The project vision - Constructing a house in Kerala

The biggest puzzle to crack was the question " Why are we constructing our own independent house in Kerala?". That too in a piece of land, which we already own. In fact, by doing so, I am not adding any additional wealth to my portfolio. So, it is not a good business decision to construct your own house in a piece of land which you already own. With the same cost, I could have owned either a villa in a gated community nearby, or I could have gone for a flat within the Kochi city itself. Both are wiser and safer options, considering the fact that I travel a lot as part of my job. So it is not business. It is pure nostalgia. 

The nostalgia of living at the same spot, where your ancestors lived their lives. That is a different feeling, which is inexplicable. So went for it. The decision went like this, If Kerala, it is at our ancestral property, because every other property is just a property. The next question to be addressed is the theme for the place called home. We had to make a choice out of the following;

• A peaceful, simple place to relax and live 
• A building to show off the money power 
• A farm house / country home (for vacations) 

We were unanimous in choosing the first " A simple and peaceful place to relax and live.". For that it has to be simple, yet elegant. We took a while to conclude, because some of the family members were still wondering whether Kerala is the right place for them. I cannot blame them, because they did not spend any time in Kerala to have that emotional attachment to Kerala. Why should they come to Kerala?. They are not against Kerala, but it just the fear of the unknown, because of the unfamiliarity. That got changed, once we lived here for a couple of years in a rented flat. For someone, who lived outside Kerala for a long time, getting adjusted with the local culture is tough, till you get used to it. A simple thing like people staring at others, especially women is a phenomena which is unique about Kerala. Initially you get irritated with it, then over a period of time you learn to ignore it. This is just an example. Hopefully more will follow in the following post. 

Construction of my dream home @ Kochi, in Kerala, India

Even after spending more than two decades outside Kerala due to work related compulsions, when it was time to really settle down, we were unanimous on the choice of Kochi city in Kerala. We are constructing our home at Varapuzha, which is a small town on the suburbs of Kochi, which is well connected to Kochi city, Always and North Parur. Why Varapuzha within Kochi?, the main reason is our ancestral home is there. We wanted to start the building of the house, and at the same time, we did not know many in Kerala, to entrust this work. The first challenge was to identify an architect, who is affordable to us, and who is receptive to our ideas, while capable of adding value to the whole process. The first two architects we came across were not willing to listen to our ideas. Then we came across Sujith Kumar, from Kannur and we decided to go ahead with him as the architect for our house. Since, most of the time I am on travel, I do not have the time to stand at the site and supervise the work every day. Another risk was, my knowledge on house construction and the local environment was not very good. So Tomy Varghese in Dubai, and Saju Simon another good friend, recommended  M.S Saju as the civil engineer and contractor for the project. Even when many say that an architect is expensive, he was instrumental in signing a win-win contract with the sub contractor. So far the work has progressed as planned, and with God's grace, we are hopeful of completing it on the adreed upon time. Here is the photo of the current status;

  

KSRTC bus timings from Kochi airport

The double decker bus timings

Timings (are bound to change without notice, so please call KSRTC and verify before planning your trip)

From Angamaly: 06.15 (To Thoppumpady, via Aluva bypass, Edappally, Bypass, Vyttila, Kundannoor)

From Thoppumpady: 08.45, 12.00, 15.15 (To Kalamassery, via Kundannoor, Vyttila, Edappally)

From Kalamassery: 10.30, 13.45, 17.00 (To Thoppumpady, via Edappally, Vyttila, Kundannoor)

From Thoppumpady: 18.25 (To Angamaly, via Kundannoor, Vyttila, Edappally, Aluva bypass)

KSRTC web site : www.keralartc.com 

KSRTC blog : www.ksrtcblog.com 

Anavandi : : 

Chemmeen Ularthiyathu - a delicious local preparation

Chemeen (Prawns) Ularthiyathu is a local prawn preparation which is really delicious. The key ingredients are prawns, onion and coconut pieces cooked along with masala. Becuase of the proximity to the backwaters, we get enough good quality prawns at affordable rates throughout the year. This dish is available in some restaurants, and it is prepared in almost every house hold in the coastal Kerala. As we move from southern Kerala to Northern Kerala, the spice levels also increases. Before the invasion of the modern dishes, amount of sweating by the consumer of the food (due to spicy food) was considered as a measure of the quality of the food. More spicy means, better food - that was the norm. Since my Mother is from Trichur (central Kerala), she cooked very spicy food, where as my Mother in law (from southern Kerala) cooks food which is moderately spicy. In Trichur (dominated by Christians), most of the men and women had the habit of having a drink at the end of the day, and they liked spicy food along with alcohol. This could be a reason for the spiciness of food from central Kerala. Depending on your spice tolerance, be proactive to mention that to the cook, else you may not be able to enjoy the food.

Ready to occupy flat

Ready to occupy 3 bedroom luxury flat at Palarivattam, Ernakulam Phone : 9061903903

Cherai beach

8.3 cents of land, facing beach for sale. Contact : 9846144280

53 cents at Varapuzha

with 3BHK house, near police station. Brokers excuse. Contact : 9995808632

8.5 cents for sale at Koonammavu

8.5 cents, square plot, with road frontage varapuzha koonammavu Contact 9995550948

60 cents of land at Koonammavu for sale

60 cents of land for sale near Koonammavu. Is available as a whole or in pieces. Contact : 9846406060

The foundation stone laying ceremony

A visit to the Royal Palm Villas at Puthenpally, Varapuzha, Ernakulam. Contact M.S Saju 09847030687

Breakfast at Pune, lunch at Bangalore and dinner at kochi - and an opportunity to talk to a volunteer about the World environment day.

That was a really nice experience. Took the jet airways 2 p.m flight to Bangalore. The taxi which took us from the hotel to the Pune airport did charge us extra. There was no norm for taxi charges. By the time we reached Bangalore, we were really hungry, so had some egg biriyani at the airport. One pleasant surprise was the artisan's exhibition at the airport, conducted every year, in association with the world environment day. In this video, one of the volunteers talks about this festival.



I could take some photos of the exhibits, which iam uploading here. Every year they have this festival from June 3rd onwards. It was very colorful. I could take some photographs from the flight as well. Aim uploading them as well. We boarded the 5.40 pm jet airways flight from Bangalore to kochi, which is just a one hour flight. Since it is monsoon time, the flight was bumpy. At kochi airport instead of going for a pre paid taxi, we opted for the Volvo air-conditioned bus, resulting in spending only Rs.80, instead of Rs.700. The trip was long, but not tiring. Most probably my next trip will be to sultanate of Oman. I must congratulate jet airways for their on time flights and very professional behavior. Keep it up, jet airways. 

What did we have for dinner?. Any guess?. We had puttu and kadala at the Bharath tourist home, 24 hours coffee shop, near fore shore road, Ernakulam. As usual, it was good. 

Here are some photos taken with our Canon power shot A3100 IS, a simple camera, which does it's job efficiently. 

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One place I like to shop at Kochi - fab India

Fabindia (or Fabindia Overseas Pvt. Ltd.) is an Indian chain store retailing garments, furnishings, fabrics and ethnic products handmade by craftsmen across rural India. Established in 1960 by John Bissell, an American working for the Ford Foundation, New Delhi, Fabindia started out exporting home furnishings, before stepping into domestic retail in 1976, when it opened its first Fabindia retail store in Greater Kailash, New Delhi. Today it has over 135 stores across India and abroad, and is managed by his son, William Bissell. In 2008, Fabindia had a revenue of $65 million, marking an increase of 30% from the previous year. Fabindia sources its product from across India through 17 Community-Owned-Companies; a certain percentage of the shares of which are held by Artisans and Craftpersons.

The products of Fabindia are mainly sourced from villages helping to provide and sustain rural employment in India. They are currently produced by over 40,000 artisans and craftsmen across India. The hand crafted products also encourage good craftsmanship