It’s my Birthday?

World's richest, Sree Padmanabha Swami Temple

As the clock struck 12.00 am, I hoped that my phone would be ringing with calls from Nepal. But it didn’t, instead, I’d realized something fishy going on between my roommate and few of the other friends. After a couple of minutes past the midnight, my sweetest roommate, Tuna popped out with a little cake, followed by dearest Peterson, Isabelle and Ryanne singing the Happy Birthday tune. It was a perfect start to my quarter-century birthday – thank you so much Tuna! <3

After a few hours of sleep, we went back to LBC today for two insightful lectures on health, well-being and environmental issues of Kerala. Firstly, Dr. V Ramankutty told us about how Kerala was on a better position regarding health condition in comparison with other states of India. But, on a global scale, Kerala still has a lot to work on. As Kerala is moving on towards a developing future, it has been facing problems of both, lifestyle and non-communicable diseases. The second lecture for today was by Mr. Jayakumar Chelaton, regarding environmental sustainability in Kerala. He showed us images and facts that left us gasping and realizing how dire the need for behavior change is in our world. His talk was very inspiring and motivating indeed.

We went to visit one of the slum renewal projects designed by COSTFORD – Karimadom Slum Renovation. This project was built on a strong foundation of trust and hope between the residents and the designers. The buildings have been designed and built in form of a colony, just like the residents had been living before, maintaining a strong connection among themselves. The area and space requirement are kept to minimum, with maximum use of natural energies, like solar and wind to maintain a breathable indoor areas. This project is one of the best examples of slum upgradation in the world where people are given more priority than places. The among of engagement from women in the area is remarkable and has helped a lot in upscaling the living standard in the slum.

Karimadom Colony after the upgradation project

The staircase that leads to homes of five families

The woman who made the difference

We went to visit the East Fort and Chalaai Bazaar afterwards. Although we couldn’t enter the richest Hindu temple in the world – Sree Padmanabha Swami temple because of some restrictions, the market nearby was vibrant and full of life. There was a lot of pedestrian activities going on and it was interesting to see the dynamics between automobiles and pedestrians, both moving with different speeds. Later in the evening, Professor Rebecca led the ladies in our group to one of the popular saree emporium – Kalyan Silks. I gifted myself a pink-and-grey silk saree as a birthday pamper. Tuna, along with three of our American friends and our lovely professor bought a saree each for themselves. I am very excited to see everybody in saree someday soon!

The vibrant Chalaai Bazaar