Kochi: Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd. (SSTL) that provides telecom services under brand MTS today won spectrum in the 800 MHz band in eight circles. The Circles won by MTS India include Delhi, Kolkata, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh (West) & West Bengal.
Today was the Kerala Budget for the year 2013-14 and this is my take on the Budget discussions: Anyone who could blabber for about five minutes peppered with words like ‘budget estimate’, ‘fiscal deficit’, ‘dhana kami’, ‘sampatika valarcha’, etc, etc, became a financial expert. With a dozen Malayalam channels and an average of six experts doing special discussions on the Budget the whole day on each channel, imagine the number of such experts we have in Kerala! Wish we could do something more productive.
Is it ok for a leading left politician to enter the Madbaha (altar area) to meet a Thirumeni (Bishop), that too when he is changing his dress? Is it ok to have scantily dressed bridesmaids and usherers for a high society wedding in an Orthodox church in Kerala?
All set for yet another strike in Kerala from midnight, called by several employee organisations. Expect to be stranded at bus stops, airports and railway stations. This is ‘Emerging Kerala’ for you!
Frankly speaking, lost count of the number of bandhs, hartals and strikes in this God forsaken place.
I have been hearing about Chandran Pillai and his famous seafood thattukada (something close to a shack) ever since I shifted to Kerala in 2007. The last time I was driving through Kollam, I decided to check out the place to have some good seafood. Just 3 kms off the old National Highway from Kollam, Thirumullawaram has a rustic and serene setting that’s a welcome break for us city dwellers. You can park the car amidst the coconut trees and walk across the rocky beach to Chandran Pillai’s shack.
Even though the facilities are the bare minimum, it offers the best seafood you can get in this part of the country. Shrimp, mussels, crabs, fish head (thala) curry, fish fry, etc… you name it, it’s there.
Update: This post was published in 2009 after our first visit there and since then, we have been going to Chandran Pillai’s kada at least once a year or whenever we drive through Kollam. There are times when we plan our journey through Kollam just to have food at this place.
Chandran Pillai has since shifted to a much bigger and better place but the taste still remains the same. Somehow, I liked the old settings. Btw, now you can drive straight to his hotel. Click here for some photographs taken in 2016.