Missing thattukadas of Trivandrum

I reached Thiruvananthapuram by train from Mangaluru in December 2001. I was to begin my neurosurgery residency at Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology, an institution of eminence.It took me some time to get adjusted to the puttu and kadala curry for breakfast. The hospital canteen served dosa for dinner. The lunch menu included boiled rice heaped into a mountain on a plate and softened with thick dal curry with vegetables cooked with coconut, fried fish or various meats. The Indian coffeehouse outlets—surprising in a state that loves its tea — all over the city served delicious pocket-friendly food and coffee.As a group of outside-state residents, we used to visit the Comesum food plaza at the central railway station for out-of-state comfort food. However, the scene changed towards the end of my programme in 2004, where restaurants close to the hospital campus served North Indian dishes and chaats.India’s ‘Evergreen City’ lies in God’s Own Country – can you guess it right?Keralam, with its egalitarian tendencies, was a great leveller. Patients in the hospital shared a common ward irrespective of social status. People lined up amicably on weekends to buy their favourite spirit from government-controlled ‘Consumerfed’ outlets. Our hostel was circular in shape, with each person given a room with an attached bath. The rooms were evenly distributed between doctors, male nurses and even security personnel manning the campus. It was strange that when Malayalam was used for every official or casual activity, a general strike was called ‘a hartal’.Work for the resident doctors started early at 6 am. The smoke from burning firewood used for heating water and cooking wafted over the trees, following the breeze from the sea on one side, and the sunrise over the distant Ponmudi hills on the other was a visual treat. Driving through Thiruvananthapuram, one came across buildings with Soviet facade — the football stadium entrance, the red Maveli Coffee House building near the central railway station or the various museums in the Kowdiar region. It seemed like a picture postcard preserved amidst a fast-changing world. Long weekend trips took us to the Ponmudi hills, Veli, Poovar, Kovalam or Varkala beaches and even Kanyakumari. The air was clean, the breeze was sweet and the unspoilt nature was a stunning sight.I left Trivandrum in January 2005, after the completion of my course, and have since visited the city, now Thiruvananthapuram. On a recent visit for an alumni meet, change beyond its name was evident. Numerous margin-free shops with yellow boards were fewer. The hostel where I stayed was demolished to build an extension of the hospital. Flyovers criss-crossed the town centre. Huge malls dominated the coastal expressway from the airport to Kovalam. The congested Fort and Chalai areas, which had the best banana chips and traditional shopping, now housed upmarket shops. Numerous star hotels have replaced the thattukadas that served fish-curry-rice meals or parottas and tea.Thiruvananthapuram has absorbed diverse cultural influences from the guests it has hosted over the years and has transformed.(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.)

Source: Deccan Herald