Back from God's own country

Last weekend me and my friend set on journey to Kerala to attend a friend’s marriage. This journey took us to Cochin and Thrissur. The journey was a bouquet of mixed feelings.

Indian Airlines – This was my first domestic travel by Indian Airlines..errr Air India. I won’t say I was overjoyed by their hospitality but wasn’t disappointed either. For a Govt. run airlines they are pretty good. On the way to Cochin from Chennai the boarding gate was abruptly changed. On the way back there was no one in the check-in counter at Cochin airport, well past the scheduled time. The airhostess forgot to give me my snacks tray. When I tersely reminded she apologized several times and offered me some extra orange juice as well, to sweeten the deal. When I did not eat most of the food she asked me if I would like anything else. Finally while deplaning she said thanks and apologized again. I was pleasantly surprised by the hospitality. I would dare say that if Air India is privatized, in no time it will become the best airlines in India, may be one of the best globally. There is a tremendous amount of potential to be unlocked. It saddens me to see it’s being wasted at the whim of the government. Last but not the least the much maligned aunty airhostesses were really very nice and deserve better recognition. Also it’s not all aunties, there were a couple of extremely attractive ladies too. I am looking forward to my next trip by Air India.

Kochi Airport – The new Kochi airport is compact and neat. It’s small but very well maintained. I was impressed. The airport staff were generally courteous. The best part was security personnel. There were these two women travelers from San Francisco whose cabin baggage was spotted for banned material. The CISF personnel who opened their baggage and checked was thoroughly professional yet extremely courteous. He finally found a small knife from the make-up kit of the ladies. The women were surprised and were all gaga about Indian security. One of them told me “the Indian security seems to be better than the American..we got away with these at SFO and LAX but not here”. Thumbs up for Kochi airport and CISF.

On the flip side of it, Indian air travelers are yet to mature. Even after more than five years of introduction of a number of budget airlines and air travel becoming a norm rather than an exception, people’s attitude still remain the same, as it was in the Airdecccan years.

Thrissur – Thrissur is a district headquarter about seventy kilometers from Cochin. My idea of it was that of a small sleepy town with lot of coconut trees where the silence is broken by occasional tourist cab. Well I was up for a surprise. Coconut trees yes, small and sleepy town a BIG NO. Not only it’s a bustling midsized town with all modern amenities an Indian city can boast of, but also the real estate prices are competing with that of Cochin. All along the road there are two storied bungalows with at least one car parked. Me and my friend assumed it’s the gulf money. Then our cab driver told us it’s mostly local business money. That’s great. I saw many high rise apartments with nice car parking and spacious lifts, something missing in a few apartments in Chennai and Bangalore. The road we took from Cochin to Thrissur mostly had four lanes and filled with air-conditioned cars. People were generally nice to tourists. Also they had this desire to spend and explore the creature comforts of modern world. My friend and me commented if all of India were as developed as this part of Kerala, the life standard in India would at least be like Portugal or Ireland, if not like the US or Australia.

Friend’s Marriage - This was the best part and hence I have reserved for the end. Since my friend’s marriage was in a church I knew it’s going to be short and sweet. There too I was up for a pleasant surprise. When me and my other friend travelling with me, reached the church I saw 50-60 neatly parked cars. There were about three to four hundred well dressed men women and kids inside the church. They didn’t create any commotion, a very regular and acceptable norm in marriages at my place. Most of the ceremony was in Malayalam, so I didn’t understand much of it. But it seemed systematic and well organized. Finally the father spoke briefly in English about my marrying friend’s family and father who has passed away about a decade ago. For us who didn’t know much about his family it seemed to be such a nice gesture. The reception was in adjoining hall were a podium was there for the newlywed and close family members. All the guests were seated in arranged chairs. One by one everyone got up and wished the Bride and Groom, had buffet lunch and bided adieu. So uncluttered and hassle free. For a while I wished my marriage could be this simple and friendly, devoid of all the chaos and noise. There were some spicy moments too. A few parents had come shopping for bride and groom for their children. One particular elderly lady started talking to my friend and me. It seemed to us she is moving too fast when her second or third question was whether we were married? We were later told that she was looking for a good groom for her daughter. Well we enjoyed it.

Overall the trip was good and I enjoyed every bit of it. The icing on the cake was the foot massage in the hotel and India defeating S. Africa in world T20 league match though they are out of the tournament now.