Bus travel in trivandrum

One beautiful thing i found in kerala were its KSRTC buses. I know this sounds contradictory to the definition of beauty as the red and yellow buses in no way sound in accordance to any work of art, any famous poem etc. But seriously, at least in Trivandrum the bus service really rocks. I happen to live near medical college. One of the main bus stands of Trivandrum and its really very easy and comfy to travel in these buses. The maximum ticket is of Rs. 6.50/-. (YA they still use 50 paise in kerela.), which is quite cheap and affordable for a poor scientist like me (:P).

I think I am drifting away from the topic. This blog is not about “HOW COMFY AND CHEAP these bus journeys are ??”..i know there is a factual side of me..m a scientist after all(pffff..)……rather its more about how beautiful it is to travel in it. I use the word beautiful to emphasize on the artistic aspect of it. Trivandrum is blessed with a "NO POLLUTION" environment. So much rain causes so much greenery. There is virtually no dust in Trivandrum. So traveling in these buses is not like traveling in DELHI-ROHINI JAT SPECIAL buses. It is much more quiet and non-painful.

Little about the buses: They are very normal looking down to earth buses. They believe in the service they can impart to mankind instead of concentrating on looks. Color as already mentioned is red and yellow(refer pic). Normally it’s a 2 pair of seats in one row. One to the right and other to left. The configurations vary differently with different buses. The most special feature I found was the absence of window panes. There are shutters which remain folded till the time of monsoons. I haven’t experienced one in kerela right now but according to sources it HELL rains here in Trivandrum. So it may be the time when these guardians come to play. Else there are no window panes or window grills (I think I should call it window grill only) . Literally speaking windows are so big that u can actually jump out of it whenever you wish to.(I don’t know why you actually will but just in case…..) This absence allows a very calm, cold, soothing breeze right on your face. And it really is relishing experience while traveling in night.

The other peculiar feature is a mechanical bell (like one used in govt offices, hospitals to signal next) used by diver and conductor to communicate. It’s a very simple concept. One long string runs from front to back end of the bus. A bell remains attached to it. The bell is positioned near the driver. When conductor needs to stop the bus he just has to tap the bell once(like TING!!!) and the driver stops, and a two taps (TING TING!!) signals a go. So simple and a good use of a basic machine. There in Delhi conductors shout and bang the bus like hell to bring the same effect. Here its a simple ting-ting. :)

This is something you would love about kerela, people don’t shout as they do there in Delhi. A bus journey in Delhi is a nightmare, with loads of people shouting and hell pollution. I admit one might spot some pretty nice chicks to look at there in Delhi, which obviously is absent in Trivandrum. But hey come on….Its not always about that only???

All in all if you ever come to kerela, do travel in these. You can always take one from east fort to kovalam beach. One good thing is that they will give you a printed bill on which the amount to be paid would be written. See that and pay(never expect your 50 paise back). Its better than autos which will surely loot you since you wont know Malayalam.

Some general tips, tricks, and points to be taken care of…….

Ask at least five people where the bus goes before getting into the bus …it will be best is to ask the conductor. In Malayalam you may ask like this…..

”CHETA! Ei Bus Medical college Pogumu”….(cheta-brother Ei-this Bus-bus MEDICAL COLLEGE- the destination you have to go Pogumu-Will go??)

Possible answers……”Pogumu…or adde”(will go/ yes)…..”pogilla or illlaa”(wont go/ no)

WARNING OR CAUTION!!!

Remember EVIDENTLY Malyalis don’t know how to sway their heads(or are more advanced in this feild) while saying yes OR no. They will Sway it in all POSSIBLE DIRECTIONS ..so according to North Indian standards ….YOU CANNOT MAKE OUT A YES OR NO….BY THEIR HEAD SHAKES………..BETTER ASK MANY BEFORE BOARDING!!!

HAPPY TRAVELING :)

The greatest movie ever seen. You may use it as wallpaper. :)....its my wallpaper by the way.

VADA izzzzz Never FREE!!!!

“Vada is never free!!” You always have to pay for it. The price might vary from 2.5 rupees a piece to 5 or 10.(maximum I have ever had was of Rs. 5/-) depending you eat it on the roadside or in a hotel(source of data: Hotel Vasantham Menu card ).

This Blog is written to help all those north indians who come to kerela for the first time , maybe for honeymoons and for them who are coming because their company TCS has given them a joining(....finally.....) and the training is in Trivandrum (not Trivendram) aka Thiru Anantha Puram. This blog will help you to live and survive and also enjoy kerela. It is because these are experience of a normal North Indian Guy(whose hometown is at U.P,Uttaranchal, Haryana border…so this makes him quite a north indian and so is a perfect test matter for experimenting in Kerela.). but this first post, this first Very important post will save you from the sorrow you could have, when you order your first tea in kerela.

But you might be wondering why did I suddenly had this idea, this innovative thought to write about such a important topic that has been left out by many eminent cultural writers, tour guides, people from Discovery and NG channels. This enlightenment din’t came like this only. Like Lord Buddha saw 7 scenes before he decided to renunciate the world, I also had this motivation to write this blog after that memorable incident of my life.

Well it all happened when I first sat down on a creaky old stool near Trivandrum Central Railway station after a 5 hours journey from Cochin to Trivandrum, to have tea(aka chaya and not chai ), for the first time, in god’s own country, aka Kerela. So I ordered tea and few idlis(I think it was 2 idlis). The waiter, who was a very generous and kind hearted fellow (atleast I thought he was so at that time )brought along with the order a VADA. Btw for all those who don’t know what a vada is, maybe some foreign nationals or NRI’s or america born confused desis , let me give some preliminary details.

A VADA is an Indian dish, I don’t say it’s a south indian dish. This is because I have had vadas when I was in north india too. Only difference was that they were called DAHi-VADAs because they came with DAHi or curd while the ones I get here in south, are with chatni …and obviously it is with coconut chatni. So a Vada is made by first grinding Urad daal (donno what is it called in English ;?), making a paste of it and then frying it in oil. The shape and size is subject to market conditions and taste of people, maybe also on latitude and longitude of the place. The ones you get in kerela are like the enlarged version of polo poppins, hope you remember the ” mints with the hole” from your childhood. It is brown and may contain black chilli and curry leafs(again this may vary according to various factors as mentioned above).

So on getting that Vada I was very happy and feeling lucky too. Since it was 24 September and as far as I knew, it was not a festive season too.” Maybe it’s an offer for all the customers!” , I thought in my mind.”maybe in Kerela with 2 idlis you always get a Vada free..” , I was pretty delighted and started dreaming about all the free vadas that I was going to have for free, for rest of my life in Trivandrum. Being indian, its always good to get things for free. This is an established fact now.

So after enjoying the most delicious vada, I have ever had I till that day, I went to pay the bill. It should have been 15 INR according to my calculations(5+5 for idli and 5 for the chaya)so I took out a Rs 10 note and a brand new shining Rs 5 coin and presented it before the lady at the counter(in kerela you see ladies working everywhere, no wonders its f/m ratio is above 1000..more about this later), but she said ……..sumthing she said.....

“No malyalam!!” I replied making signs.

She waved her open palm and said “5 Rupees”.

“What for??” I asked astonoished, because being from a engineering college I was sure that my math was fine.

“The VADA….!!”

“But its free!!..”

Opening her eyes wide and staring at me as if I had just called a bad omen, (and breaking all my dreams, my lovely lovely dreams about all those nourishing elements, those precious moments of glory I was going to experience with all those free VADAS)….she replied..

“VADA…VADA IS NEVER FREE!!!”