is doing enough and more damage. :)

PS: The candidature of Neelalohitadasan Nadar is an insult not only to the entire Indian womanhood but also to the voters in Trivandrum constituency who have the luxury of pressing the button for perhaps the most charismatic and worthy of candidates, Dr. Shashi Tharoor.

What a refreshing change after decades of picking the best among duds!

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Cul-de-sac

This could probably appear incogitable to many, but the big, bright Arabian dreams are slowly, but surely heading towards the butt end for Keralites.

Yes, the Great Depression: reloaded.




At first we thought it was curious, laughing at the big bossy western capitalist giants gasping for breath, whilst we took pride in our niche across the blue, where our dreams were afloat on the fathoms of black gold. But the ripple effects from the Wall Street Crash of September 2008 has caught up with the Middle East, taking the Kerala expatriates off guard.

As of date, in excess of 2.6 million Keralites live or work abroad, around 90% in the Middle East. The Emirates account for nearly 8 lakhs of the Kerala workforce, the Dubai magnet attracting the majority. It appeared for a while that nothing could hinder Dubai's unprecedented growth to shape up into a new-world financial centre, but the hard-hitting reality has rocked the foundations of the wannabe star-wars city.



For decades Kerala has survived by producing people and exporting them. This policy reaped dividends throughout, allowing our households, society and politicians to be cozy under the shade of the Gulf. The construction sector took advantage of the expats' over-indulgence with real estate, and apartment culture spread out to even the remotest of towns. Keralites took pride in their 'investments' and the impressive skylines exhibiting the pomp and glory of the upbeat Kerala economy (what??)

As a result of this the critical economical and related social issues were swept under the carpet and were never dealt with seriousness. Whatever trickle of investments coming into the state were ruined, diverted or stalled by the inefficient bureaucrats, militant trade unions, apathetic politicians and the blood-thirsty media.

Kerala is at last going to pay for all this...

As many as 2-5 lakh Keralaites have booked their one-way ticket back home staring at a bleak and frightening future. The figure could touch a staggering 1 million by the break of next year, with the worldwide crisis not hoped to be resolved for the next couple of years. Thats another significant number to add on to the 4.1 million job seekers we have now.

Add on to it the thousands who will be losing their livelihood by the eminent collapse of the already dwindling state construction sector... Also the traditional industries and tourism sectors are forecasting rough weather ahead, number of job losses standing at 1.5 lakhs, for a start.

Cochin waterfront skyline

Also count in the professionals in Bangalore, Hyderabad and other tech-zones who are staring at the recession barrel.

Not to mention the dip in the salaries and perks churned out to the privately employed personnel inside the state, including the 30 thousand odd jobs in our IT Parks.

The NRI remittances, the lifeblood of millions of families in Kerala, have already registered shortcomings of 3 billion INR in the last quarter.

Don't the figures alarm you?

The construction sector in the state has shown negative growth for the first time in the past decade. Towering apartment blocks and expansive villas, palatial village houses, over-inflated land values, luxury cars were all byproducts of the Gulf boom. Now since the seemingly-eternal bubble has burst, the patrons of these assets are feeling the heat on their asses. The booming suburbs of Kakkanad, Aluva and Kazhakkuttam are old stories and the Gulf-dependent sector in towns like Kannur, Calicut and Thiruvalla have seen the sale figures plunge.

Kakkanad

Interestingly, the State Govt took a big blind foot forward by 'laying the stone' for a couple of IT Parks in the hitherto unheard places like Ambalappuzha and Kundara. One year back, it would have been a laudable step, but when the whole IT sector is in doldrums and the rates of big IT hubs like Bangalore are now comparable to the likes of Trivandrum and Cochin, this has led many to giggle. Especially when you think that the sensible approach would have been to create more space in the established centres.

On the other side of the coin, what little hopes are remaining on the Smart City affair to kick start soon are dashed by the recent dung-slinging between the TECOM and V.S. Achutanandan. Smart City looks to be the only major initiative having a builder against its name, since the Technopark and Technocity projects failed to attract any bidders and the private developers are on the race out of the state.

The retail and hospitality sectors in the state has also suffered severe blows with almost two dozen each Five star projects and Mall projects stalled or on hold in Trivandrum and Cochin. The recession couldn't have come at a worst time, especially for Trivandrum, since it was on its way up (after 50 years) to become a notable new generation Indian city, gaining momentum from the IT and retail revolution it was starting to witness.

Plaza Centres, a stalled mall project in Trivandrum

I believe its far too late for our administrators to bail out the state. The system is already feeling the pressure, with all those expatriates returning home. We've lost our lone lifeline, the emigration, and now its time to grow the turnips in our own garden.

We've hitchhiked all our life, and we are all at sea when left alone at the wheels.

Perhaps, this could be the lesson Kerala needed badly.

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Turning the void page

A few hours down and its curtains 2008!

Another year gone in our life, and yet another blank unsigned check for our evergreen paradise state, as usual.

I thought it would be prudent to have a rewind at what I had scribbled this time last year about how I felt Kerala had done in 2007, and curiously enough this is what I wrote:

Kochi Metro, Vizhinjam Terminal, Technocity, Kannur Airport all still where they started.

Smart City foundation stone laid.(Ah at last after 3 years)

A happening year!
December 2007 archive
No Man's Land

And have moved another inch forward in any of the above projects? You guessed it right...

Our planners are still deeply embedded in thoughts as to how to implement the Cochin Metro Rail proposal. The city keeps swelling, clogging the stenosed vessels in its system and there is still no light at the end of this year for this aspiring metropolis. Vizhinjam seemed to be raising the adrenaline for the poignant development aspirers, but its all back to square one for the landmark port project. Technocity has run into the 'recession' waters and its almost sure that the ground wont break at Pallipuram and locales this year. Kannur Airport? Huh, you must be joking...

And oh, the sheikhs who left after the 'stone laying' for Smart City is yet to return, after 365 days...

Same story with the Highway and Rail development, MEMU Services, IT development, Trivandrum Road Development works and all others. On a positive note, nevertheless, Trivandrum Airport Terminal, Vallarpadam Port and a couple of educational institution projects have made appreciable progress...

The Communist Govt will soon be observing its 3rd year in office, and the only good thing they've done last year was to crack down on some petty fraudsters and demo-Gods like Sabarinath & Santhosh Madhavan. The old VS-Pinarayi mudslinging ceased for good, and Karunakaran's barefaced return to his so-called tharavadu was the biggest joke of the year.

Our much hyped up CM Mr. V.S exhibited remarkable mellowness to keep his mouth shut most times, but he opened it to his doom in those infamous 'dog remarks' and paid the price for the loose talk.

Politics aside, there still seems no way out for Kerala to get out of the mess. 2009 is going to be the most unwelcome year in the past 100 years as the global money machines and job factories are slowly grinding to a halt. Kerala has started to feel the ripple effects and our leaders seems to be devoid of the spinal and cerebral systems to see whats coming...

Sometimes I wish we were all living inside the Matrix... Too easy no?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

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I'm Green today!

"Green" appears to have become the most alluring term in our life at present.

There is a kind of frenzy towards turning everything into 'green', be it the house you live in or the office you work or the car you drive or even the food you eat...everything is turning green...er, not literally.

"Going green" or simply, changing to a more environmentally friendly way has become an obligatory response from a jittery world to the most alarming and realistic science fiction of our times: the global warming.

When the West as well as the affluent Asian economies are arming themselves well for this potentially catastrophic mutation of our climate, India appeared insular to the changes happening around us. But slowly but surely things have started moving. And surprisingly Kerala has responded pretty well to the need of the hour.

Last week one of the major real estate developers in Kerala, the Skyline Foundations, launched their first green apartment complex in Trivandrum. The commendable step taken by the leading developer is expected to be adopted by the whole industry.



The planners, architects and developers aim for the sustainable design of development by encompassing the following elements:

• Use of Green, renewable or recyclable building materials.
• Maximum energy efficiency and
• Reducing the wastage of energy, water and materials during construction as well as when the building is operational.

Although this sustainable development concept is an entirely new concept in the Kerala residential arena, it is not greek to the commercial development sector. The new u/c terminal of Trivandrum International Airport has incorporated some of the green features in a modest yet elegant manner. Wipro Campus at Cochin and the TCS Trivandrum facility are the two biggies in the Corporate world to show the way.

Wipro Cochin campus

A green building will save 20-30% on energy bills and uses 50% less water when compared to contemporary buildings. So while it made perfect sense for the commercial structures to embrace green, the apartment builders were hugely reluctant to nod to the idea. There would be a 10-20% increase in costs for a green home and builders were reluctant to pass on the increased load to the customers. The advantages would not be easily digested by the buyers and model was at risk of rejection.

But initial response to the Skyline project indicated otherwise, and building green in Kerala is all set to take off!

SFS Grande, the first green apartment in Kerala

The Govt is expected to take two steps forward by formulating more stringent laws in making 'green' mandatory. Kerala has already taken vital measures in sustainable development by promoting rain water harvesting and waste management. Public awareness and education on the benefits and necessity of environmentally friendly development is essential. State and Central agencies to inspect, certify and rate the nature of development, something on the lines of LEED, should be envisaged. States like West Bengal has already enforced stricter laws making green rating mandatory.

Experts in the field are recommending tax incentives and relaxations in certain building norms for certified green buildings. Going taller is another option, leaving more spaces open & green. Highrise apartment culture has invaded even the smaller Kerala towns and now its awaiting another inevitable revolution: the 'Green' revolution...

Components of a Green building

So "taller and greener" appears to be the motto for the future. Kerala's topography, lifestyle and demographic pattern, in fact, augurs for such a style of development.

Global warming is a serious problem, and we may already be too late to stitch the rug. But the cost of doing nothing now may land us up in zero degree without even that piece of cloth.

Afterall its a virtue to practice providence.

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Moving on...

Today marks the completion of the first year of my blogging experiments..:)

So I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the friends, and foes of this blog who took time to read, appreciate, ridicule, encourage and bash my takings on the social conundrum we find ourselves in.



Looking back, I regret in not being able to dedicate more time to this space and on missing out to put my thoughts into words on many relevant issues.

At the same time I dont feel missed out in sharing the space with some of the young, spirited and talented youth in the Indian blogosphere.

Looking forward in general, its safe to say that blogs have come a long way forward in competing neck to neck with the imperious and influential media folk, and surely as an arena to see honest, simple, straightforward and power-packed observations.

So merci, madames et messieurs, and keep visiting.




Special thanks to Nikhil Narayanan for facilitating the featuring of Celluloid and behind Part I and II on Desipundit and on to Reuters India, which remains the most read post in No Man's Land upto date.

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