A round-up of a recent visit to Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala. Macro to Micro.
1/18 - Saw hardly any vehicles registered outside Kerala. In Chennai, the capital of neighbouring Tamil Nadu, vehicles from other states are common. Lesser skilled migration into TVM?
2/18 Even all pillion riders on two wheelers were wearing helmets unlike in Chennai. Did not witness breaking of traffic signals.
3/18 Pattern of migration is changing from migrating for work to the ME & circular migration to migrating for education to developed countries & permanent migration. Lower remittances in the future? The fertility rate is already very low. Thanks @Veeramani_CDS for this obs.
4/18 Locals prefer Hindi if you don’t know Malayalam.
Was surprised to see many young locals not speaking English.
In Chennai, the second language is English!
5/18 Nudging. To take plastic water bottles inside the zoo, a refundable Rupees 20 deposit is charged & a sticker was put on the bottle. Hardly saw any bottles thrown inside the park – an RCT outcome with zero cost. Cost to the government – one person’s wages and the sticker cost
6/18 To go up the lighthouse, footwear had to be removed, similar to a temple visit! No beach sand or wet floor inside the lighthouse
7/18 In a typical restaurant, veggie options are few & relegated to the end. Beef is consumed by people of all religions. Since traditionally, Kerala did not much vegetables, the main fruits of Kerala are used as vegetables to make lovely veg dishes – banana, mango, and coconut!
8/18 Some local specialties - Coconut pudding, steamed banana, fried banana, and banana chips in coconut oil & Jackfruit chips!
9/18 Most popular local drink by a big margin – tea! Very few locals prefer coffee which is traditionally considered a drink of elites.
10/18 Power of default - Serving warm water infused with herbs, is a default despite hot & humid weather. The likely reason is the historically higher prevalence of waterborne diseases, so warm water is considered safer. Hardly anyone asked for room temperature or cold water
11/18 Tickets for foreigners are 10 times that of Indians for museums etc and no family ticket option. This is common in every city.
12/18 Market clearing prices. For a 30-min ride to the Kovalam beach, the Uber auto rickshaw price was higher than a cab price. Also, for a 30-min ride inside the city, the Uber auto cost about 90-100 Rupees. The same duration ride to the Kovalam beach, it was over Rupees 500
13/18 Temples maintain their strict dress code to enter! Churches and mosques seem less rigid.
14/18 This can pass on as a church in the English countryside!
15/18 The city looked clean, the streets are narrow, but did not get stuck in traffic. The Chitra art gallery for Raja Ravi Varma paintings is a must-visit.
16/18 I visited @CdsTrivandrum. The architect Laurie Baker designed the campus and buildings such that they remain well ventilated throughout the day. It's a must-visit place. @Veeramani_CDS Thank you for the invitation
17/18 Joan Robinson was a Visiting Fellow at the Centre in the mid-seventies. She instituted an endowment to support public lectures at the Centre.
18/18 Thank you Prof @Veeramani_CDS, Prof @SsarkarSarkar, Prof Mausumi Das & Prof Vijay Bhaskar, for the lovely time!
@SsarkarSarkar
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