When Kerala floods ignited memories of South
I STILL CARRY FOND MEMORIES OF MY VISIT TO SOUTH INDIA AND WISH KERALA EMERGES STRONGER AFTER THE FLOODS
The floods in Kerala sent me down memory lane. During my maiden visit to South India in the ’80s, I found people there very helpful and caring.
Six of us from Punjab had gone to Madurai, the temple town of Tamil Nadu, to attend a national conference for college and university teachers. Those were the dark days of militancy in Punjab. Most Punjabis were looked upon suspiciously at that time. Frequent searches, police barricades, check posts (nakas) were the order of the day in Punjab. We wondered what treatment would be meted out to us in the distant South. But a pleasant surprise awaited us there. During our one-week stay, we were not frisked even once by police anywhere!
After sauntering on the sandy shores of Marina beach in Chennai and our visit to Madurai, we stayed at Kodaikanal hill resort and Kanyakumari, the coastal town that is the southernmost tip of India. We visited historical places in Kerala’s capital of Thiruvananthapuram (then Trivandrum) besides the Kovalam beach.
The Madurai conference was visited by many VVIPS. During such programmes here, the entry into the hall is only through special doors with metal detectors after a physical search. Surprisingly, none of us was subjected to any check there.
During the tea break, I strolled into the media enclosure and shared my amazement with some journalists. Their reply for no checks was heartening. “We consider Punjabis, particularly Sikhs, very patriotic. You have made supreme sacrifices for the country. How can anyone doubt your integrity or nationalism?” they said. I was overwhelmed. People in South are well-educated and friendly. Despite the language barrier, I realised humanity thrives.
One night, we boarded a crowded bus for Kanyakumari. Two young women passengers came over to us just to enquire if we had got the seat numbers on our tickets. “We thought you are new to this place and we should tell you about it so that you don’t face any problem,” they said. It was thoughtful of them.
Once I was standing alone at the bus stand at Kodaikanal around sunset. A bus was ready to leave for Madurai. The driver got down, came to me and asked if I was headed to the town? “This is the last bus going to Madurai today so I thought I should ask you so that you may not face any problem afterwards,” he said. That was a nice gesture indeed.
The taxi driver who ferried us to Thiruvanthapuram in Kerala was a gentleman. He voluntarily doubled up as our guide without any extra charge. The lush Kerala coast was comparatively more prosperous than its neighbours.
I still carry fond memories of the visit and wish Kerala emerges stronger after the floods. It is certainly God’s own country.