Slices of Kerala Life

For city folks, the mention of Onam would conjure images of ready made kits that range from payasam kits to ready to eat onam fare! Unlike in the past, no body has the time nor the patience to begin the preparations from ‘atham’, which marks the beginning of onam festivities.  For many, Onam is a day for a well [...]

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Malayalees often face the predicament of how to address people in a social circle. Though the changing life styles have brought in a deluge of anglicized terms like ‘uncle’ and ‘aunty’ into the list of terminologies of an average Keralite, it has resulted in more disadvantages than advantages.
Many a time, the blatant overuse of these [...]

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Kochi by playing host to the Volvo Ocean Race 2008 has joined the celebrity league of a selected few countries. The Volvo race is the world’s most prestigious offshore round the world yacht race, and is touted as the most challenging team-sporting event in the genre of ocean race  and Kochi is the only port [...]

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Though industry watchers and businessmen might label hartals as anti-productive, the startling fact is that the majority of Keralites, comprising of the salaried class and students look forward to hartals eagerly.
This incident that took place on the latest hartal day in the cultural capital of Kerala, Trichur drives home this point with élan. Normally, most [...]

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Though Kerala does not flaunt any significant position in the fashion map of the country, the younger generation of this tiny state is fast catching up with the changing trends of fashion. The best part is that these style statements transcend the barriers of money and status.
You can see young men sporting goggles, stone wash [...]

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By now, the general public in the “God’s own country”, Kerala would have lost count of the hartals and strikes that have eaten into their normal working days, which throws their normal life out of gear. Even while writing this, some trade unions have given the clarion call of yet another strike is Kerala, which [...]

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The real estate deals in Kerala are monopolized by a powerful land mafia, which operates with the support of politicians and bureaucrats, who would bend the rules to suit their needs. Customers find it difficult to finalize the property deals themselves as brokers try to scuttle the deals to drive them into their dragnet. A [...]

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Though this catchphrase would remind you of the title of a famous paperback, in real life too it can be a useful yardstick in measuring the way the male and female genres think!
Try asking your wife sitting at the rear of the car for directions and she would almost always guide you by dropping hints [...]

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Kerala has the dubious reputation of having the poorest civic sense rating in spite of being one of the most progressive and literate societies. Though most of the families live in plush apartments and palatial houses in well kept interiors, they forget the basics of cleanliness once they step out on to the roads. You [...]

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This is an interesting story that happened around ten years ago, when Kerala villages retained a distinct rustic charm unlike today when there is not much difference between the rural and urban life styles.
We went to a remote village of Pallasana in Palghat district on the invitation of a family friend in connection with the [...]

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