Does the COVID-19 promise any lasting paradigm shift in the Kerala economy? Yes, definitely for good! Kerala has always been the fountainhead of knowledge workers across India and the world. Professionals, engineers and non-engineers, are employed in all the new-age enterprises including IT, ITES, Fintech, e-commerce, mobility, auditing, education, design & media. They work outside Kerala and make a living there - marrying another Malayali and raising their kids there. Except for people working in Gulf countries who would spend a predominant portion of their earnings in Kerala, they spend only a small portion of their earnings back in Kerala. Most of the time, they don’t even return leaving behind their ancestral properties and parents. We call it the “brain drain”! This could change, we are now seeing more of them back in Kerala ‘working from home’. We thought they will go back once the COVID-19 eases. But that is still some time away. Amazon extended their “work from home” till J...

Are migrants from other states a burden or benefit for Kerala? That’s a question popping up in our thoughts and discussions now and then. Particularly, when we have incidents of brutal murder or robbery by them on the locals. Immigration is a global concern, where a lot of political capital is spent on retaining or gaining power raising this. We mainly encounter four thoughts against immigration. Immigrants rob jobs and livelihood of locals The social support extended to them is a financial burden on the state There are criminals and terrorists among immigrants Immigrants ruin the local culture Perumbavoor, a town near Kochi, is a hub for migrants in Kerala. The town has welcomed them to the extent that people included Hindi in name boards of shops and route boards of public transportation bus. But still, the town witnessed multiple murders and robberies by them. Lately, there was even Al-Qaeda terrorist arrested from Perumbavoor. Hence, the thoughts and concerns of locals are real and...

Kerala is now officially in the 2nd wave of COVID-19. The numbers are rising and the peak seems to be a few more days away. As our masks slipping-off, COVID is slipping-in! It has been 6 months since our movie theatres were closed. There was no movie released during school holidays and Onam. Most likely there will not be any releases during the imminent Puja & Id holidays. Christmas also is doubtful. The industry is passing through its toughest time. Regal Cinemas, the 2nd largest movie chain in the United States shut their doors recently. Going by that, how many theatres will reopen in Kerala is to be seen. Except for the financially stable, all the cast & crew behind movies are struggling. It’s the same in the tourism industry. The hotels and resorts missed domestic tourists during the school holiday and Onam seasons. From October till February, it is the time for International tourists. They would also give this season a miss. The industry is going through a crisis not soon ...

Is it ok for a woman to slap a man? Is it ok for a woman to swear a man? Is it ok for a woman to outrage the modesty of a man? Few women took the law into their hands and did all of them to a man who was making abusive videos with sexual overtones against them. Right or wrong reasons, taking the law into hands is not good for the society and the law should take its course. That’s it! It does not matter whether it is being done by men or women. In a state where men kill others for political reasons, a woman slapping a man need not be given greater importance. But the slap was on the face of many ‘alpha males’ in Kerala. They were equally surprised by the range of ‘vocabulary’ these women had! The revered health minister quickly endorsing the act made the matters worse for them. Women may feel reassured by this bold and unlawful act. But endorsing the act will not serve good for society. For a state that is ahead of even other countries on multiple Human Development Indicators, another ...

Winding up a business after 22 years of operation! Yes, COVID-19 has forced a reputed advertising firm in Kochi to shut shop. The firm is heavily dependent on revenues from gulf countries and financially constrained to outlive the COVID-19. When Gulf sneezes, Kerala catches a cold! COVID-19 is going to have a lasting impact on Kerala. Prof. S. Irudaya Rajan of the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, which publishes Kerala Migration Survey, estimates 2.5 million emigrants from Kerala across the world. Of this, 1.89 million live in the Gulf countries. Remittances from entire emigrants to Kerala make up to $16 billion. This is equivalent to 35% of the state income! Professor opines that emigrants returned to Kerala through Vande Bharat flights (0.15 million) is just like a trailer of the movie about to be released in December! He predicts the remittances from entire emigrants to Kerala to be lower by $2 billion this financial year. The economy of Kerala would be hit hard!...

When a couple of same-sex marry, who is the husband and who is the wife? For want of an answer to this, our solicitor-general argued in Supreme Court that the landmark order in 2018, decriminalizing sexual life, is just that. “nothing more, nothing less”. Our society and values do not recognize the union it seems! The fight is going to be very long for the LGBTQ community to make their own deserved space and identity in India. In Kerala, no one seemed to have shared an opinion. For a state, striving to make space for the LGBTQ community, we should be vociferous and demanding for the cause. Instead, we are focused on parochial politics. For weeks now, our brothers and sisters are in a street fight with police. As they bleed, hawkish media captures everything in detail for all of us to devour from our living room! Media picks ‘bites’ from all three sides, throw them at others for more ‘bites’, and more and more. Media is making the discourse vicious and evil, all in the name of the publi...

A friend returned from the gulf and wanted to start a business, manufacturing concrete blocks in Thrissur district. Running pillar to post, for months, he failed to get all required approvals. The time, effort and expenses all in vain! No wonder that ranking of Kerala in “Ease of doing business” dropped over the years from 18th to 21st to 28th now . Enough of our ‘single window clearance’. But we are getting better at another number - suicides. The number of suicides per one lakh population increased from 23.5 in 2018 to 24.3 in 2019 . 1,963 of the 8,556 who took the drastic step were unemployed - 22.9%! Is there a connection? How about 'mango' as an election symbol? Refreshing right? Yes, that is the symbol of Twenty20, the political party in Kizhakkambalam backed by promoters of Kitex Garments. The political scene in Kerala took an interesting turn with the arrival of Twenty20 a few years back. A political party with corporate-style functioning, backed by capitalists, in Kera...

A street vendor with fruits was found cross-selling cashew nuts. The vendor reasoned that cashew is from a nearby vendor. They are being kind to each other in difficult times for more wallet share. Being kind and smart! Onam went by without anyone noticing much. There were no new movie releases, except the Amazon release of "C U Soon". What an Onam without an Onam movie! The industry is at pains as shared by stalwarts. People who eke out a living in this industry would have had a tough Onam. Sales of textile, automobiles, white goods and liquor were subdued. The government did their share by ensuring an Onam kit of 10 items worth ₹500, for every household. Political discourse is as usual except that two families lost their breadwinners near Thiruvananthapuram. We cannot be proud of ourselves with such barbaric murder of our brethren. Eastern Condiments got acquired by Orkla . Meeran family (promoters) is now expected to own 10% of MTR. The perseverance and grit of the patriar...

Yes, Kerala democratically elects a communist party very often to run the state. But Kerala is not a communist state. Most recently, The Washington Post identified Kerala as a communist state and was juxtaposing the state's achievement in the COVID-19 front. That is not completely correct. The journalist and novelist Manu Joseph captures this clearly here . Do read the article.

The people and government institutions have risen together to fight COVID-19. It has yielded results. The same was recognised globally, notably by media from developed countries. Other states in India wanted to know and replicate how Kerala did it. But it's difficult for anyone else to replicate this so fast. Kerala is a state in a developing country with a healthcare infrastructure similar to that in developed countries. It's not just that. There is a healthcare worker in the name "Asha worker" and a mother and child care centre in the name of "Anganwadi" for every 100-150 people across the state. As required, an executive at the topmost level can access any family in Kerala within minutes. The system is so efficient that every family in the state with senior citizens have received multiple calls in the last 30 days more than once ensuring their health. The hospitals, public healthcare facilities and professionals are also responsive for any emergency. The ...

Technology has helped all of us. Technology made us more productive, improved the quality of life. But the impact of technology is different for different people. Most of us do video calls but the impact it had on people challenged to hear and speak is huge. They could talk to each other only when they meet. Now they do it anytime, on travel, at work and at home. There probably is nothing that changed their life like the video call did, in their life. Their contribution to economy must have only increased, silently!

The below news item exhibits how railway treats their customer and their genuine requirement. It is to be noted that migrants at Kerala have already started taking flights, finding it to be more economical. Let the train stop at Aluva! Why migrants on Antyodaya Express pull the alarm chain at Aluva https://www.livemint.com/news/india/why-migrants-on-antyodaya-express-pull-the-alarm-chain-at-aluva-1567538130315.html

Kerala Finance Minister imposed tax on junk food but avoided colas. This was  amusing as colas are found to be worse than pizzas, burgers or other junk  foods. These taxes are not new at all. Known as soda tax or sugar tax , Mexico was one of the first to implement this at a large scale. Mexico is where we have the largest per capita  consumption of colas - nearly half a litre a day.  In the backdrop of Mr. Alejandro Calvillo's fight  against cola giants , Mexico imposed taxes on colas/sodas. Countries like Unite Kingdom  replicated this citing that such measures will reduce consumption  of unhealthy foods. Kerala is the latest in this list, but made a  half-hearted attempt, avoiding colas/sodas. For people who chased-off Coca  Cola from Plachimada, this was surprising. I would say our most popular street food "kappa & erachi" & "porotta" are  junk foods. Or the "parippu vada". Try imposing tax on them! Instead we...

Prisons are supposed to reform the inmates, for them to be later brought back to the mainstream. There is an attempt to impart some skills to prisoners for them to earn their livelihood once they are outside. Across India, success of prisons are debatable. Whether the inmates get reformed or not, running prisons are a costly affair for government. Yes, law abiding citizens bear the cost to support others. Putting these prisoners to work and contribute to economy is one option. World over, such initiatives had varied success rate. Kerala made few initiatives like outlets serving some basic food, stitching clothes, farming, etc. Some had been extremely successful. With better focus and direction, more such ventures can be initiated for the benefit of everyone. Like, - body building and workshop for KSRTC buses - digitization of government documents - kitchen for trains and flights - vegetable farming - processing and packaging foods under contract - call centre

Lately, stray dogs are in news. As they cannot speak for themselves, we speak for them and against. It was when I were in Bangalore that I first realized that stray dogs can become public nuisance. But I felt protected indoors, be it house, office or car. Late night movies were when I were troubled. I would step out of a multiplex, watching a batman movie, and would have only dogs as company. Some would be ferocious. A batman will not come for rescue. It was never safe. One day, there was an incident of a dog taking a 2 or 3 month old infant from a house and bit a good portion of baby's face. Still people were divided by their opinion. If we profile people who speak for stray dogs, all of them are from higher socio-economic background. They will come out to voice their support for stray dogs, with sunscreens and glasses to protect themselves from the indifferent sun. We do not hear anybody from this background getting attacked by a stray dog. It's not that dogs beware them or...

All icons of industry are excited about the Gujarat state. Everybody wants to have their factory there. When Modi was ruling the state, they were eulogising him for his achievements. Across the country, people were taking their pilgrimage to Gujarat, to understand what this state offers that others could not. People from Kerala too - politicians, businessmen, government officials, etc made trips. Those who couldn't go had media to feed their appetite. All had only one message to share - it would be wonderful to turn Kerala into a Gujarat. Recently, I got to be in Gujarat for a week. I had been to Vapi, Daman (Union Territory), Surat, Bharuch, Jhagadia and Vadodara. I have these varied opinions about the state. Most of the hotels there are vegetarian, but many of them serve egg. Industries operate in earmarked land, operated by GIDC (Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation). They have multiple estates in every district, focusing on sectors. Almost all these industrial estat...

What explains restaurants closing down in 60 days from opening, in Kochi? A restaurant should offer two things - hygiene and quality food - to stay in business. But cost of running and price of food is what that decides the viability of restaurant as a business. Now, if we ponder about it, most of them that got closed tick the first two items. Where they have gone wrong is in their cost and price. First let us deal price. Any one would love to get a tea for three rupees. But it is not on offer in Kochi, where the price would range from 5 to 500! I am talking about restaurants only. Why the difference? Any tea in the price range will be of quality and, made & served at a hygiene place. Yes, tea could be made better. Which explains them priced between 10 to 30. Beyond that, we are not paying for tea. We are paying for ambience, service, exclusivity, parking, family friendly and as rent for the real estate that we occupy. The last point explains pricing at modern cafes and high str...

Fire stations are there in almost all towns in Kerala. Public call them for emergency help during a fire. Public also call them during emergencies other than fire such as drowning humans or livestock, snakes inside houses, motor and other accidents, etc. Fire department do their best when they are called for, fire or no fire. So what do we actually need, a fire department, emergency cell or disaster management unit? I think it is time for us to convert fire department in to disaster management department with units across the state. The department should have  special units that have expertise to fight fire, water, wild animals, motor accidents and all disasters small or big, human or natural. Such units would provide a wider help to public.

Rape incident in Delhi last month was brutal but I was not surprised. Because women in a vulnerable situation are exploited by men across the country. In cities women are molested more often in public spaces. Rape is an everyday incident outside cities. Women are raped by father, brother, neighbour, driver, insurgent, extremist, politician and police across India. A woman is raped every 22 minutes in India. In our capital city alone there was more than 600 reported incidents of rape last year. So why should I be surprised? I am more surprised about Kerala, where it seems that we only want to get drunk and rape infants & children. An individual and his friends are accused of rape by his 6 year old child . Another is to be hanged for raping a 15 year old . Father and his two sons are accused of raping 6 & 9 year old sisters living neighbourhood. Father, uncle & 15 year old brother are accused of rape by a 15 year old . Kerala police have registered 715 rape ca...

The beautiful Emerging Kerala  logo is illustrated by Gina Mikel  who is based in Missouri, USA. But the creative agency supporting Kerala government's path breaking initiative , stole the design and only chose to pay when questioned by her. It's not the first time that Kerala government is mired in such issues. Please check my earlier post on Kerala Tourism campaign . Illustration of bird flying  -  http://www.scientificillustrator.com/illustration/bird/bird.html Note by illustrator - Note regarding the Emerging Kerala controversy: I've been receiving quite a bit of correspondence about this. In summary, I was contacted in April 2012 by someone who let me know that the image (to the left) was being used by the Emerging Kerala organizers. I then contacted the organizers through their website to express my concern (that I had not been notified in advance of the usage, had not been paid for usage, etc.) They forwarded my contact informati...