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.

P T USHA SLAMS NEGATIVE MINDSET OF ATHLETES IN INDIA

Life is a great teacher. There is a way out of each and every crisis. We have to seek and find our own answers.  However there are people who refuse to learn from failure.  They blame all but themselves for the mess they alone are responsible. We can make a difference when we go beyond our strengths and outside our comfort zones. Though I am focusing on sports and sports-persons what is deliberated here applies to all spheres of life. 

I am an avid reader of the newspapers ‘The Hindu’ and ‘The Times of India’. I am quoting from them with a bit of my own thoughts.

P T Usha in ‘The Times of India’, 6^th July 2013 deliberates on why India has not produced a world class athlete in track and field events after she had called it a day.

“Today’s athletes stop at the first sign of pain”

Athletics is not easy. It is very tough on the body when you put in 100 percent effort.  Nowadays the athletes stop when they have the first sign of pain, whereas I used to continue training because I was trained to take the load. I was also mentally determined to always win. If our athletes have to win at the top level, we have to build them with a strong mindset right from when they are young.

“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains however impossible, must be the truth.” Sherlock Holmes

The truth is that Indians in general are averse to stretch that extra length and they end up non achievers whatever their pursuits are. It does not preclude the strides Indians have made in the world. But we tend to remain within our comfort zones shutting our eyes to the strenuous demands a real winner would have to cope up with. The lethargy has made us the second best every where.

Notice the approach elsewhere.

The Hindu, 6^th July 2013

Wimbledon Men’s Semi Final July 5 2013

Between Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin Del Porto

At 4 hours 44 minutes the match – that had more twists and turns than a giant cork screw - was the longest Semi Final in Wimbledon history. It was probably, as more than one expert commentator gushed, one of the finest in recent history of the game.

Together, the statistics showed that the match did not go along predicted lines. More importantly, they showed that both players were forced to play beyond their strengths and outside their comfort zones.

It was this more than anything else that made this wonderful match truly special and extra ordinary.

Believer is the achiever.  If you believe you can accomplish the goal you will achieve it.

‘The Hindu” wrote when Djokovic had lost early in his career to Federer in an epic battle.

Djokovic will go home knowing that Federer will be thinking of him, and while disappointed, the Serb should remember that defeat is a great teacher, an idea articulated beautifully in an old Michael Jordan advertisement.

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career; I’ve lost almost 300 games; 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot, and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again. That is why I succeed.”

Any one can be a good winner. The sign of a great man is how you handle defeat.

Michael Jordan incidentally had not been selected to play for his School’s Basketball team when he was young.

The message is clear. It captures beautifully how we can win wherever we are.

When you have serenity within you while under tremendous stress, when you have a reserve supply of confidence when everything seems lost you will have clarity – clarity in the mind - 
amid-st the inferno. You are able to make winning decisions. The quality makes you unique, makes you a winner and makes you a champion. 

Mind you, champions are a rare breed.

FRIENDS HAVE TO BE NURTURED FOR YEARS

Shoumojit Banerjee, correspondent of'  ' The Hindu '  reports from Mumbai. ( ' The Hindu ' of 25.06.2013)

Mr.Uddhav Thackeray, President, Shiv Sena wrote in Saamana , "Allies do not grow on trees. Friends have to be nurtured for years with trust and service. They are not like seasonal crops which can be grown with water and fertilizers and then be plucked for use."

Mr. Thackeray has stated a wonderful principle that is often ignored by most of us. No one can survive in the world without friends. Unfortunately people think that their riches will be enough to see them through their travails. The wise follows the principle exhorted  and lead successful lives.

C. A. Chacko  who had struggled  through the horrors of  Second World War while he was at Singapore had found solace from the following quotation. (Author unknown)

" Riches take wings
  Comfort vanish
  Hope withers away
  But love stays with us "

REMORSELESS KILLER ON THE PROWL

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Shajan spoke to me today. He said that Jolly is fighting her best to live. She is in the Hospital. She cannot swallow food in the form of solids or liquids. She throws up.  Doctors have prescribed nasal feeding to stabilize her. 

Jolly suffers from cancer.

We had visited her the previous Wednesday. She was on morphine. We could see that she was enduring great pain. We had felt that she could not go on for long. We did feel that death was waiting in front of her to snatch her away.   The pity of it was that her doctors did not prepare the family for the inevitable that was very close. They were fed with false hopes.

It has been three years since the family took cancer head on. Jolly had to undergo mastectomy. Radiation and Chemotherapy followed. It was painful. It was expensive. Shajan was employed. Jolly was a homemaker. They have two children, a boy and a girl. The girl was eighteen  when cancer had gate  crashed into their peaceful world. The boy was only a child at that time. The family was never rich.

Though Jolly showed signs of recovery there was a relapse. The cancer started to make inroads into her body. Her condition at the moment is quite unstable. She cannot lie on her bed. She cannot sleep. She cannot sit. She cannot walk. She cannot stand as her legs are swollen.  She cannot speak.

Shajan asked me to pray for Jolly. He said his daughter who is twenty one  has already lived the life of a forty year old. The last three years were cruel to her. She had to balance her life with different chores. She had to attend  college. She had to write her exams. She had to do the cooking at home. She had to attend to her mother. She had to spend a good part of the three years in the hospital as Jolly had to be admitted  there many times.

Shajan tells me that his son had cried his heart out when he saw his mother at the hospital with the nasal tube. A child takes time to assimilate. 

Shajan was weeping when he was on the phone. He recalled what he had been through his whole life. I needed no reminder as I knew it all. He said it was only in the year 2001 he was able to find a good job. It had been horrible till then.  He says he had started to live a good life from that year only. The good fortune did not last even for a decade.

Shajan does not know what to do. Despite all that he has done with the limited resources he could marshal he knows Jolly’s condition is critical.

Cancer is deadly. It destroys the person. It destroys the family. Cancer, the remorseless killer on the prowl, is the worst enemy of mankind.

Prayer alone can bring solace to the lives of Shajan, Jolly and their children. They seek the prayers of the whole world for the survival and well being of Jolly.

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I wrote this yesterday, the 11th of June,2013.

I woke up this morning with dark forebodings. It is 12th June,2013.

Jolly passed away at 7.10 AM today. It is tragic for the family. The loss is irreplaceable. Shajan has lost his wife and the children their dear mother.

Jolly was a good soul. True to her name she had always been jovial. She had an indomitable spirit.