Here's a quick list of observations from a recent trip to Chennai and Kerala.
1) First time noticed more posters of Karthik Sivakumar than Surya. He was all over the place - posters on local trains, bus stops and hoardings. Definitely looks much better now.
2) Hubby and me did the 5-second testing on the roads; no, not the bacteria, it's the honking. You're guaranteed a honk in atleast every 5 seconds, if not sooner. And it really didn't matter which part of Chennai we were in.
3) More metro construction mess all over the city, many areas still without real roads-- enough to give you a feeling you're riding a horse.
4) No shortage of mini Ganapathy temples in every nook and corner.
5) More malls in the city, checked out the City center one by the beach, had a beach view for food court area which was pretty cool.
6) As seen since the early 2000s, people are still spending a lot on foreign gadgets, foreign-branded food and cosmetics. Not to mention, no change in craze for saree/cloth shopping.
7) Much more use of digital displays, especially train stations and inside the electrical trains.
8) Of course a lot more smartphone usage among public. First time, I saw a guy show his train reservation on his phone, cool, huh.
9) Saw some awesome golu displays as I was there during the season. Temples were packed.
10) Power outage peak all over Tamil Nadu. Many towns didn't have power for 14 hours in a day. Chennai has a 2-hour cut. Industries apparently taking a toll in this situation. Yes, this was really hard to digest.
11) Still most upper middle class people in Kerala are either just there on vacation or retired after returning from a foreign country. so I seemed to fit in easily, ofcourse in the first category for now! :-)
12) A lot of trash processing problem in Kerala, especially plastic. The good thing is they don't give out plastic covers in any shop. either you carry your cloth/paper bag or they offer you one for a price.
13) a Hoardings still boast woman wearing a kilo or more of gold jewelery that chokes and weighs down her neck and her hands filled with row of thick bangles that someone dare bring her in the form in a wrestling match! :-)
b - Other hoardings are all about female movie stars that are sporting richly ornamented sarees with perfectly airbrushed skin and hair!
14) Again the towns and villages are such a beauty, both in Kerala and Tamil nadu. The lined up coconut trees, palm trees, large paddy fields - just too lovely.
15) I just wished the people's mind would mature with time...
1) First time noticed more posters of Karthik Sivakumar than Surya. He was all over the place - posters on local trains, bus stops and hoardings. Definitely looks much better now.
2) Hubby and me did the 5-second testing on the roads; no, not the bacteria, it's the honking. You're guaranteed a honk in atleast every 5 seconds, if not sooner. And it really didn't matter which part of Chennai we were in.
3) More metro construction mess all over the city, many areas still without real roads-- enough to give you a feeling you're riding a horse.
4) No shortage of mini Ganapathy temples in every nook and corner.
5) More malls in the city, checked out the City center one by the beach, had a beach view for food court area which was pretty cool.
6) As seen since the early 2000s, people are still spending a lot on foreign gadgets, foreign-branded food and cosmetics. Not to mention, no change in craze for saree/cloth shopping.
7) Much more use of digital displays, especially train stations and inside the electrical trains.
8) Of course a lot more smartphone usage among public. First time, I saw a guy show his train reservation on his phone, cool, huh.
9) Saw some awesome golu displays as I was there during the season. Temples were packed.
10) Power outage peak all over Tamil Nadu. Many towns didn't have power for 14 hours in a day. Chennai has a 2-hour cut. Industries apparently taking a toll in this situation. Yes, this was really hard to digest.
11) Still most upper middle class people in Kerala are either just there on vacation or retired after returning from a foreign country. so I seemed to fit in easily, ofcourse in the first category for now! :-)
12) A lot of trash processing problem in Kerala, especially plastic. The good thing is they don't give out plastic covers in any shop. either you carry your cloth/paper bag or they offer you one for a price.
13) a Hoardings still boast woman wearing a kilo or more of gold jewelery that chokes and weighs down her neck and her hands filled with row of thick bangles that someone dare bring her in the form in a wrestling match! :-)
b - Other hoardings are all about female movie stars that are sporting richly ornamented sarees with perfectly airbrushed skin and hair!
14) Again the towns and villages are such a beauty, both in Kerala and Tamil nadu. The lined up coconut trees, palm trees, large paddy fields - just too lovely.
15) I just wished the people's mind would mature with time...
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