Travelling the Kerala Roads

After a long period of stay in Ahmedabad, I decided to return and settle down in Kerala after my retirement from active service. We bought an apartment in Kottayam which is a town in central Travancore, where I was born and had my early education.

Syrian Christians in Kerala are a close-knit community. It’s true meaning is that the large number of relatives spread over the state are in close communication, especially in the WhatsApp age. Events like marriages, baptisms and death brings all the members together. A personal invitation or an invitation through a card specially printed for the occasion is a command to attend these events: not only is it bad style not to attend these events, but the grudge if you miss one is tended life-long.

The best way to travel to these events is to use your personal transport engaging a driver. This frees one of the stresses of actual driving, which can be substantial given the nature of the roads and the traffic. The other consideration is that one can be relieved of the problem of finding a place to park while attending formal events like marriages. There are agencies who provide excellent drivers even on a short notice. Most of these drivers are persons who had some service in the gulf countries or have wives working there. This means that the drivers are financially well off and the driving is an activity which fetches an extra…