Indian Coffee House and the tourist trail at TRV

I have been traversing a bit further than my usual haunts this time.

It's been over 12 years since I was last in Kerala on one of my earliest assignments with my very first employer. I recall wide avenues leading to the State Secretariat, a daunting lady to whom we presented our results (she seemed pleased!) and a short visit to the backwaters and Kovalam beach which in those days was still relatively quiet.

This time, while enroute to Varkala a stop at Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) was an opportunity to renew my memories of the town and do the regular 'tourist run'. With just about half a day at our disposal, the first stop was the Napier Museum which is housed in a pretty building in the beautifully landscaped 'Museum and Zoo' compound. The museum has a moderate range of 12th century wooden statues, ivory and metal sculptures. However it is pitifully lacking in labels, information and dates. Across the road is the new, interactive museum which we didn't get time to see.

Next stop was the  2000 year old Padmanamaswamy temple in the town centre. It has, as per the  signboard, the largest reclining Vishnu statue. We followed the crowds, collected all possible blessings from the smaller temples inside and while browsing through beads and bracelets in the temple shop we discovered we had accidentally come out at the exit before seeing the reclining Vishnu! 

After going through security again we found our way to the correct 'darshan' path'. We were only able to see the head and finger mudras through a small opening. All this occurred in the less crowded evening hours which makes me wonder what a morning visit would have been like when large crowds line up every day and the King of Travancore is said to perform prayers. To complete the rituals we bought a tin of payasam or temple 'prasad' (blessed food, usually sweet) and exited through the north gate.

Finally as dusk fell we headed to the Indian Coffee House near the city's bus terminus. This building has been designed by Laurie Baker , the Birmingham-born architect who made India his home and was highly respected for his cost-effective, energy-efficient designs. I loved the spiral walk inside, with seating all along the spiral on the right. Apparently even in the hottest and most humid summer months of Trivandrum the building's creative design allows cool air to flow through. I was slightly disappointed by the menu which looked a bit boring. Tried the potato chips and an omellete which were just about average.

The photos below are from the next morning as we wanted to capture the building in day light. There is ongoing renovation and construction work so maybe the menu will turn funkier soon.

Just across from the coffee house is the city's new bus terminus which is under construction. It's heartening to see that they have selected a design for the twin parking structures that complements Laurie Baker's building next door.

On this trip, my last memory of Thiruvananthpuram was a fantastic structure designed like a ship- the new Infosys office at the edge of the city. There was a mile of  bumper-to-bumper cars trying to reach this building from either side as our taxi driver cursed and navigated aggressively through the tiny two-lane road in the morning peak hour. Another Indian town and another familiar story where basic infrastructure just isn't able to keep up with the economic boom, ambition and opportunity across India. Each day I have twin emotions of hope and despair as I traverse across India by road, rail and air. But mostly I just shake my head and smile.