State Assembly elections fever was in full swing when we were passing by tiny roads of Kerala. We could see big campaign posters of various political parties at almost each and every corner of roads. I could observe crowd hailing their local political super heroes during election rallies.
Above scene described was becoming very common once we left Munnar and Thekkady and were proceeding towards Alleppy, Kovalam and last but not the least Kanyakumari. All these 3 cities are located in plain areas and with moderate or dense population. Henceforth the luxury of soothing climate of Munnar and Thekkady was out of question here. Awkwardness of Extreme heat and humid climate was taking tall on all of us.
Frankly speaking I literally didn’t found any special thing in Alleppy for which so much hype is created in media. As we all know Alleppy is projected as one of prime tourist spot where one can relish back water in houseboats and get lost in god’s own country. But in reality I found Alleppy a stinky place where one has to spend entire day in stinking house boat and back water.
No matter how much ever luxurious house boat you book , the hell like stinking smell of stagnant back waters remain in your nostril throughout the day in Alleppy. This is not only my observation but all who had visited this place would agree to this experience to some extent. Even few local friends of mine who hail from Kerala they agreed to this reality of Alleppy. If one really wants to cherish pleasure of backwater I would suggest using motor boat or shikara boat and spending entire day at Poovar rather than in Alleppy. Poovar is a small coastal town near Trivandrum district of Kerala and indeed far better place to relinquish beauty of Back waters here.
I had very interesting conversation with my driver on last day of our trip.
Driver: Madam what super Kerala or Tamilnadu?
Me: I liked Kerala much..And apart from Kanyakumari I have not seen Tamilnadu much so can’t decide though!
Driver: Me Tamilnadu super Madam...In Kerala rice 20 rupees, in Tamilnadu rice 2 rupees Kg!!
I was stunned by his observation. In only one sentence he clearly gave picture of political gamut and difference in two states. Mr.Karunanidhi and Jayalalitha definitely rock amongst common men with their election freebie bandwagon tactics!!!! I found one uncanny similiarity between him and me. I was also lured by media hype about Alleppy, took special care that I do not miss out this place from my itinerary. Clearly media hype can sometime mislead and misguide your likings, two live examples...I did like Alleppy before visiting it and my driver liked Tamilnadu over Kerala!
Obviously our poor driver was unaware of how this freebie tactics is killing Tamilnadu’s economy. Who will make him understand that this is nothing but corrupt electoral malpractice? Need of one more Anna Hazare revolution may be required to open up eyes of common men in South India. Concluding with the interesting write-up on Dravidian Politics found it on Rediff.com. Thought provoking indeed.
