IN the late 1950s, long before people started migrating to the Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, I had Indian friends in a hostel at St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai.
Some of them hailed from Kerala, a newly named state in the south of India. So we decided to travel by train to the capital Trivandrum as it was then called and from there to their hometown further south in Tellicherry where they had a large tea plantation.
I liked the state particularly its greenery, which had prompted Mahatma Gandhi to call it the “evergreen city of India.” With my hosts the Tharagan family I toured the state extensively in their car, by bus and train.
I returned to Kerala many years later on business for the new daily newspaper I had established in the Kingdom named Malayalam News, which was devotedly serving the hardworking Keralite community in the Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Soon other Malayali dailies followed suit from Kerala and printed their publications at our organization. There are currently five such dailies competing for the attention of the 1-million-strong Keralite community here and in the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar. Together they form the largest segment of expatriates in the Gulf engaged in various occupations, serving well and doing well.
Because of Malayalam News, I visited Kerala many times staying mainly in Thiruvananthapuram or TVM as the British called it because they found it difficult to pronounce, which is one of the longest city names in the world. The people there are used to it and have no problem pronouncing it, although I have remained loyal to the initials TVM in all my visits and during my term as editor in chief of Malayalam News. The paper still survives and prospers but I have nothing to do with it now.
During my first visit to the city, I stayed at Hotel Leela Kempinski, earlier called Asoka, facing the sea and about 15 kilometers from the airport. I continued to stay there during all my subsequent visits to the state, which kept growing steadily thanks to the influx of money from expatriates and investors. The hotel has a magnificent view overlooking the Arabian Sea, very nice gardens and swimming pool and a staircase all the way down to the sea where visitors can swim, sunbathe and walk along the shore for miles. As a result, few visitors bother to go downtown, except perhaps on their last day, to shop for antiques from the great government-run shop near the bazaar. This is where I bought most of my Kerala mementos. But I had to go downtown because our office was located there in a three-story building facing Geetanjali Hospital on Vazhuthacaud Road about three kilometers from the center of TVM.
The city houses several central and state organizations. It is also a major academic hub and home to several educational institutions including the University of Kerala and many science and technology establishments such as the famous Techno Park, which I visited when it was first established.
The state is said to have the highest literacy rate in India with huge remittances from expatriates especially in the Kingdom and the Gulf countries. It is fast becoming one of the most prosperous regions, which I could verify during my last two visits when I went downtown to see the skyscrapers, shopping malls, housing schemes and lovely villas built by expats either as investments or to live in following their return.
The capital is one of the loveliest cities in India and if the stories and legends are true contains one of the largest treasures in the country and probably the whole world. The temple of Vishnu reclining on Ananta is the iconic landmark of the city. The value of its contents are estimated to be worth at least $15 billion making it easily the richest temple in the world. Whether there is any truth to these claims remains to be seen when those in charge of it, permit impartial inspection and assessment.
The estimates remain mindboggling and hard to swallow unless there is some credible proof. Many question the estimates and even more question the wisdom of storing so much wealth in caves while millions in Kerala and India clamor for a piece of the cake to build amenities that the state and the country sorely need. It is like knowing that the pyramids of Egypt contain billions in gold and priceless jewelry behind tons of stone while the majority of the people plea for part of it to rebuild their lives.
The city is an ancient region with trading traditions dating back to 1000 BCE according to its literature. It is believed that King Solomon landed at a port called Ophir or Poovar in TVM in 1036 BCE. It was the trading post of spices, sandalwood and ivory. This must have attracted the attention and interest of Arab traders who played a major part in carrying spices from India to Yemen and then on to Europe where spices were valued like precious metals at one time.
With the establishment of the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station in 1962, the city became the cradle of the country’s space program. The first Indian space rocket was developed and launched from the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center just outside the city in 1963. Other branches of the national space program were later established in the city.
“A major milestone in the city’s recent history was the establishment of the Techno Park in 1995. It has developed into the largest IT park in India in an area employing around 40,000 people at 300 companies.” It is one of the best in India, raising TVM from a small, sparsely inhabited city to one of the best in terms of competiveness.
My memories of Kerala and its lovely capital would be incomplete without a special mention of the staff and other colleagues who worked at the offices in TVM, Calicut, Cochin and other cities.
Of special importance to me, the newspaper and the company was the bureau manager who stood by me from the first day. He was a seasoned editor and reporter with many years experience. He agreed to manage and guide our office in the capital at the time when the paper was still an unknown entity and its future uncertain in Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Shamsuddin was a thorough professional with 20 years experience at a major Malayalam daily. He was indispensable during his stints in charge in various cities before his demise. He was one of the best editors I have ever known in Kerala in addition to his solid character, wonderful manners and great patience. He had a detailed understanding of Keralite affairs and knowledge of newsmakers. They knew him well and readily agreed to have me interview them during the years we worked together. His loss was incalculable as he was irreplaceable as a colleague and friend. May he rest in peace.
