On my second day, I returned to Lulu Mall, one of the biggest shopping malls in India. This young woman I was talking to said the Trivandrum one is bigger now.
I was reminded that there’s one thing that makes or breaks you in India: a packed local bus journey. You’ll love it for being quintessentially Indian or hate it for being overcrowded and uncomfortable.
India has mastered natural air conditioning: they remove the window panes from buses. It’s very effective. I had a glassless window seat. At one point, this woman sitting at a bus stop smiled at me through the window. I realised I’d been smiling too, marvelling at the chaos and how India functions despite of it. That may have been a continuation of my morning observation to Kurumi, the Japanese co-owner of my homestay. I had said to her that Japan and India are polar opposites in almost every way. And yet, both have their own charm.
Lulu Mall hasn’t changed much. After strolling around, I went to the food court on the top floor. The choices were limited for me. I searched online for a veggie restaurant and headed for it. As I was exiting, I saw a sign to a hypermarket in the basement of the mall. There were lots of food choices, hot and cold. I bought a dal, chapati, and a spicy bean salad. I returned to the food court to eat.
For the return journey, I booked an Uber taxi. Whilst waiting, I got talking to a mother and son. I asked her why her English was so good. She was an English teacher! She’d been to university in Chennai. Kerala had, and may still have, the highest literacy rate in the country for both women and men. She asked me how much my taxi was. It was about £5. She said it was high. I told her that by British prices, it was low given that it was almost an hour’s journey. She advised me not to tell that to the taxi drivers!
