Kerala: The conundrum of God's own country

It has been billed as God's own country. Indeed as one sits on a motorboat and sails along the backwaters, watching palm trees pass by it is hard to disagree. The beauty lends a serenity to the stressed life of a corporate executive. Life is no more about targets and deadlines but a chance to soak in the peace and quiet.

Not all is quiet in this state though. Not all visitors go away with this feeling of unalloyed pleasure. Take my sister-in-law Rita for instance. Having spent all of her life in Mumbai, the state came as quite a shock to her when her husband was transferred last year to Kochi. "You cannot bargain in the shops. Prices of everything are fixed. Shopkeepers make their displeasure obvious when you try to bargain,” she says.

Take the auto rickshaws. The drivers do not bother to switch on the meters. They charge Rs 30 for a distance which would cost Rs 10 in Mumbai—which is generally regarded as India's costliest city.

Things are not much different in the temple town of Guruvayur which draws devotees in droves every year. After standing in the queue for four hours for a glimpse of the deity the story turns quite different at a nearby lunch home. When I order (request is the word actually) to clean a particular chair for us, he says coolly, "Why don't you take another one?" When I insist on having the same chair, he says "Look the person who is supposed to clean this has not come today. Why don't you take the other chair?" In Mumbai this would have been unthinkable.

This attitude explains why Kerala, the country's most literate state does not attract industry. Communist influence and money from expatriates from the Gulf has fuelled sloth and give a damn attitude. Otherwise Kerala with its literate population shouldn't be left out of the thriving call centre business.

God's own country is also home to the God that is widely regarded to have failed—Communism. Till the state resolves this conundrum, despite its literacy levels it is condemned to not take its rightful place in the unfolding India story.