WORLD CLASS ROADS OF THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Thiruvananthapuram was a sleepy town with congested roads when I had visited it in 1961. There were  no autorikshaws. A few taxis were plying on the roads. Horse drawn carriages  - Judkas – were the common man’s mode of transport apart from a few buses.

Before settling down in the city in 1977 I had been visiting it off and on. The city was growing  tortuously.  The Vellayambalam – Kowadiar stretch was the only section that had a decent width.   All the other segments were narrow. Traffic moved at a snail’s pace.

It has all changed for the better now. The Vellayambalam – Kowadiar section with blooming flowers and greenery resembles roads in well developed cities abroad like Beijing, Singapore and many others.

The icing on the cake is the Vellayambalam – Sasthamangalam section. As one travels through the road, it is as if a foreign location has been transplanted here.  We never had believed such things would happen in Thiruvananthapuram during our time.

The MG Road from  Ramarao Lamp to East Fort that had been congested beyond redemption has been widened to hold six lane traffic. Traffic moves without hindrance unless held up by demonstrations or VIP visits.

The PMG- Kesavadasapuram section has undergone a transformation no one had ever thought possible.

The development of the roads is bringing an upgrade in the construction activities. The buildings that are coming up are a class apart from the buildings of yester years.

The roads in Thiruvananthapuram are now world class and they are throwing a challenge to the city to transform to world class standards.  

I LOVED MALAYALAM YET I WAS FORCED TO RUN AWAY FROM THE LANGUAGE

I LOVED MALAYALAM YET I RAN AWAY FROM THE LANGUAGE

Malayalam is my mother tongue. It is a rich language. It is the language of Kerala.

Malayalam was the medium of instruction while I was in the School. I was able to imbibe everything taught in the School. It was a Government High School located in the heart of Munnar much before its tourism potential came into the focus of the whole world.

Unfortunately many of our teachers had never wanted to stay and work at Munnar. The moment they were posted to Munnar they were moving heaven and earth to obtain a transfer. They would go on leave for weeks together to stay away from Munnar. Naturally the School remained at the bottom every year when the results of the SSLC examination came out.  No one bothered. In the year 1965 when I had written the SSLC examination less than thirty students had come out successful from a total of four hundred and fifty students who had sat for it. Five students alone had managed to secure a First Class that was sixty percent or above out of a total of six hundred marks.   My score – 407/600- was the second in the School.  The topper was a Tamil medium student with marks at 413/600. He became the topper through the high percentage of marks he had scored for Tamil language. I could score only 51/100 for Malayalam and the score had relegated me to the second position despite good scores in all the other subjects.

Those days the examiners were misers when they were valuing the Malayalam answer papers. They refused to award marks to students however well they had performed in the examination.

SSLC was the first hurdle in the academic life of a student.  The next was Pre-degree. It meant I had to leave home and join a College far away. The enquiries on the trend followed by the teachers who were valuing the Malayalam answer papers in the examinations conducted by the University revealed that those who were opting for Malayalam as the Second Language were ruing their decision as the percentage of pass in Malayalam was very low in the University examinations. Further those who were managing a pass were coming out with very low marks. Meanwhile those who were taking up Hindi, French or Syriac were scoring very high marks ensuring a bright future for them.

What could I do? If I did not obtain good marks in the Pre-degree examination it would ruin the scope for higher education. I was forced to run away from Malayalam though I had loved the language very much. I took up Hindi.

TRAINS AT ANAYARA OVER BRIDGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

There is an over bridge under construction over the railway line at Anayara near Pettah,, Trivandrum, Kerala, India. It is nearing completion. The people at Anayara have been suffering due to the forced dislocation in their movements. As the market is at Pettah they have no option but to cross the double line to make their purchases of daily necessities from the market. Anayara has a heavy concentration of the the middle class and lower middle class. The rich are few here. People cross the double line with fear in their minds all the time. I had to go to the market on Monday the 14th of October 2013 around 6.00 pm. After ensuring that there were no trains I had crossed over. Once the purchases were over I was returning. It was close to 7.00 PM. As I  had approached I saw a train proceeding up north blaring its horn. Once I reached the track I looked at both directions. There were no trains. There were three of us. One was an elderly lady. We crossed the first track from the Pettah side. We were crossing the second track. As we looked to our left we found to our consternation a train silently turning the curve and approaching fast down south. Though struck with fear we ran for our lives. Just as we had climbed over the mount of earth dumped on the path after the track we saw the train passing by. The question is why the train was coming silently without blaring the horn. As the line has been electrified trains run silently. People have no option but to cross the track to meet their needs as the traffic has been closed for almost two years. The work on the over bridge has been going on all these days. There has been several dead lines, the latest being October 2013. But to a lay man like me it is nowhere near completion. Meanwhile common people like me have to cross the track all the time ransoming their lives each time. The trains move merrily but silently. It is a pity people's lives are  left to the vagaries of trains from nowhere hitting  or killing them. Indian Railways have a lot to learn.

VIOLENT SPIN ON THE HIGHWAY

The black sedan was cruising sedately. No one noticed it. It was just one among the large number of vehicles  on   M C Road, the State Highway. Onlookers were aghast when it gathered momentum. The thunder was scary.  People rushed in from all corners. They were horrified to find two badly shaken men and an unconscious woman in the vehicle. The woman was bleeding profusely. It was apparent that there had been  a vicious head injury.

Alice was a wonderful woman. She was in the college when I had first met her. There was a bus stop in front of my office. She would drop in and chat as she waited for the arrival of her bus. She had never disturbed me while I had been busy. She was a lively girl and what had stood out was her uninhibited laughter. She drifted like a butterfly. She had spread good cheer all around.

Marriage with Thankachan took her to Abu Dhabi. She was content to be a home maker. It was a happy family. The husband and the wife raised their two children – a son and a daughter – inculcating family values in them. The children did not let go the opportunities that came their way. They underwent courses in engineering and business management in premier institutes. As they were well qualified placements came in search of them.

Life in Abu Dhabi came to a conclusion when Thankachan superannuated. They built a house at Thiruvananthapuram for their stay in India. It was a beautiful house. It was self contained. Exquisite landscaping made it glamorous. Life in India was pleasant just as it had been at Abu Dhabi.

Disaster struck the happy family in a most bizarre mode.  There was the funeral of a dear one at Kottayam on 1^st November 2012. Though Thankachan had planned to take the train to attend the funeral Alice wanted to travel by their car –  Maruti SX4 – so that they could visit a few of their relatives and offer prayers in the Church at Parumala. The engagement of their daughter had been set for 12^th November at Thiruvananthapuram. Alice insisted that they take their driver along so that Thankachan would not be taxed.

They had set out from their home at 6 AM on 1^st November 2012. The driver drove at moderate speed. When they reached Kalayapuram near Kottarakkara, the driver suddenly accelerated to overtake a stationary school bus that was taking in students.  It went awry.  The car dashed against  the rear of the bus on the right. The collision had sent the car to several spins on the road. It was a frightening sight. The bystanders could do nothing. They had  felt that no one would come out alive.  As the driver and Thankachan  in the front seats had worn the seat belts and as the vehicle had air bags in  front they came out of the mishap unhurt.  Wearing of seat belts by passengers in the front seats of all cars in Kerala is mandatory. However it is not mandatory for passengers in the rear. Poor Alice who was sitting in the rear had not worn the seat belt as the law did not require it. The violent spin threw her repeatedly against the metal and the glass on her left. She was badly injured. There was blood.  Her head and her face wore the brunt of the spin. 

She was brought comatose to KIMS Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram  at once in an ambulance.  Though the Doctors had tried their best to resuscitate her she had succumbed to the injuries.  Thankachan was dumbfounded. He had hoped and believed that nothing untoward would happen to Alice while he had held her firm on the ride in the ambulance. One moment life was full of happiness. Tragedy had struck him mercilessly. Alice was laid to rest in the orthodox church’s cemetery at Pattoor on 3^rd November 2012.

The unexpected demise of Alice was a jolt to all who knew her. They could not believe that Alice would never come with her trademark smile to their lives again.

Accidents occur without any notice. Freak accidents occur rarely. A moment is enough to turn happiness to deep sorrow, agony,anguish and tragedy. Perhaps the tragedy could have been averted.if Alice had worn the seat belt while she had been traveling.

Citizens  are the invaluable assets of an emerging economy. Our supplication is that the tragic death of Alice opens the eyes of  lawmakers in Kerala   to mandate wearing of seat belts compulsory for all passengers in all vehicles in the state so that precious lives will not  needlessly be snuffed in future.